Past Events: 2006
January
U is for Uptown and Unusual
Join us for dinner at Revival Restaurant Bar and Lounge. The food is "unusual french-american cuisine infused with the influences of Caribbean-Creole & Soul." Afterward, drinks and more talk at Radio Perfecto Uptown on Amsterdam Avenue at 118th Street.
When: Saturday, January 21 at 7:00 p.m.
Where: Revival
Address: 2367 Frederick Douglass Blvd @127th St
[map]
Please RSVP to Michael by 12:00 noon on Wednesday, January 18th if you plan to attend. See group list for RSVP email address.
February
Almost, Maine
A new off-broadway show, Almost, Maine concerns the "residents of a small, northern town who are falling in and out of love at an alarming rate. Love is discovered; hearts are broken and mended in this midwinter night's dream!" The play premiered in 2004 in Maine to rave reviews, had a sold out run, and was virtually the most successful regional production in the country.
Cost: $25 per ticket
When: Saturday, February 11 at 8:00 p.m.
Where: The Daryl Roth Theatre
Address: 101 E 15th St b/w Union Sq E & Irving Pl
[map]
Please RSVP to Michael if you wish to go to the play and specify whether you will pay cash or via PayPal. See group list for RSVP email address.
Triple Play
Join us for an ambitious cultural day for any or all of three activities starting at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 25.
- Stories To Tell: Masterworks from The Kelly Collection of American Illustration - Dahesh Museum of Art Chief Curator Stephen Edidin will select approximately 90 masterworks from the Kelly Collection, an exceptionally important private holding of original oil paintings, watercolors, and pencil drawings made in the "golden age" of American illustration (c. 1880 - 1930).
Where: Dahesh Museum, 580 Madison Ave b/w 56th & 57th St - meet in the museum lobby
When: Sat 2/25 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Admission cost: $10 per person - Scandinavia House's AQ Café - "Operated by the celebrated Restaurant
Aquavit, Scandinavia House's AQ Café features a menu of
contemporary and traditional Nordic dishes."
Where: Scandanavia House, 58 Park Ave at 38th St
When: Sat 2/25 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. - Movie: Illusive Tracks
(Skenbart) -
"A huge success in Sweden,
this comedy/thriller, is a subtitled film about trains. The film is an
exceedingly well-done 1940s pastiche about a writer on a train journey to Germany right
after the end of WW II on a mission to help the Germans start over; but first he helps
his friends on the train. You won't know whether to laugh or cry; or be scared out of
your wits!" (2003, black & white, 100 min.)
Where: Scandanavia House, 58 Park Ave at 38th St
When: Sat 2/25 at 3:00 p.m.
Cost: $8 per person
Please RSVP on eVite as per your individual invitation.
March
Dinner at Totonno's
Amanda (former NK-NYC chapter leader) will be in NYC for the weekend and is hosting this event. All are welcome to attend. The dinner will be in the upstairs balcony area of the restaurant. There will be a limited amount of free food served at 7:00 p.m. You can also order and pay for food a la carte [menu]. There is a cash bar - you pay for your own beverages.
When: Sunday, March 5 from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Where: Totonno's Pizzeria
Address: 462 2nd Ave @26th St
[map]
Please RSVP to Amanda asap if you plan on attending. See invitation for contact info.
V is for Vietnamese - Dinner at Monsoon
Welcome new members! This event constitutes the "V" installment of our dinner by the alphabet series. Join us at Monsoon, a nice, moderately priced restaurant located on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
When: Sunday, March 26 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Monsoon Restaurant
Address: 435 Amsterdam Ave @81st St
[map]
Please RSVP on eVite as per your individual invitation. Reservations will be made only for those who respond with a "Yes" by 12:00 noon on Thursday, March 23. Hope to see you there!
April
Lunch and rowboating in Central Park
Late April can be a wonderful time to go boating in Central Park and early enough in the season that we can reserve multiple rowboats easily on a weekend. Join us for lunch at the Loeb Boathouse. Afterwards, we can go out on the water, observe the wonderful scenery and chat. In case of rain, we may choose to visit the Whitney Museum (Madison Avenue at 75th St) instead.
When: Sunday, April 30 at 12:00 p.m.
Where: Central Park Boathouse - Express Cafe
Location: East Side of Central Park @75th St
[map]
Cost: Lunch $5 to $10, see menu.
Boating $10 first hour per rowboat; $2.50 each 15 minutes thereafter ($30
deposit needed per boat).
More information: Loeb Boathouse, Express Cafe, Boat Rental.
Please RSVP on eVite as per your individual invitation. If did not receive an invitation and would like to attend, RSVP directly to Michael with your first name and email address. See group list for RSVP email address.
In case of rain, Michael will leave a voice message on his cell phone on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. with any changes in the meeting place. The number is available via the group list.
May
Williamsburg "Xtreme" Dining Experience
This consitutes the W & X installments of our alphabet dinner series. Join us at Monkey Town, a moderately priced restaurant with a very art-centric motif. Located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, this 8-month old establishment features an eclectic menu with European and African influences, and also plays host to some unique events. This evening, Monkey Town will host a performance, The Redcoats are Coming. Warning: This performance will be extremely loud with music for those who enjoy punk, metal or gothic influences.
When: Saturday, May 20, Dinner at 6:00 p.m.
Performance at 7:30 p.m. (cost $7, separate from dinner)
Where: Monkey Town
Address: 58 N 3rd St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
[map]
Please RSVP on eVite as per your individual invitation for each portion of the event separately.
June
No Kidding! Fifth Annual Convention - June 15-18
Join members of the No Kidding! New York City Chapter during our fifth visit to a No Kidding International Convention. 2006's convention - the 5th Annual Child-Free Festival, will be hosted by the Toronto Chapter.
NYC Chapter leaders Laura and Vincent have attended every convention, including Las Vegas, New Orleans, Seattle and Philadelphia, and each year have been joined by more and more members of the NYC Chapter. The June 2005 convention saw nine members and former members of our chapter in attendance.
New York City is hosting 2008's convention, and we look forward to planning an event worthy of this tradition.
July
Mingling and Munchin' at Bowlmor Lanes
Let's go bowling! Meet at 6:00 p.m. in the lobby of the alley. After bowling (or instead if the wait is too long), we can all go to dinner in the West Village. Hope to see you there!
When: Saturday, July 1 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Bowlmor Lanes
Address: 110 University Pl b/w 12th & 13th St
[map]
Cost: $9.25 per person per game + $5 shoe rental fee
RSVP on eVite as per your individual invitation. If you are planning to attend, please indicate whether you would like to bowl two or three games.
"Y" is for YEMENI food!
Event: "Y" dinner event - unusual cuisine
From: Joe No Kidding NYC Chapter Member
Location: 176 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
When: Sat, 07/29/06, 8:00PM
M,N,R train at Court Street
2,3,4,5 train at Borough Hall
Hello everyone! My name is Joe and I am a NokiddingNYC
Group Member who was last seen bowling with the crowd
earlier this month at Bowlmor Lanes.
I have volunteered to host the ongoing dining by the
alphabet circuit and am proposing this option.
Hopefully many of you can make it. Please try to be on
time or only a few minutes late at most as I cannot
guarantee that the restaurant will hold excess seats
for any period of time after 8 PM
Sample examples of menu entrees (served with salad and
soup):
1) roasted lamb - $14
2) Yemeni Salte (mixed vegetables casserole) - $8
3) roasted chicken.- $12
4) bluefish - $15
No beef dishes on the menu - lamb and chicken for meat
eaters.
RSVP by Wednesday at 6 PM.
Respectfully,
Joe
August
Group Getaway: All Paths Lead to Beacon
From: Michael and Jim NoKidding NYC Chapter Members
Location: Dutchess County, Beacon, NY
When: Sat, 08/12/06, 11:00AM
Greetings! This is the big excursion that I have been
planning for the group this summer...and I hope you
will strongly consider this.
Beacon appears to be a wonderful town that I have
never been to - offering a fascinating mountain in
town where people can hike or walk up (see below), a
world-class museum at the DIA Center for the Arts, an
interesting business/shopping district, as well as
other historical and cultural facilities/activities.
For a brief online tour brochure outlining the town
and what it has to offer please visit:
http://www.cityofbeacon.org/Tour/TourBrochure.htm
Please click on the panoramic picture in the middle of
the following website page for a breathtaking view
from high up on Mount Beacon.
http://www.hudsonriver.com/panoramas/mtbeacon.htm
There are stairs that were recently installed on Mount
Beacon to allow walkers to go up to 1/3 the height of
the Mountain. At the top of the stairs, an observation
deck provides a view of the valley. The 144 steps are
not as tall as most stairs, making it much easier to
climb. There are eight landings along the zigzagging
route where people can rest.
A year-long celebration of the arts in Beacon occurs
on the second Saturday of every month from 12 - 9pm.
Galleries and shops feature artist receptions, music
and other special events. Trolley service, monthly
guides and maps are available at the venues and also
on the Beacon Arts Community Association (BACA)
website www.beaconarts.org.
Here's the plan. I will pick up my car over the
weekend at my parents house (where I leave it) and
drive up separately on Saturday from you all. Jim will
manage a group at Grand Central Station where you will
meet in order to take a MetroNorth train ($27 package
deal includes train and admission to the Dia Center or
$23 for the train ride if you don't wish to visit the
Dia Center). Catch the 10:51 train that arrives in
Beacon at 12:17. I will rendezvous with you at the
Beacon Metro-North station and help ferry all
participants to the mountain or help guide those who
wish to partake in viewing the Dia Center- 5 minute
walk away. I wish to use my car to help people get
around town so we can engage in multiple activities
throughout the day. We can also have an early dinner
in town and then catch a train that runs hourly back
to Grand Central. I will have my cell phone on me for
people to contact me during the day, so we can break
up and re-merge into groups again.
Contact info and rendezvous point pending for those
who click "yes". Please indicate below if you wish to
go to the MUSEUM or HIKING, so I can get an
approximate count. RSVP's are limited to ease
transportation logistics within the town.
Sincerely,
Michael
Chapter Leader
September
EVENT: Welcome to Autumn Group Getaway
FROM: Michael and Jim - NoKidding NYC Group Members
LOCATION: Putnam County, Cold Spring-on-Hudson, NY
TIME: 9/30/2006 10:51 AM
Greetings everybody! Although it may appear that the New York City Chapter is about to have two events only one week apart from each other (with Liz' upcoming dinner in midtown), this particular weekend is a bona fide charming opportunity to visit one upstate town. September 30 is a great Saturday to go up to the Putnam County town of Cold Spring-on Hudson via Metro North because we have three options of what to do in town with the advent of autumn:
1) The historical location of Constitution Island (near the train station) is having a "Special Saturday" and visitors will be able to tour the historical Warner House, see fortifications, and walk the many trails. Boat rides on the Hudson and carriage rides on the property will be available all day. $10 admission charge. I assume that this is an activity that most of the group will want to partake in.
LINK: www.constitutionisland.org
2) The Cold Spring Harvest Festival is happening right down the street from the train station on Main Street and has arts and crafts, food, music and more.
3) If some members seek a bit more peace and solitude, we can add an alternative destination by having some members take a cab/shuttle to Boscobel Restoration ( a mile and a half down the road) which is a carefully restored Federal home-turned-museum with stunning grounds.
LINK: www.boscobel.org
Please RSVP AND PLEASE BE SURE TO let us know in your RSVP which two activities interest you so that we all can keep a running count on this Evite. We plan on catching a Metro-North train from Grand Central at 10:51 AM (we would meet between 10:30-10:40 in front of the track sign). The trick is approximately an hour and twenty min. and costs $20. Michael does NOT plan on having a car with him for this event, so you should have two hosts greeting everyone for the enjoyable train ride up there. Cell phone number contacts available to all definiite RSVP's. Please RSVP by Wed. the 27th in order to receive contact info numbers.
Gotta love the upstate as this is two events in two months taking place up the Hudson -- let's enjoy it while the weather is still good and there are fun activities taking place.
Sincerely,
Jim and Michael
Event Co-Hosts
October
SATURDAY NIGHT DINNER "Z" is for...Zocalo"
Hello all,
In addition to the great event Evadne has planned for
September, I'll be hosting the FINAL "Dine around the
World" dinner next month, "Z is for..." Just for some
perspective we had our FIRST "A" dining event in
November of 2003--almost THREE years ago!!!
We'll be having delicious Mexican at ZOCALO at the
Upper East Side location on East 82nd St. (the Grand
Central location is really more for takeout and not
for a real dining "experience") Check out the website
to whet your appetite and get excited:
www.zocalonyc.com
More details to follow in September. Most likely the
event will be held on the last Saturday of the month,
October 7, but I'll keep everyone posted.
Enjoy the rest of your summer!
Liz