Vision
Just the Ticket: What to Do for the Holidays
By Abby Watson
When do the holidays begin? Some say it comes with the first snowfall, others the day after Thanksgiving, although it’s clear that retailers place it sometime in mid-September. Whatever the case, the season comes rolling in and brings with it excellent opportunities to go places and see things at a reduced price. (If not otherwise specified, the locale is Manhattan.)
Let’s begin with the Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, (718) 817-8700. It has tiny locomotives chugging through botanical replicas of NYC landmarks, starting December 2 at 10 a.m., $16 for seniors, $18 for general admission.
For a new spin on a classic holiday story, Urban Ballet Theater’s Nutcracker in the Lower provides a feast of flamenco, hip hop, salsa, and martial arts at the Abrons Arts Center, Henry Street Settlement, 466 Grand Street. (212) 352-3101), $15.
Striking 12 is eclectic music group Groovelily’s refreshing take on things through the story of a bitter Manhattanite who resolves to spend the new year alone, only to receive a visitor bound and determined to get the poor fellow into the holiday spirit; at Union Square’s Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 E. 15 th Street, (212) 947-8844, $45.
The American Museum of Natural History is beating back the winter blahs with its “Butterfly Conservatory: Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter,” a beautiful showcasing of 500 shimmering butterflies in a 1,200-square-foot vivarium. Meanwhile, for the futurist, Sonic Vision at the Planetarium, a computer-animated dreamscape set to Moby’s mix of U2 and Coldplay, will prove to kids and grandkids that you are young at heart; Central Park West. 77th to 81st Streets, (212) 769-8100, museum admission $10.50 for seniors, $14 general.
“Tropicália: A Revolution in Brazilian Culture,” with focus on the 1960s, is the featured display at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street, (718) 681-6000, $3 for seniors, $5 general admission.
“Annie Leibowitz: a Photographer’s Life: 1990-2005,” with more than 200 of her images from Nelson Mandela to Demi Moore to personal family shots, is the big draw at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, (718) 638-5000, $8 general admission, seniors $4.
Through December 16 at FIT [the Fashion Institute of Technology] there is “Love and War: the Weaponized Woman,” an exploration of the influence of lingerie and armor on what women wear, as revealed in 80 works by Jean Paul Gaultier, Yohji Yamamoto, and other visionaries. FIT is at Seventh and 27th Street, (212) 217-5800, admission free.
The celebration at the Museum of the Moving Image is of “Star Trek: 40 Years of Fandom,” an exhibition of action figures, toys, housewares, and other Trek-inspired items that should satisfy every Trekkie who’s still around. The MMI is at 35th Avenue and 36th Street, Queens, (718) 784-0077, $10 general admission, $7.50 for seniors and students.
Symphony Space, Broadway and 79th Street, (212) 864-5400, offers a multitude of events during December, the first being a puppetry performance of Eric Carle’s ageless story, “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” by the Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia. Perfect for grandchildren, December 2 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Space’s Peter Jay Sharpe Theatre, tickets $6 -$25. In that same theatre the “Christmas Revels: A Celebration of the Winter Solstice,” a multicultural production, will have you dancing in the aisles; December 8-10, tickets $9-$45.
At the Harlem School of the Arts a festival will celebrate the spirit of dance and the principles of Kwanzaa while showcasing the school’s extraordinarily talented students: December 15-16 at Aaron Davis Hall, (212) 926-4100, tickets $22-$28.
The Jewish festival of lights will be celebrated at the Jewish Museum with “Light x Eight: the Hanukkah Project,” in which eight artists experiment with light or different properties of light to transform common materials into glowing objects. The museum is at 1109 Fifth Avenue, at 92nd Street, (212) 423-3271, $12 general admission, $10 for seniors.
This is the second season of a wonderful new tradition is taking place under the aegis of TriBeCa’s Church Street School for Music and Art: the Gingerbread Workshop for Adults. This tasty fundraiser lets you decorate your own gingerbread house while sipping Champagne and listening to the music of the world-renowned Church Street School’s faculty. These gingerbread workshops will be at the Bubble Lounge, 228 West Broadway, (212) 571-7290, on Dec. 9, 10, 16, and 17. Reservations are $150 per couple, $100 per single (one house); $175 per couple, $110 per single, if you register after December 3.
Be it edible architecture or an escape to the tropics for the interborough traveler, New York is doing itself proud in offering a big bundle of activities this season. Enjoy, and happy holidays!
