TASTE is back for its 10th anniversary! The TASTE Williamsburg Greenpoint Festival will take place on Sunday, September 15 from 1–4 PM at East River State Park (90 Kent Ave) in Williamsburg.
TASTE Williamsburg Greenpoint is a celebration of North Brooklyn’s local flavor, benefitting the Firehouse North Brooklyn Community Center. Now in its 10th year (!), the block party style tasting event will return to the scenic Williamsburg waterfront, bringing the neighborhood’s top restaurants, bars and independent merchants together with over 2,000 attendees to eat and drink for a great cause.
Confirmed restaurant and bar participants to date include Tacocina, Leuca, Barano, Lighthouse, Zona Rosa, Baba’s Pierogies and more, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.
Ticket sales will begin today via Eventbrite, here. Early bird tickets will start at $50 for general admission (8 food ‘tastes’ and all you can drink beverages), and VIP tickets start at $100 for all you can eat and drink, with early access to the event, and a gifting lounge with seating.
Proceeds from the event will once again go to benefit the Firehouse North Brooklyn Community Center, located in the former Engine 212 Firehouse at 134 Wythe Avenue, which is working to re-open as a crucial hub for the local community. After several years of successful fundraising towards the $2.8M goal, the project is nearly fully funded, with just $250,000 to go, and entering into the construction phase. Eat up while supporting a good cause!
Being consistent with exercise has never come easy to me. Even though I like the exhilarating feeling of a good post-workout sweat, it’s getting up and actually going that is my challenge. My mind would make up all kinds of excuses to avoid going to the gym, everything from the bad weather to just not feeling like it, but mostly I would tell myself that I don’t have time.
The fact that for several years, I’ve managed to go to [email protected] (31 Nassau Ave) at least once per week is a telltale sign of its appeal. I find [email protected] to be a warm, welcoming environment that distinguishes itself from your run-of-the-mill commercial gyms, and their signature Introversion Training whips me into shape in 30 minutes.
Self-proclaimed as a”Zen Chill Zone,” I can say from personal experience that [email protected] feels like a wellness sanctuary, rooted in the neighborhood but with elements reminiscent of exotic parts of the world. After a long week of work, I come here, push my muscles into exhaustion in the most meditative way. Continue reading →
Starting at the north end of Manhattan Ave., the restaurant formerly known as Barley (1025 Manhattan Ave), and recently before that Whiskey Burger, closed briefly in July and relaunched as the The Royal. For fans of the fomer incarnations of the restaurant, there are few changes to the new menu, and yes, the burger is still available.
Lockwood (98 Greenpoint Ave)
At 98 Greenpoint Avenue, the awning was installed on Thursday for the forthcoming expansion of the Queens-based lifestyle store Lockwood, which is scheduled for a Septermber opening, according to owner Mackenzi Farquer who spoke with Greenpointers about the expansion. Continue reading →
We’ve profiled myriad artists in our Thursday Spotlight series, but it’s rare we get the pleasure of speaking with a podcaster, especially one whose comedic prowess is as fierce as Stewart Fullerton’s. New to Greenpoint (but not the city), Stewart has been hosting a weekly podcast Stayin’ Humble with Stew for almost six months where she rebels against, celebrates, and (per the title) humbles pop culture and those who stir it.
The podcast is nihilistic with a life-affirming, souther gothic spin, and is rich in millennial upspeak without an ounce of irony. Stayin’ Humble with Stew highlights how New York rains on each of our parades when we step outside in Ray Bans, high on Kimmy Schmidt levels of hopeful and entrepreneurial spirit. Personal recounts pepper the episodes (a funny one follows our hostess through the Pride parade, forgetting her wallet in the gay shuffle while dizzy on stolen treats from Slack’s Narnia closet full of expensive snacks), as do tips on Venmo etiquette (it’s not that hard), how to feel about Taylor Swift (sentiments change like the weather), and who should be the face of the Me Too movement (spoiler: it’s Brad Pitt). Follow her on Insta here, and dive into her saucy responses below!
Greenpointers: She’s new to the nabe! How has it treated you? Any fave spots yet? Stewart Fullerton: I am absolutely loving this neighborhood. Everyone here is SO hot and the girls here wear the most creative flats I’ve ever seen. The second I moved all my stuff in I needed to go shopping for trendier clothes and a pair of clogs. I live right around the corner from Goldie’s Bar which is where I’m currently spending my paycheck. I also LOVE Three’s Brewing, best beer/ burger combo in the game. For my margaritas: Calexico, great happy hour. And shout out to Variety Coffee.
This pod has been going strong for a couple months now, I believe. What was the impetus for creating Stayin’ Humble with Stew? People have always told me I have the perfect face for podcasting. JK. As a comedian, you have to think of yourself as your own business and do anything you can do to get your name out there. Once I realized I wanted to start a podcast I knew I wanted it to be about celebrity culture in some way. Celebrities are not from the same planet as us mere mortals and I have always been obsessed with that. I also wanted my podcast to feel like a slumber party where I am catching up with my listeners. So I just combined my two favorite things, talking bad about celebrities and updating people on the humbling things that happen in my life. Also, starting a podcast is the new gluten free: everyone’s doing it!
We’re now in the final stretch of summer with temperate breezes setting in (for now) after a sultry July and the styles that Watching New York spotted last week in the neighborhood reflect the airiness of recent days. Effortless blazers, vests, flowing dresses and classic summer styles were all spotted in Greenpoint and Williamsburg last week; for more follow along at @WatchingNewYork.
Theresa Buchheisteris a successful artist because she is a generous one; through multiple festivals and off-the-beaten-path venues, clandestine locales and dive hives, she has created myriad opportunities for creators of various stripes to express themselves and their craft. How fitting that she should rise to be The Brick’s new Artistic Director.
The Brick (579 Metropolitan Avenue) has long been a haven for comediennes, interpreters of classics, and everything in between. Now, Theresa — founder of the lauded and Brooklyn-based Exponential Festival — takes her vast producorial and artistic know-how to Williamsburg’s vital and ever-evolving destination for cutting-edge theatrical experience. Get to know this indefatigable artist in this week’s Thursday Spotlight!
Greenpointers: We cover artists in Greenpoint, Bushwick, and Williamsburg — but it’s certainly not uncommon for folks to move in and out of the boroughs. If memory serves, you’ve moved around quite a bit during your time in New York, but so much of your work has touched these neighborhoods, right?
Theresa Buchheister: Indeed. The first shows I did in the early 2000s were more in the East Village and LES, as that is where weird and wild stuff was still happening. But, as that started to really really change around 2008, I found myself more and more in Brooklyn doing shows in the backs of CC Rentals (as part of the Night Market), on boats on the Gowanus Canal (with Jeff Stark), and in DIY music venues (RIP Silent Barn, Secret Project Robot, Shea Stadium, soon The Glove), as well as lovely theatrical spaces, like The Brick.
Title:Point was a part of Silent Barn for almost four years, and that was the first home we ever had. It really taught us a lot about what is possible when you have even a little patch of land to build on. Vital Joint is in East Williamsburg and we started doing things there almost three years ago, which has also been a great home base, especially being on the same block as Panoply Performance Lab, now called Parallel. There is a vibrance that comes from relentlessly working with artists of all practices and learning from them and also struggling to make things work — I have dealt with more dead rats and sewage and toilets than I ever predicted I would.
I love Brooklyn. It is my home. It is where amazing people live and venues come and go. But we all still keep finding ways.
After nearly 10 years in the neighborhood, Greenpoint wellness center, [email protected], is supercharging class offerings and launching a new retail space! To celebrate, on Saturday, August 17th, [email protected] is presenting a full day of free events, classes, entertainment in order to showcase their expanded group fitness class schedule and renovated retail space featuring local vendors.
The Ohm Room, the oasis that is home to daily group fitness classes, will be host to a full day of “teaser” classes, offering a bite-size taste of a variety of classes on the [email protected] line-up. Newer class additions including Power Vinyasa, Zumba and a weekly Tibetan Soundbath will be joining owner Dishan’s signature Introversion class and long-standing staple classes Tai Chi and Light Flow Yoga. A mid-day Plant Meditation will be led by Rossana Ines Rossi, host of upcoming Intro to Plant Medicine workshop and creator of the Victory Plant Medicine line sold in store. At noon the room will host a dreamcatcher making workshop led by Kate of Living the Dreamcatchers, which will send participants home with dreamcatchers of their own creation.
In addition, [email protected] is putting a spotlight on local vendors in the bright, renovated retail space, which has recently undergone a true transformation in the hands of local clothing designer and Greenpointers Market veteran, JWhite. Alongside JWhite, Bella Waera, Goodies 4 Goddesses, Victory Plant Medicine, The Fe Project, The Fanciful Fox, and many more local brands are on beautiful display and will be present to get to know the clientele that has been supporting their creative Brooklyn brands over the years.
Attendees can expect to cycle through the mini-classes while enjoying Henna art by Miss V, Nail Art by Priscilla, Tarot readings and shopping during breaks with mocktails sponsored by Chlorophyll Water, Monfefo Ginger Shots and Teas of the Valley. There will be incentives and specials, offering guests an intro price of $49 for their first month of studio membership as well as brand-specific product promotions.
(Sponsored post by [email protected], Greenpoint’s zen chill zone.) Established in 2010, [email protected] is home to a community of practitioners offering a wide span of holistic services in our beautiful space located steps from McCarren Park.
Through supportive fitness and wellness programs such as our well-rounded signature BEST Plan, [email protected] aspires to engage and empower the community through physical, mental, and social stimulation. We offer our clients a diverse schedule of events, classes, and workshops, as well as eastern body therapies and wellness coaching programs.
Our accessory retail space offers an eclectic selection of apothecary and other handmade goods crafted sustainably by local artisans.
National Sawdust is a leading non-profit music venue dedicated to building new audiences for classical and new music
National Sawdust, the hot-on-the-rise performing arts institution in Williamsburg, announced its landmark fifth anniversary, “Take Root.” This season will be focused on celebrating the artistic process, from incubation to dissemination, while honoring the local and global artistic community that National Sawdust serves.
An artistic home for creatives and an incubator of vital new works, National Sawdust has practiced a devotion to representation of voices. In its fifth season, National Sawdust deepens its ties to its community and digs into its roots with the Artists-In-Residence program, which takes artists’ work from incubation to dissemination. This season’s class of residents are Lucy Dhegrae, Ash Koosha, Against The Grain Theatre, Kinds of Kings, Mwenso & The Shakes, and Sonic.
For its fifth season, National Sawdust is dedicating a week to each of its diverse National Sawdust Curators to better ensure that the organization’s curatorial model provides an invaluable platform for the artists selected and guided by the curators to advance their careers through performances on National Sawdust’s stage. This season’s curators are Black Thought (Tariq Trotter) and Ted Hearne.
“Take Root” also sees the public debut of National Sawdust’s partnership with Juilliard: the BluePrint Fellowship Program, a dual-track career, project mentoring, and commissioning course designed to leverage the extensive project development and presenting experience of the National Sawdust team and guest women and female-identifying mentors to help bridge the fellows’ training and bring their interdisciplinary projects to completion at National Sawdust. Guest composers for this first round, spearheaded by Prestini, include Prestini, Claire Chase, Reena Esmail, Nathalie Joachim, Alex Temple, and Laura Kaminsky.
Also, National Sawdust continues to stretch the boundaries of creative possibility through the launch of a long-term sound partnership with legendary Berkeley company Meyer Sound. With the installation of Meyer Sound’s Constellation® acoustic system as well as its immersive component Spacemap®, National Sawdust builds upon its already stellar reputation as a place for bold experimentation and creativity. Spacemap’s sophisticated, multi-channel panning system provides artists an extraordinary amount of freedom to explore and play with three-dimensional spatial sound, while Constellation offers an almost unlimited palette of acoustic possibilities with the press of a button.
I hardly noticed when NYC’s gritty vibe, with graffiti ubiquitously peppering the subways, started fading away. I notice it more now, now that it has devolved into the realm of nostalgia, of how things used to be, and reemerged into a respected art form – enough to have mass-market appeal and allow a rebellious kid who went around tagging up to grow up and make a career out of these once seemingly aimless interests.
“Beyond The Streets,” an exhibition celebrating “street art, graffiti, and beyond” is the brainchild of Roger Gastman, born from his affinity for counter-culture. Underlying the grandiose scale at which the works of 150 artists show in over 100,000 sq ft of space at Williamsburg’s Twenty Five Kent, is a personal homage to the excitement and allure of those formative years that buttressed the evolution of his passions into a sold-out show in L.A. In its NYC debut, the array of art including new works from widely recognizable names like Shepard Fairey, show alongside ephemera for context and memorabilia from Roger’s personal collection.
The juxtaposition of underground and mainstream, of play and profound, sets a unique experience of discovery that appeals to visitors of all ages. One minute you stumble upon a collection of graffiti-ridden model trains by Tim Conlon and the next minute you will find yourself immersed in a beautiful installment of flowers by DabsMyla. The majority of artwork has been made exclusively for the show, and for those of us who are locals you might see some familiar names – FAILE, whose mural dons the brick wall in Transmitter Park, is one of the participating artists.
Introducing Fashion Sundae, a weekly look at the outfits and accessories spotted on the streets around the neighborhood. Greenpoint-based photographer Johnny Cirillo describes Fashion Sundae as an amalgam of trends and styles and people, like the toppings on a sundae. With the summer heat in full force, the styles this week featured shades, hats and inventive ways to show some skin. Scroll through for all of the looks and follow along during the week at Watching New York:
Courtesy of Johhny Cirillo/Watching NYCourtesy of Johhny Cirillo/Watching NY
Attendees can expect to cycle through the mini-classes while enjoying Henna art by Miss V, Nail Art by Priscilla, Tarot readings and shopping during breaks with mocktails sponsored by 
