We’re giving away tickets this week to Gazillion Bubble Show— Oprah says “It will blow your mind.” As a long- time radio announcer, Valerie Smaldone felt it incumbent to see Rock and Roll Man, the new musical about Alan Freed, the legendary DJ who coined the term “rock and roll.” Did you know some restaurants are now charging reservation fees? And museum fees are going up. A romance bookstore opens today in Brooklyn, and we have a few more event suggestions.  On the 11^th anniversary of Marvin Hamlisch’s death, our Broadway Babe has a special tribute. And our roving photographer is in Bushwick.

Gazillion Bubble Show More Unbubblievable Than Ever!

Celebrating 15 years in NYC, Gazillion Bubble Show is the unpoppable international hit for the whole family! Bubble lovers of all ages are delighted with an incredibubble experience, awashed with a bubble tide, and perhaps even find themselves inside a bubble. You have to experience it to bubblieve it! We’re giving away tickets and we have a discount offer. GET THE DETAILS.

Bryant Park Picnic Performances

Summer nights are alive with music and dance at Bryant Park. Just show up, it’s free, and the Bryant Park staff lends out hundreds of free blankets and provides ample bistro chairs. Food and drink is also available to purchase from local vendors. No registration is required and there are no lines to enter: it’s as easy as a walk in the park. Check out the August schedule.

August Performances starting at 7PM

11 – Joe’s Pub: Shaina Taub
18 – New York City Opera: From Vienna to Broadway!
19 – New York City Opera: Alessandro Lora in Concert
25 – Accordions Around the World: Diana Burco, Suistamon Sähkö, Ragini Ensemble
26 – Roulette Intermedium: Immanuel Wilkins, 75 Dollar Bill, Ka Baird

Restaurant Fees + Museums Up Prices

Open Table reports 28% of reservations are no shows, which is leading many restaurants to charge reservation deposit fees. Museums are hurting too, and the Guggenheim is raising its entry fee to $30, a 20% increase, a trend that includes price increases from the Met and the Whitney. Fortunately, some of our museums are free all the time, and many have free museum days. Check out this list.

Women’s Work—a New Exhibit at NY Historical Society

What is “women’s work?” How have broad trends in American economic, legal, and political history encouraged women to take certain jobs and restricted them from “men’s work?” How have race, ethnicity, social class, legal status, sexual orientation, and gender presentation impacted these distinctions?

In a new exhibition, the Center for Women’s History showcases approximately 45 objects from New-York Historical’s own Museum and Library collections to demonstrate how “women’s work” defies categorization. The items range from a 19th-century mahogany cradle to a 20th-century doctor’s dissection kit to a pinback button with the message “Shirley Chisholm for President.” The exhibition seeks to demonstrate that women’s work has been essential to American society and is inherently political: Women’s work is everywhere.  Get the details.

The Ripped Bodice—a Romantic Bookstore

What a great idea. Two sisters opened this bookstore LA in 2016 and is was so successful they opened one in Brooklyn. In fact, the grand opening is today. They’ll be hosting events and author book signings too.

The Ripped Bodice features a vast and diverse selection of romance fiction. In addition to books, the store has a wide selection of gift items with a focus on supporting independent, woman owned businesses. The store and its owners undertake several large projects each year including The Ripped Bodice State of Racial Diversity in Romance Report, the Read, Romance, Repeat subscription box and the development of television projects based on romance novels in association with Sony Pictures Television. Learn more.

Roving In Bushwick

Our roving photographer, Nicole Freezer Rubens says:

People go to Bushwick to see the organized colorful murals of some great graffiti artists scattered on the industrial buildings. I found color in the chaos and history of the streets. I was on my way to Roberta’s Pizza when the light of the late daylight hour and the texture of the streets led me on a quick tour of this neglected part of the neighborhood.

In the 1960’s and 70’s Bushwick deteriorated from a tidy area to a no man’s land. The devastating results of looting and arson during New York City’s blackout of 1977 led to long lasting extreme damage and a lengthy decline in the area. Since the turn of the century when nearby Brooklyn neighborhoods became gentrified, so too did bereft Bushwick. Young professionals and many artists have moved in and today Bushwick is known as an urban artist’s enclave.

Wandering around before dinner in the pizza garden, I was in awe of how beautifully the litter, the abandoned and renovated buildings all came together under the clouds. It was indeed “beautiful peace”.

Broadway Babe: Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch

Our Broadway Babe, Randie Levine-Miller, has some terrific finds including an incredible concert by Marvin Hamlisch and the Pittsburgh Pops Orchestra, that she’s posting in memory of Marvin who died August 6, 2012. It’s all very special and nostalgic as Marvin and Randie knew each other since he was the music counselor, and she was a camper at Camp Geneva in the 1960s. Plus she has some other rare finds.GET THE DETAILS.