Summer kicks off this weekend in Central Park with Summer Stage free concerts and Bryant Park kicks off Culture Picnic Performances.  Our favorite mother and daughter duo, have a new show. The legendary Marilyn Maye is being honored. Standup comic, Carole Montgomery is hosting a very funny show about aging. Spirituality Week is happening now. Our Tomato pal Sharon Marantz Walsh is premiering her new art collection. Valerie Smaldone has the scoop on a theatrical experience called “Bourbon on Broadway.” And our roving photographer, who is also a top interior designer, was roving at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House. Missed our Renewal Summit? Check out the highlights and the full panel videos.

Summer Stage Starts this Weekend

Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage is back with nearly 80 free and benefit performances in 13 parks across all five boroughs. There are two shows in Central Park this weekend. Throughout the season you will find salsa, jazz, indie-rock, country, bhangra, afrobeats, opera, and so much more. Check out the full schedule.

June 1 – Sept. 14. Culture Picnic Performances at Bryant Park

The Culture Picnic Performances has kicked off with a series of 25 free concerts, dance performances and theatrical events presented free of charge, at Bryant Park. At each Cultural Picnic Performance, discover new dishes and celebrate classics from the five boroughs with a rotating line-up of local artisanal food vendors, curated by the Hester Street Fair. Check out the schedule.

June 2-11. Spirituality Week

Founded by former CEO of the Open Center, Ross Guttler and Peter Corbett, Spirituality Week is an answer to these changing and often stressful times, and was founded on the mission to enhance the spiritual lives of New Yorkers and its visitors by offering workshops, community based celebrations and immersive experiences for all.

The event will take place from June 2-11 with over 200 sessions including meditation, sound healing, breath work, sex and spirituality, finding inner harmony, celebration of life after death and much more, hosted by emerging practitioners and at major spiritual centers.  The Festival will open on Friday, June 2nd at 4 PM at the Rubin Museum.  A  listing of the events and further information at www.spiritualityweek.org.

Our friend, Sonia Satra, will conduct an interactive workshop on Sunday, June 8th, from 3 to 5 PM at the beautiful Tibet House.  Her topic is “Manifestation through Movement”, a 7-step approach to align the body, mind and spirit to identify strategies to create your “best life”.  Sonia is the CEO/Founder of Moticise and author of “What If It Were Easy: Using Movement and Mindset to Create Success in Life, Love, and Business.”  Sign up here.

June 8. NYC’s Favorite Mother & Daughter Duo at Don’t Tell Mama

VANGARI: NYC’s favorite mother/daughter duo, Evangeline and Ariana Johns, with Darryl Curry on piano, will perform their new show, ‘MOON TUNES & MAD THINGS’! at Don’t Tell Mama. Get your tickets.

​Check out the reviews of their recent show, ‘Funny You Should Ask’, on Night Life Exchange and on DC Theatre Arts, which was nominated for four Broadway World Awards! Watch their sizzle reel!

June 12. What’s So Funny About Aging

Standup comic and producer Carole Montgomery is hosting a very fun evening —a storytelling event featuring comedians, activists, and actors as they explore the art of aging well. Carole was one of the panelists at our Renewal Summit, and she is the creator of the Showtime series, Funny Women of a Certain Age.

June 12 @7PM at the Caveat 21A Clinton Street. Get details and tickets.

June 12. American Song Society Honors Marilyn Maye

Hot off her sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall, Marilyn Maye will be this year’s honoree at the American Song Society annual benefit. This concert will feature an incredible array of Broadway and Cabaret performers. Get the details.

Roving in a Mansion

Our roving photographer, Nicole Freezer Rubins, who is also one of NYC’s top interior designers says for a dose of really solid “more is more” decor, visit the 48th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House. This year’s house is a gem named River Mansion, located at 337 Riverside Drive at 106th Street. The 10,000 square foot home was completed in 1902 and has been owned by many theatre people over the last century. Drama abounds as many of the rooms are fun, colorful and certainly whimsical.

The unique innovations are evident with much one-of-a-kind artisan craft and hand painting throughout. Some of the designers include many of my favorites, David Scott Interiors, Ghislaine Viñas, Sasha Bikoff Interior Design, Wesley Moon, Inc. and Yellow House Architects. Their installations may be as far from reality as the dream of purchasing this house for $24 million, but spending time combing through the maze of magical rooms provides not only an escape but endless inspiration for how we can live. The entrance fee benefits the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club. The show runs through June 6th. Get the details.

Nicole Freezer Rubens is the author of poetry/photo book, “The Long Pause and the Short Breath.” Follow her on https://www.instagram.com/nfrconsult/

June 21. A “Scensory” Evening of Art, Fragrance and Bubbly

Tomatoes, you’re invited to raise a toast to our dear friend Sharon Marantz Walsh, as she premiers her new collection:  L’Essence d’une Femme, at Sue Phillips Fragrance Salon. Sharon’s Art is seen in homes and offices, nationally as well as internationally, soon to be seen in galleries in Montreal and LA.

Sue has created custom fragrances for celebrities, Fortune Five Hundred clients as well as clients who wants to wear an individualized fragrance, created especially just for them. Put the date in your calendar and RSVP now, at 646-541-4452 because space is limited.