How did we fast forward to Labor Day? Summer may be waning, but we have lots of fall activities to look forward to. Tickets are now on sale for our tenth and FINAL Tomatoes Got Talent show. We have your VIP invite for a fab book event next week. Checkout the Vintage Bus Festival at Brooklyn Bridge Park. There’s an awesome Italian Feast around the corner, and it’s probably not the one you are thinking of.  Join our friends at She Leads for their upcoming conference (special discount for Tomatoes.) And our roving photographer is roving in Red Hook, a neighborhood that forever bounces back.

Join Us for the Grand Finale of Tomatoes Got Talent!

On Monday, October 14, 2024, Cheryl Benton and Randie Levine-Miller proudly present the TENTH and FINAL Tomatoes Got Talent show. This spectacular evening will feature the extraordinary winners from all our past shows, promising an unforgettable night of talent, special surprises, and heartfelt tributes. Celebrate with us as we conclude a remarkable decade of showcasing the incredible talents of women over 40 who shine outside the world of show business. Don’t miss this chance to be part of a truly special event! GET THE DETAILS.

 Sept. 5. VIP Invite

You’re invited to join us at a celebration for Carol Ostrow’s beautiful poetry book. It will be a fun evening of poetry, wine, cheese, and chocolate plus a 10% discount from our host venue, Studio 79, that houses a beautiful clothing boutique on the West Side, where everything is $99 or less! THE EVENT IS FREE, BUT YOU MUST RSVP.

Sept. 8, The Ferragosto Festival on Arthur Avenue

Head to the real “Little Italy” on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx on Sunday, September 8th for the Ferragosto Festival with fabulous food, wonderful live entertainment, and great fun. Going back centuries, the Ferragosto tradition recognizes the end of the harvest season and enjoying the fruits of those labors. Over 25 years ago, the merchants of Arthur Avenue and East 187th Street decided to bring the Italian celebration to the Bronx, and engage visitors in Italian culture, traditions, musical and theatrical entertainment, and of course, the most delicious food. Since then, the Ferragosto Festival continues to grow each year, attracting thousands of guests who travel from near and far to make it part of their own family tradition. GET THE DETAILS.

Sept. 8. The Vintage Bus Festival

The New York Transit Museum’s beloved festival of vintage buses returns! Explore vintage buses representing more than 90 years of New York City surface transit history. Enjoy photo ops, meet some of the bus drivers who help keep our city moving, check out our pop-up shop, and take in the view of the Manhattan skyline from the Emily Roebling Plaza underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. Feature above is the “The Betsy” introduced in 1931 and stayed in service until 1947. Bus Festival is free! Advanced registration is encouraged but not required. GET THE DETAILS.

Sunday, September 8, 2024 | 10am – 3:30pm ET| Emily Warren Roebling Plaza, Brooklyn Bridge Park| Free!

More About “The Betsy”

Bus 1263 was part of Fifth Avenue Coach’s “1200 series”- 100 Yellow Coach “Z-type” buses manufactured in 1930. This series consisted of two slightly different chassis models, 602 and 632. There were three body style designs: open-top (40 buses), semi-enclosed (four buses), and fully-enclosed top (56 buses). Bus No.1263 was one of the 52 enclosed model 602’s in the order. Fifth Avenue’s 1200-series buses were among the last front-engine double-deck buses made by Yellow Coach. In 1936, the company introduced a new rear-engine, more streamlined design. Bus No. 1263 remained in Manhattan passenger service until 1947 and the Fifth Avenue Coach phased out all double decker operations in 1953. Today, Bus 1263 is the oldest bus in our vintage fleet.  Source:  The MTA

Roving in Red Hook

Our roving photographer, Nicole Freezer Rubens says:

Red Hook in Brooklyn, is a neighborhood that is forever bouncing back. It has lived 9 lives since it was settled in 1636 and known mostly as a bustling seaport. In the 1950s and 60s, the Gowanus Expressway opened, and the docks began to close, leading to several decades of extreme decline. In 1990 Life Magazine named it one of the worst crime-ridden areas in the country. In 2012 Hurricane Sandy destroyed much of the enclave, yet Red Hook has always bounced back.

Aptly some of our beloved celebrities hail from here, including athlete Carmelo Anthony, gangster Al Capone, authors Norman Mailer and James McBride, and actors Eli Wallach and Michelle Williams. This roster sums up the cross-culture of Red Hook. Today it thrives as a creative collective community.

The New York City subway does not kiss the heart of Red Hook, keeping its gentrification at a slower rate than its neighboring counterparts. This is why I like strolling around there. After a 2-year absence, I found many new shops, including a plant store in a vintage camper, a collective art gallery, a great garage sale and as always, very friendly and welcoming residents. Red Hook defines the word neighborhood, and this one is clearly a survivor.

~Nicole Freezer Rubens is the author of “The Long Pause and the Short Breath”

Oct. 18-19. She Leads LIVE Conference and Discount Offer

Our friend Adrienne Garland, founder of She Leads is offering Tomatoes a 10% discount for the next conference which will be awesome and a celebration of their tenth anniversary. You will experience two full days of connecting with like-minded, driven women to learn, grow, and share both the successes and challenges of growing your business and planning for the future!