Category Archives: Community

One week away, Harlem Harvest Festival October 6

Some of us will be checking out the Common Ground Festival today in Morningside Park, but then a week later its time to head over to the Harlem Harvest Festival on October 6, which I believe its in its third or fourth year. The Festival starts at 116th Street and St. Nicholas Avenue. See details below and read last year’s blog post on the Harlem Harvest Festival.

Old Harlem newspaper stand becomes The Harlem Pearl by 5 and Diamond and The Lyn-Genet Plan

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For those of you wondering what’s up with the old Harlem newspaper stand at 112th Street and Frederick Douglass Blvd and why it was getting a makeover? HarlemGal has the answer. This old vintage newspaper shed, which is owned by the owners of 5 and Diamond Harlem, will be turned into The Harlem Pearl, which is where The Lyn-Genet Plan and 5 and Diamond Harlem are coming together to bring to our community The Plan’s 4-Day Detox to go. More info to come on The Plan.

This is good news! What a great use of this space! And it’s being used for something extremely meaningful and helpful to us all, which is our health. I love this new partnership and what it means. Way to go Lia and Selene! What do you think about this? Do you like how the space is being used?

And guess what, we are all invited to learn more about The Harlem Pearl. Hint: save the date of October 2 in the evening. Stay tuned for more…

Attend Morningside Park’s Common Ground Festival in Harlem

Have no plans for Saturday? Head on over to Morningside Park in Central Harlem for the Common Ground Festival, organized by Friends of Morningside Park. The Common Ground Festival takes place on Saturday, September 29 from 2 to 8 pm. Enter at 114th Street and Morningside Avenue.

This year the Common Ground Festival will feature pony rides, lantern making, various dance performances, music and will also align with the “Morningside Lights” Arts Festival installation and puppet parade.

The Common Ground Festival will also have several food vendors, including Snap Food Truck, Yogo Frozen Yogurt and Cuzinz Duzins.

Should be a fun day! See you there!

Attend Maysles Members Night Out in Harlem

Listen up! The Maysles Institute in Harlem will be hosting an exclusive event soon for its members. It’s one you don’t want to miss if you love Cuban history as I do (see blog post on visit to Cuba). And if you’re not a member, you may want to become one to meet fellow members from the Harlem and NYC area.

Maysles Cinema, which is located at 343 Lenox Avenue between 127th and 128 Street, is having a reception for members only on Monday, October 15 at 6:30 pm. After the reception, Maysles Cinema will be screening the film titled Cuba: An African Odyssey at 7:30 pm. “Cuba: An African Odyssey explores the 300,000 Cubans who fought alongside African revolutionaries: from Che Guevara’s military campaign to avenge Lumumba in the Congo up to the fall of apartheid in South Africa. Cuba, an African Odyssey is the previously untold story of Cuba’s support for African revolutions, one of the Cold War’s most vigorous contests over resources and ideology.” Click here to watch a trailer of the film.

As mentioned,  this event is exclusive to Maysles cinema members and requires a reservation to attend. To RSVP email member@mayslesinstitute.org and to become a member go to mayslesinstitute.org/membership.

Hope to see you there!

West Harlem’s Morningside Heights to get its own glossy magazine

Read all about it right here. You’re the first to learn that Morningside Heights, a section of Harlem located on the Westside, is getting their own general interest magazine reporting on all aspects of living in the area. The magazine will be named…Morningside Heights (of course) and plans to profile “local people, business owners, restaurant reviews, calendar of events, trends, and ideas that capture the spirit of life in Morningside Heights” in West Harlem.

The publication debuts in December and will be mailed to 5,000 residents of Morningside Heights. Interested to know more about Morningside Heights magazine, email morningsideheights@hibu.com.

The Harlem International Film Festival starts September 19 at the Schomburg Center

The 2012 Harlem International Film Festival starts tomorrow Wednesday, September 19 at 7pm at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, located at 515 Lenox Ave (at West 135 Street). Opening night begins with the World Premiere Showcase of Theodore Collatos’ film MOVE and the New York Premiere of HERMAN’S HOUSE.

The Harlem International Film Festival runs from September 19-23, 2012. For more details visit www.HarlemFilmFestival.com.

The African-American Day Parade in Photos, Harlem

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Enjoyed the African-American Day Parade today in Harlem. Here’s a look in photos! Enjoy!

Harlem to star in Lenox Avenue, a web series

The Huffington Post reports today that actor and filmmaker Al Thompson is working on a digital series “that showcases Harlem’s influential culture” in Lenox Avenue. According to the article, Lenox Avenue is centered on three friends as they navigate through the challenging dating scene in Harlem, which is a lot of territory to cover when it comes to “looking for the one.” And Mr. Thompson is from Harlem (born and raised), so he’s been witnessing its change and felt it was time for Harlem to be depicted in a positive light on the web other than the stereotypical TV series or films we have seen in the past, such as New Jack City or New York Undercover.

To read the entire article with Al Thompson, go here, or go to LenoxAvenueSeries.com to learn more about the web series.

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‘Growing Up Gonzales’ coming to The Poets Den Theater in East Harlem


“Growing Up Gonzales,” the dramatic comedy which had a successful run at the Jan Hus Playhouse on East 74th Street, is coming to East Harlem.  It’s a one-man play “about a Nuyorican family in the 1970s, is part stand-up, part melodrama and part cultural tourism.”

Previews of  “Growing Up Gonzales” run from October 18-21 at The Poets Den Theater in East Harlem and then a few days later the official show begins October 25. The Poets Den Theater is located at 309 East 108th Street between First and Second Avenue. Click here to buy tickets.

And if you’re interested in contributing to the community play, the production of “Growing Up Gonzales” started a campaign on Indiegogo to cover some production costs with launching the show in East Harlem. All levels of contribution are welcome from as low as one dollar up to several hundreds of dollars. Go to Indiegogo.com to learn more.

Where to purchase a Harlem tee?

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A reader from Plano, Texas recently wrote HarlemGal Inc asking where can one purchase a t-shirt that says Harlem on it if one doesn’t live in Harlem? The answer: there are plenty of options to purchase a Harlem tee if you don’t live in Harlem!

The largest Harlem online community on Facebook known as Harlem NYC recently started to sell unisex t-shirts that say…what else, but Harlem NYC on it. Go here to purchase a t-shirt for $12.50. To get that price, more than 50 t-shirts have to be printed.

On twitter, several followers have told HarlemGal that a site called Harlem Lives sells men and women t-shirts that say Harlem on it. And apparently, there is a sale going on at this site according to a follower. Harlem Lives tees run from about $19 to $25.

Harlem Underground offers consumers the opportunity to buy Harlem t-shirts online and in stores as well. Harlem Underground has two locations. Their first is on 20 East 125th Street. And recently, they opened their second store in Harlem on Frederick Douglass Blvd between 119th Street and 120th. Harlem Underground tees cost from $16 all the way up to $30.

Harlem t-shirts are also offered in stores only at Swing Concept and Bebenoir in Harlem. And let’s not forget along 125th Street. Street vendors sell Harlem t-shirts for as low as $10!

If there are other places to purchase Harlem t-shirts, drop us line here in the comments section!