Category Archives: Events

Celebrate Harlem Week with Marcus Samuelsson with Macy’s A-Go-Go Food Truck

I have more details about Marcus Samuelsson’s July 31 participation in “Macy’s Chefs A-Go-Go,” a national food truck tour showcasing the Macy’s Culinary Council. The Macy’s Food Truck is rolling into upper Manhattan-126th Street and Riverside Drive to be exact-with our fellow Harlemite during Harlem Week, a month long celebration of the culture, arts, civil rights, politics, religion and community education. Perfect timing! Love it!

From noon to 4:00 p.m., Red Rooster Harlem owner and Chef Marcus Samuelsson will be on board at the Harlem stop, cooking his signature recipes and dishing them out for free! And guess what Marcus will be cooking? He will be serving catfish sandwiches with fried caper slaw and sweet potato fries! Yummy! That sounds delicious for lunch on Sunday, July 31.

If you have not tried Marcus Samuelsson’s cuisine, here is your opportunity! And the best ingredient in Marcus’ food that day, it’s FREE! See you at 126th and Riverside, July 31 at noon! Cheers!

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Come to Land Yoga Harlem Grand Opening Celebration, discounts to be offered

Land Yoga in Harlem at 2110 Frederick Douglass Blvd has been open for about a month and like most new businesses in Harlem, it hasn’t had a slow day since. Their schedule is in full swing, students are showing up in large numbers in LED classes and specialty teachers are in place, such as a health and wellness counselor. With these building blocks in place, it is now time to celebrate with a grand opening celebration. Land Yoga Harlem invites you to their grand opening this Saturday, July 23 from 4-7:00 pm. Lots of cool stuff are planned. Here is the lowdown:

  • There will be yoga demonstrators doing yoga in front of the building!
  • Packets of material will be available that includes schedule, regular and one day only party rates, and information on wellness practitioners: Ed Genece, Serena Dawn, and Candice Taylor!
  • All retail will be 10% during the party!
  • Free reiki or wellness treatments and henna will be offered!
  • The yoga room will be decorated in a moody world theme with flowers and candles by Franz James Floral and accented with music design by DJ David Chang.
  • There will be a sampling of all natural, no cal sokenbicha tea by Anita Bryant.
  • Food and Drink will be provided by 5 and Diamond, 67 Orange, bier international, Harlem Tavern, Lido Italian Restaurant and Bar, Nectar, Red Rooster Harlem, Society, and Zoma.
  • Land Yoga will announce one day discounts, which can be added to any existing package.
  • A PERKS program will be launched, which will offer gift cards from bier international, Lido, and Society for 3, 6, and 12 month Land memberships. 3, 6, and 12 month members also get in-house perks such as 5%, 10%, and 20% off wellness services and retail discounts too!
  • Also, Land Yoga will introduce a Friday night interactive workshop series, a workshop on Mindful Eating hosted by wellness guru Candice Taylor and based off the book Savor, which is sold at Land Yoga.
  • Special guests include the local Daily Troop. They will be in attendance in uniform. Land Yoga is a site sponsor for the local Daisy troop.
  • And most importantly, Land Yoga will be raising money for a local food bank.

So a lot is happening for Land Yoga’s celebration. Come out Saturday afternoon and have some fun with us. I will be there as well as some of my fellow yoga classmates! Hope to see you there!

Burger drama in East Harlem could prove profitable for Milk Burger

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There is a burger-gate happening right now in our own backyard. The owners of East Harlem’s Milk Burger, located at 2056 Second Avenue, are currently fighting off accusations that they cloned their menu and website from the popular and expensive Shake Shack. This all came about when SeriousEats.com blog posted about Milk Burger’s marketing material looking very similar to Shake Shack. The burger drama happened in the last 24 hours.

So where does the burger drama currently stand? Milk Burger has taken all previous material down from their website and has a static page up. The owner has given interviews explaining it was a mistake executed by an intern, and a ton of free press has been given to an East Harlem establishment that most businesses could only dream of!

In summary, this whole burger drama talking place between David (Milk Burger) and Goliath (Shake Shack) could prove profitable for one business here. Milk Burger just opened. They are not the Rupert Murdoch of hamburgers. I believe the owner. It was an honest mistake. He probably just looked at the material that was presented to him for sign off and quickly approved it. Now there is only one place to potentially go from here when you’re starting a business at the bottom…and that’s up!

My advice to the owner of Milk Burger, start drafting the apology letter to Shake Shack and a big fat thank you note to SeriousEats. You are about to get some serious burger business! Who is going with me to eat at Milk Burger in East Harlem?

Manhattan Valley and Morningside Heights Town Hall

For those interested in voicing their concerns or have questions about Manhattan Valley and Morningside Heights, there is a town hall meeting this Thursday, July 21, with elected officials and government agencies at The Church of the Ascension, located at 221 West 107th Street. Start time is 6:00 p.m. See details below to RSVP!

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A Midsummers Night Picnic in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park

The Mount Morris Park Community Improvement Association (MMPCIA) is holding their annual A Midsummer Night’s Picnic in the Park in Harlem today, July 19, in Marcus Garvey Park. This is the time when MMPCIA says thank you to its current member and welcomes new members.

The Summer Picnic is free to existing members and to those who want to join or renew their membership. There is an additional cost of $10 for family of members and friends who are not quite ready to join. Children 12 and under are free.

If you decide to attend this event today,please RSVP and register your dish ASAP by e-mailing: membership@mmpcia.org.

The potluck picnic is from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Enter Marcus Garvey Park in the SW corner, near the  West 120th Street entrance. For more information, click here.

‘Prince of New Orleans’ to open Davell Underground in Spanish Harlem


This has got to be the best news I have read any Saturday morning. Nola.com, a Louisiana publication, is reporting that Davell Crawford, a musical sensation from New Orleans and dubbed ‘Prince of New Orleans,’ is opening up Davell Underground, August 11, in Spanish Harlem. Davell Underground will be “a new performance space in a former storage room within The Kiosk, a Moroccan restaurant and hookah joint located at East 116th and Park Avenue. This location is right by Urban Garden Center and La Marqueta!

The article says Davell Crawford, who moved to New York City after Hurricane Katrina, and his business partner plan to present live music several nights a week in Spanish Harlem. The roster will include such New Orleanians as Charmaine Neville, Donald Harrison Jr., Delfeayo Marsalis, Benny Turner and Herlin Riley. Crawford also plans to feature New Yorker musicians, including the flutist Bobbi Humphrey.

Crawford tells Nola.com that “I don’t want to call it a ‘club.’ It’s a ‘room. We will have great music there for as long as the people of New York want to accept it, and as long as I can keep it rolling.”

This Harlemite will accept Davell Underground. Count me in. I will be there in Spanish Harlem, August, to listen to music from New Orleans! Yeah!

Listen now to Davell Crawford!

Macy’s Chefs A-Go-Go Food Truck with Harlem’s own, Marcus Samuelsson

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I came across an advertisement in The New York Times-dining section this week talking about Macy’s first-ever food truck featuring Chef Marcus Samuelsson. With anything that says “first-ever,” I inquired further to see what’s up with our fellow Harlemite. This is the deal. “Macy’s Chefs A-Go-Go,” a national food truck tour showcasing the Macy’s Culinary Council, is rolling into New York City this month with two stops. One of those two stops is happening in Harlem!

On Sunday, July 31 Marcus Samuelsson, who owns Red Rooster Harlem and resides in the area, will be at 126th Street and Riverside Drive from noon to 4 p.m. on Macy’s Chefs A-Go-Go Food Truck cooking his signature recipes and dishes for those that pass by the food truck for FREE! That’s right! The food Marcus will be cooking on the food truck will be given out for free! I don’t know exactly what Marcus will be cooking yet. However once I find out, I will pass along!

So if you haven’t tasted Marcus Samuelsson’s fabulous food creations before, now is your chance…and for free! All you have to do is go by Macy’s first-ever food truck on July 31, which will be parked with Marcus inside at 126th and Riverside Drive.

For those interested in the first stop of the Macy’s Food Truck, it is happening this weekend, July 16, downtown at Union Square’s Farmers Market with Chef Todd English.

See you at the Macy’s Food Truck in Harlem!

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Harlem Yoga Studio presents Shaking Spirit Waves 5Rhythms

Harlem Yoga Studio, located at 44 West 125th Street has added on an interesting and unique class to their schedule. Starting today, July 14, and every Thursday, Harlem Yoga Studio is offering Shaking Spirit Waves 5Rhythms (R) at 5:30 pm to 6:45 pm, The 5Rhythms is a movement based meditation. There are no dance steps or choreography. The class is designed to allow you to simply move to be moved.

Tonight’s class is the first ever class in Harlem according to Kierra, the instructor. So check it out come and shake yourself free in the Shaking Spirit Waves class Thursdays 5:30 to 6:45 at Harlem Yoga Studio. To get there, take trains: 2, 3 to 125th & Lenox or A, B, C, or D train to 125th & St. Nick.

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Catch Reel Harlem in Jackie Robinson Park

Reel Harlem, an annual summer event covering music and film continues. Tonight, July 13th, festivities are in the Jackie Robinson Park Bandshell, 148th St. & Bradhurst Avenue

At 7:00 pm hear the National Jazz Museum All Stars-a Latin Jazz Tribute.

Starting at 8:30 pm, see From Mambo to Hip Hop , a film that covers in one hour the incredible history of a community that, despite the odds, fuelled a musical revolution. From Mambo to Hip Hop delivers a terrific insight into the post war jazz and mambo era and traces the evolution of music from salsa to disco to hip hop. This is a story rooted in the South Bronx and it’s a tale told with both pride and passion.

Then Thursday, July 14 at 8:30 p.m., also at Jackie Robinson Park, the National Black Programming Consortium presents When the Drum is Beating. The movie explores Haiti’s complex past and present through the music of 62-year-old Septentrional, the country’s oldest and best-known band and the memories of its founder and leader Ulric Pierre-Louis. As Haiti disintegrates around them, three generations of musicians who make up the band struggle to go on and prevent this national treasure from being lost.

All of these events are FREE and brought to you by the Maysles Cinema and other various Harlem organizations!

Celebrate Bastille Day this week at Harlem’s bier international

We just celebrated our Independence Day. Now its time to celebrate the French! This week bier international in Harlem, our popular and most successful beer garden to date, is honoring our ally by organizing three days worth of events celebrating Bastille Day.

Starting tonight (July 12) there will be live music with Floanne,  a native French talent (actress, singer and director) based in New York City. Hear ‘Its ok to be alone’ by Floanne.

Wednesday (July 13) they will have a DJ spinning Afro-French beats. Thursday (July 14), bier international will have live French accordion music playing. And of course, their menu will feature French specials in honor of Bastille Day along with your favorite beer.

So if you want to celebrate Bastille Day right here in Harlem, bier international, located at 2099 Frederick Douglass Blvd, is giving Harlemites plenty of opportunities! Merci bier international!