UC Recap – May 11 – May 16
By Led Black
May 11 – May 16
The first annual Harlem Eat Up! Festival took place this past weekend and it was really something incredible. Former President Bill Clinton stopped by and praised Harlem’s vibrant cuisine, culture and spirit. Such well-recognized chefs as Aaron Sanchez, Bobby Flay and George Duran, just to name a few, took part in the food and culture extravaganza. Organized by Chef and entrepreneur extraordinaire, Marcus Samuelsson, the Harlem Eat Up! Festival boasted ticketed dinners at a plethora of local spots as well as panel discussions. Morningside Park was alive with Harlem vendors offering some truly delicious fare, culinary demos and live performances. I also attended a TimesTalks event at Mist Theater featuring Bill T. Jones, Marc Bamuthi Joseph and Touré. I can’t wait to see what they have in store for next year.
The latest episode of Ñ Don’t Stop takes a look at the unprecedented amount of Garifuna women that migrated to the United States from Honduras in 2014. Lucy Pagoada, of Honduras USA Resistencia, talks about the problems that the Garifuna community faced and what lead them to flee to the United States. The episode also featured hip-hop artist Nitty Scott.
Susan Delson of the Wall Street Journal penned a great story on the current exhibit at the venerable Morris Jumel Mansion. Yinka Shonibare MBE: Colonial Arrangements, runs through August 31st and consists of sculptural figures installed throughout the building. The exhibit is one of the many specials events being held to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Morris Jumel Mansion.
Cole Thompson of My Inwood takes us back to 1935 for a prizefight that drew some fifteen thousand boxing fanatics to the Dyckman Oval to watch Sixto Escobar and Lou Salica duke it out for the world bantamweight championship title. Andrew Mambo of WNYC highlighted the non-profit work of Ice Hockey In Harlem, which has been teaching young people in Harlem to skate and place ice hockey since 1987.
Don’t forget folks, The 2015 Uptown Arts Stroll kicks off on Friday, May 29th, 2015 at 6:30 pm at the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling (898 St. Nicholas Avenue). On May 30th, El Carnaval del Boulevard takes place on St. Nick from 181st to 188th street.
Keep checking us out at www.uptowncollective.com.
Led Black
Editor-in-Chief
The Uptown Collective
The UC’s mission is to become “the” definitive, transformative and community-based force impacting the arts, culture, business and New York City’s overall perception of Upper Manhattan. Its objective is to reset, reboot and positively redefine Uptown’s artistic, political, cultural and business spheres via the online space as well the collective’s initiatives and functions.
