UC Recap- October 19 – October 24

By Led Black

October 19 – October 24

Halloween is here, people… Uptown parents looking for a safe and fun event for their children, look no further than The Inwood Center (5030 Broadway @ 213th Street), which will once again host their annual Halloween event on Friday, October 30th from 3:30 to 5:30 pm. On Halloween day the Morris-Jumel Mansion will host their fourth annual Culture and Arts Festival. One of New York City’s most beloved community events, the Festival (called CAFé for short) gathers uptown Manhattan’s finest artists, musicians, artisans and restaurateurs or an afternoon of performance, craft and tastings. This year, CAFé coincides with Morris-Jumel’s 250th Anniversary. To mark the occasion, Morris-Jumel is dedicating the event to the neighborhood of Washington Heights—Morris-Jumel’s friend and steward for 250 years. Headlining the fourth annual CAFé is Leslie Odom Jr., the singer and actor currently earning rave reviews for his portrayal of Aaron Burr in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash musical Hamilton.

Michael Kamber of the Bronx Documentary Center penned a must-read piece in the NY Times about the creeping gentrification that the South Bronx is bracing for and the Bronx Photo League, which is dedicated to documenting the wrenching changes taking place.

A group of Northern Manhattan residents are taking to the stage with their new play Better Than You to speak out about racism facing Latinos. Community-based organization People’s Theatre Project is developing the play, based on the community actors’ true stories. The play will be presented in an interactive and bilingual community-brainstorming event on Friday, November 6th and Saturday, November 7th at 7:30pm at the Alianza Dominicana Cultural Center, 530 W 166th St. Admission for both performances is Pay-What-You-Can.

Ligaya Mishan of the NY Times has an uncanny knack for picking excellent ethnic restaurants. This time around she takes us to Safari, which is serving outstanding Somali food in Harlem. In fact, according to the article, Safari “may be the only Somali restaurant in New York City.” Needless to say, I will be taking the wife there on the next date night.

Spies always go undercover and wear masks to infiltrate hideouts. What happens if everyone has the same idea at the same time? The latest video from the funny folks at Room 28 provides the answer.

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.