Board Games December 22, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: American Folk Art Museum, art, Art exhibit, Board Games, checkers, chess, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, NYC, Percheesi
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Games have become BIG! I would imagine that you and your friends are wordle-ing, crossword puzzling, Scrabbling, Monopoly-ing, and all of the other newer digital games available today. One of my favorite museums in NYC is the American Folk Art Museum. Their current show Playing with Design: Gameboards, Art, and Culture, demanded two visits by me and I loved it both times. From the fabulous collection of Bruce and Doranna Wendel, it features over 100 game boards dating back to the 18th century. The exhibition includes early examples of classic games of Parcheesi, checkers, and chess, as well as hand-painted iterations of Monopoly and Chutes and Ladders made in the United States between the mid-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. This fascinating exhibit is on through January 26th, 2025. FYI – the wonderful exhibition at the Shed, Luna Luna has extended its run. It is now on through February 23rd and I encourage your going to experience it.
Aloft December 15, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: champagne, NYC, Observatory, Panoramic views, photography, Rockefeller Center, Rockefeller Christmas Tree, Santa, Skylift, The Beam, Top of the Rock
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My friend Robyn is my ‘go to’ pal who will climb any mountain, soar into the sky and pay stupid amounts of money to do some crazy New York things. We visited Rockefeller Center’s Top the Rock once again this holiday season to try their newest VIP tour and attraction called Skylift. This year’s tour has been remodeled to basically cover all of their major attractions that include the Beam, close up photos with ‘the Tree,’ the 70 story Observation Deck, photos with Santa, champagne, and of course the new Skylift which is an open air circular platform that rises 30 feet above the rooftop and spins 360 degrees for a spectacular panoramic view. It was an exhilarating four minutes. We had a fun (albeit cold) experience and other than me getting spectated and lost from our small tour, it was a flawless day. Cheers!
The Season of Wreaths December 12, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Arsenal Gallery, art, Art exhibit, NYC, NYC Parks Dept., photography, Seasonal, Wreath Interpretation, wreaths
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I go to this fun exhibit every year. The NYC Parks’ annual Wreath Interpretations exhibition returned to the Arsenal Gallery. This year’s collection of wreaths was created by artists, designers, and creative individuals of all ages who have used inventive and unexpected materials to re-envision the traditional holiday decoration. The Arsenal Gallery is located on the third floor of NYC Parks’ Headquarters in Central Park, on Fifth Avenue at 64th Street. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., except holidays. Admission is free and this art exhibit is open through January 2nd. 
Luna Luna December 8, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Andre Heller, art, Art exhibit, Basquiat, Dali, David Hockney, Hudson Yards, Keith Haring, Kenny Sharf, Lichtenstein, LUNA LUNA, NYC, photography, The Shed
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This fascinating article in the New York Times (November of 2022) tells the story of how this 1987 artistic treasure, LUNA LUNA , conceived by artist Andre Heller was lost, then found, then hidden in storage in Texas and recreated by a handful of visionaries and a rapper named Drake yes, that Drake, came to be. We went last Thursday and had a delightful visit to this fun, fanciful, musical artistic experience. You need about an hour or so to experience the depth of the art and the story. It is at The Shed in Hudson Yards and is on through January 5th. It is fun for the whole family. 
It Rained on Our Parade December 1, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Bronx Zoo, floats, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, marching bands, NYC, photography, rainy day
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The 98th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was wet – I mean really wet. The crowds were sparse but the enthusiasm was great. We did not stay until the end when Santa makes his appearance but I did see him on TV when I got home. Unlike last year when there were no amenities for the bleacher people there was access to bathrooms, snacks and warming stations and the crowd did make use of them. Thank you Macy’s and NYC for this seasonal, fun parade. I do hope your Thanksgiving was warm, dry and yummy.
Food, Glorious Food November 28, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: animals, baby animals, Happy Thanksgiving, NYC, photography, Zoos
6 comments
This very special holiday is all about giving thanks and lots and lots and food. Here are photos of some of my favorite animals eating their preferred foods. Notice all of these animals are eating healthy foods. I want to take a moment to thank you all for looking at my weekly posts and for your comments. I have been at this for 20 years and plan to keep it going. It’s a big beautiful world out there. Go outside and enjoy it! The bottom photo is of my goofy gang (Audrey, Roberta, Pete and of course Mr. Pepe). We all wish you a very Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving.
Gingerbread Bake-Off 2024 November 24, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Art exhibit, Gingerbread five borough bakeoff, Museum of the City if NY, NYC, photography
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Once again, the Museum of the City of NY brings us the five Borough Gingerbread Bake-Off. I have come to adore these creations even though I am not a gingerbread fan. I am always amazed by the detail and loving presentations from these fabulous local bakers. The Museum invites bakers from across the five boroughs to create gingerbread displays on the theme of “Iconic New York”—creating distinctive buildings, places, or things that represent their neighborhood, community, or borough. This fun exhibition is on through December 25th. The Museum is open seven days a week.
A Cultural Icon November 17, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: art, Art exhibit, Barbie, Black Dolls, Icon, Ken, Museum of Art and Design, NYC, photography
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The Museum of Art and Design has once again delivered a fascinating, fun and informative exhibit. Barbie®: A Cultural Icon charts the 65-year history of Barbie and the doll’s global impact on fashion and popular culture through an expansive display of more than 250 vintage dolls, life-size fashion designs, advertisements, and other ephemera, along with exclusive video interviews with the doll’s designers. On two floors you can trace the evolution of Barbie from a child’s toy to a global icon, exploring the style trends, careers, and identities that Barbie has embodied and popularized since her debut in 1959. I was in High School when Barbie was created and was way past playing with dolls – after all, it was the ’60’s and we were doing other things. The opening section relays the Barbie origin story and presents all twenty-two original ensemble outfits, while subsequent areas consider the influence of the Space Age; the creation of Christie™, the first Black Barbie doll; the arrival of Ken™; and the creation of the Barbie Dreamhouse™. You will also see Barbie in the iconic fashions of the 1970s, including Groovy Style, beachwear, and disco-themed designs, while sections on the 1980s and 1990s present a selection of diverse Barbie dolls representing a range of ethnicities, body types, and careers, including a feature on the first Black Barbie. The exhibition culminates in the 2000s, spotlighting the continued diversification of characters within the Barbie universe and connecting them to contemporary fashion trends, perspectives, and identities. And yes, that is me, the Octogenarian Barbie at the top the page (you are never too old to be an Icon, right)?This exhibit is on thru March 16, 2025. 
You CAN do it! November 10, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: Art exhibit, Brookfield Place, Canstruction, City Harvest, NYC, photography
9 comments
Canstruction returns to Brookfield Place! The annual design competition challenges teams of architects, engineers and contractors to build sculptures made entirely out of unopened cans of food. The large-scale sculptures are displayed in a free exhibition space open to the public and later donated to City Harvest to help feed those in need. Canstruction is an art exhibit and Canstruction is a fundraiser. There are 23 sculptures that populate the two levels of Brookfield Place. This year’s sculptures run the gamut from fairytales to cartoon characters to movie villains. There’s Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Pokemon’s Squirtle, Perry the Platyus and Remy. They are joined by the man eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors and the scary giant sandworm from Beetlejuice. All of these are made of cans that will eventually be donated to City Harvest just in time for Thanksgiving. Canstruction® New York has donated over 2 million pounds of food to local food banks since 1993, and over 1.2 million pounds to City Harvest since 2006. Since 1992, Canstruction® has raised nearly 82 million pounds of food for hunger relief organizations around the world with its signature, trademarked CanArt. It is a very short exhibition and closes tomorrow November 11th. Perhaps you CAN put it on your list for next year.
Pets and the City November 3, 2024
Posted by judylobo in Zoo.Tags: animals, art, Art exhibit, Audrey and Roberta, Flaco, Ming the tiger, Mr. Pepe, nature, NYC, NYC pets, NYHS, Pets and the City, photography
4 comments
We went to the New York Historical Society (that has questionably rebranded itself as New York Historical) to see their new exhibition called Pets and the City. Most of us remember when police were called to get Ming the tiger out of a bathtub in the Bronx in 2001, those amazing service dogs at 9/11 and recent history involving Flaco the Eurasian eagle owl’s life after a vandal cut through his enclosure and released him into the wilds of Central Park. The exhibit covers lots of ground and is thoroughly enjoyable. It explores the visual history of New Yorkers and their ‘animal companions over the last two and a half centuries, tracing the evolving relationship between Gotham’s people and its animals as the city grew increasingly urbanized and industrialized.Through a broad spectrum of works of art, objects, documents, memorabilia, and clips from film and television, the exhibition surveys the evolution of pets—from their presence among the Lenape and Haudenosaunee and the hunting culture of settlers through their insinuation into the urban family and onto the pampered pets of today, which enjoy their own public rights. Drawn largely from The New York Historical’s collections, Pets and the City also investigates the reasons for the soaring pet population, especially after 9/11 and during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as issues surrounding pet adoption, the trafficking of exotic animals, and service animals’. The exhibit can be seen through April 20, 2025. Speaking of pampered pets – my Gang of Four can be seen in the bottom photo. If you do not know them already, please meet cats Audrey, Roberta and Pete and our very special dog, Mr. Pepe. Trust me – they are living their best lives.
While at the Zoo 