Destinations: The Easter Parade 2011

Easter Paraders (photo credit: Lynn Redmile)

The Easter Parade is one of the last remaining quintessential New York traditions not overrun by arrivistes misinterpreting nostalgic Gotham. From the late-19th century until the 1950s, over one million people attended the annual event. Crowds may have thinned in this last half-century, but hardcore New Yorkers with penchants for ceremony and haberdashery keep it relevant.  Today, New Yorkers will put on their finest attire, don creative headwear, and promenade up-and-down Fifth Avenue for several hours. It is an informal amble, and any line between spectators and participants ebbs and flows like the Avenue's traffic.

From a lounge lifestyle-perspective, aficionados of vintage style hang up their herringbone and break-out fresh and found fashions. If you like to see boaters, seersucker, bonnets, poplin suits, bow ties, boutonnieres, and a glamorous, sartorial crowd, it is a must-attend event. Whether one is religious or not, the Easter Parade is treated by the city as its entrance to Spring. Jazz Age stalwarts such as Michael Arenella &  The Dreamland Orchestra or Drew Nugget & Midnight Society set up guerrilla performances in front of venerable institutions like St. Patrick's Cathedral, playing until New York's Finest kindly ask them to move on... it is a Parade, after all! Swing dancers from the decade-old website and community, Yehoodi, show up with prepared routines as shutterbugs snap the whole scene. The New York Times photographer, Bill Cunningham, nips in and out the throng to spot those who'll grace next weekend's Sunday Styles section.

The Easter Parade runs from 10 a.m. through until 4 p.m. Gather in front of Rockefeller Center before making your way up to 57th Street, then stroll back down Fifth Avenue, and repeat!

After today's Parade, the loungerati will retire to some of the area's classic restaurants, bars, and, if they are tired out, private clubs. Destinations include afternoon tea service at the Palm Court, cocktails in the Oak Bar, afternoon Red Snappers at the King Cole Bar, and cigars on the terrace of the University Club.

This Week In Lounge ... April 11 - 16 - Soirees, Speakeasies, and Spirits

Dizzy Fizz Spirits Soiree

There is so much going on this week that I need to consolidate in one easy to reference post. Get ready for a multitude of choices that range from Benefits for Japan to Spirits Soirees to Tiki and Big Band extravaganzas:

Monday, April 11th

New York Loves Japan - Punch Party

Where: The Summit Bar (Avenue C at 9th Street) Alphabet City, NYC

After a long Monday at work, come out, relax and feel great about doing something good. A group of amazing brand representatives, artists, writers and musicians have graciously donated their time, effort and a WHOLE lot of booze in the name of helping out Japan.  Six hand-crafted, Japanese-inspired punches will be on the bartop, and a $20 donation gives you unlimited punch refills and tunes by DJ Kimiko Masuda.  The Punch Sponsors for the night include:

Pernod Absinthe, Belvedere vodka, Sailor Jerry Rum, Corazon Tequila, Leblon Cachaça, Beefeater Gin, The Tippling Bros. (with Classic & Vintage Artisanal Spirits portfolio)

Craft bartender/Summit owner Greg Seider  and his bar staff (including Loungerati's Best Bartender of 2010 Damon Dyer) will be mixing up and selling amazing Yamazaki Japanese whiskey cocktails ($12) all night long.

Suggested donation: $20

Tuesday, April 13th

Primativa in Hi-Fi

Where: Painkiller Tiki Bar (49 Essex Street, Lower East Side, NYC)

Celebrate the "Father of Exotica" Martin Denny's 100th Birthday at Painkiller  with the exciting musical arrangements of Jack Fetterman and Gina of the Jungle. Throw back Mai Tais, Zombies, and one of my personal favorite, the LES LUAU Mist (a stirred drink that literally tastes like a the ingredients of a luau - pork goodness!) made by award winning Painkiller staff.

Entry: Free

Thursday, April 14th

The French Spirits Soiree 

Where: Astor Center is located at 399 Lafayette St., (Between Astor Pl. and E. 4^th St.), NYC

The Dizzy Fizz's Selena Ricks is one of the hardest working people I know. She has the know how to get the right spirits industry folks together and pull off unique events like the Holiday Spirits Bazaar. This Thursday French spirits and a Parisian fin-de-ciele theme will be showcased. The event, at Astor Center in New York City, will feature turn-of-the-20th-century cocktails, punches, spirits and absinthe; gourmet cheese and charcuterie by Murray’s Cheese and rustic bread by Scratchbread; and live cabaret band The Hot Sardines and more.

The event is sponsored by: Lillet, Pernod, Ricard, Tariquet Armagnac, Bonal, Dolin Vermouth, Cointreau®, Rémy Martin 1738® Accord Royal, Benedictine, G’Vine Gin, June Liqueur, St-Germain, and Noilly Prat Vermouth.

Media/VIP entry is from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., and general entry is from 7:30 – 10 p.m. Tickets are available exclusively on Thrillist Rewards. Please note, guests must be 21 to attend and bring photo ID. For more information, please visit: www.spiritssoiree.com

Tickets: $45

The Lounge at Edison Ballroom

Friday, April 15th

The LOUNGE at The Edison Ballroom

Where: The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street, NYC)

Following the SALON's 10th Anniversary Extravaganza last month,  Patrick Soluri and company have  teamed up with the Edison Ballroom to create THE LOUNGE.

featuring live music by J. WALTER HAWKES TRIO, Danger Dame VERONICA VARLOW, Emcee Extraordinaire DANDY WELLINGTON, Primativa in Hi-Fi, The Exotic Sounds of JACK FETTERMAN & GINA OF THE JUNGLE, Crafted Cocktails by FREDO from Loungerati

Includes top-shelf open bar all night, Hors d'oeuvres, coat check and gratuities

Tickets: $45 General Admission - at the door / 9:30pm-1amhttp://www.TheSalon.biz/

(includes open bar, passed hors 'd'ouerves, coat check, tips)

Saturday, April 16th

Bootlegger 21 Vodka Launch, Amateur Mixology Competition followed by the  
An Homage to Harlem Glamour Speakeasy

Where: 76 Wooster, SoHo, NYC

Fabled Jazz-Age Harlem is reincarnated for one night in a four-story Soho townhouse. Featuring an All-Star program of hot music and dance, decadent Bootlegger 21 Vodka cocktails, gourmet hors d oeuvres’, real casino games, fresh hand-rolled cigars and an after-hours lounge offering further unspeakable delights.

Downstairs - the joint is jumpin’ with live hot jazz, starring Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra in front of a REAL WOOD dance floor. In addition an All-Star program of tap dance, risqué follies and floorshow revue is in store. Document your night of frivolity in our vintage-style photo booth. Gorgeous cigarette girls strolling the club offer candies, gifts, and - cigarettes.

In the upstairs lounge – while a lovely chanteuse and piano-man set the mood, guests are invited to try a hand at poker, craps and blackjack with fabulous prizes, enjoy fresh cigars hand-rolled on premises, and other surprises.

Harlem was, at the frenzied height of the Jazz Age, the Mecca of all that swung, shook and shimmered. At once an emblem of status and taboo, sophistication and lust, it was a cocktail of well-heeled “high hatters” in search of a deviant thrill mixed with the exotic, jazz-fueled pulse of Harlem night culture.

Tickets: $25 at Event Bee

Destinations: A Homage to Harlem Glamour presented by Bootlegger 21 - April 16th

Michael Arenella and Adam Aleksander have partnered with locally produced award winning Bootlegger 21 Vodka to put together a legendary evening to remember. So put on your finest duds and jump on the Dreamland Orchestra time machine back to yesteryear.

Bootlegger 21 Vodka presents…

AN HOMAGE TO HARLEM GLAMOUR

A one-night celebration of Harlem glamour
Saturday, April 16th, 2011
76 Wooster Street, Soho
9:00pm til Late
$25 (Advance tickets only - available here)
*First 100 guests receive a free drink ticket!*

Produced by Michael Arenella and Adam Aleksander

An Homage to Harlem Glamour is reincarnated for one night in a four-story Soho townhouse. Featuring an All-Star program of hot music and dance, decadent Bootlegger 21 cocktails, gourmet hors d'oeuvres, real casino games, fresh hand-rolled cigars and an after-hours lounge offering further unspeakable delights.

Downstairs - the joint is jumpin’ with live hot jazz, starring Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra in front of a REAL WOOD dance floor. In addition an All-Star program of tap dance, risqué follies and floorshow revue is in store. Document your night of frivolity in our vintage-style photo booth. Gorgeous cigarette girls strolling the club offer candies, gifts, and - cigarettes.

In the upstairs lounge – while our lovely chanteuse and piano-man set the mood, guests are invited to try a hand at poker, craps and blackjack with fabulous prizes, enjoy fresh cigars hand-rolled on premises, and other surprises.
 
Harlem was, at the frenzied height of the Jazz Age, the Mecca of all that swung, shook and shimmered. At once an emblem of status and taboo, sophistication and lust, it was a cocktail of well-heeled “high hatters” in search of a deviant thrill mixed with the exotic, jazz-fueled pulse of Harlem night culture.

Starring acclaimed bandleader
Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra

Featuring
Queen Esther – renowned chanteuse with piano-man Jesse Gelber
Gin Minsky – adorable flapper-tapper
Ginger Brown - Burlesque songbird
Roddy Caravella and the Harlem Glamour Revue

Bootlegger 21 New York Vodka cocktails crafted by Fredo from Loungerati.com and Miguel Aranda of Apotheke.

Fine hand-rolled Dominican/Nicaraguan blend cigars by Maraya.

Gourmet hors d'oeuvres by Sonora Events. 

See you there!

Primativa in Hi-Fi Exotica Tuesday - April 5th Jack Newcastle's Book Signing

Jack & Gina

Primativa in Hi-Fi brings the sounds of exotica and mid-century lounge to Painkiller Tiki New York bar every Tuesday night.  Primativa is the brainchild of tiki-philes Jack Fetterman and Gina Haase. The duo share their visions and soundtrack of vintage Tiki and exotica that would made Donn the Beachcomber proud.  The setting is the back room of Painkiller which just won “Best Lay/Lei” at the Time Out New York 2011 Food & Drink Awards. The sounds of exotica legends such as Martin Denny and Les Baxter float through the bar with jungle shrieks and drum beats. Hawaiian shirts, floral South Seas dresses, and guayaberas mix with grey flannel suits all looking to escape the everyday in this tropical backdrop. Meanwhile, the classic and old interpretations of the drinks such as the Kon Tiki Mai Tai, Golden Cadillac, and Negroni Swizzle keep your thirst quenched and the room buzzing.

This Tuesday, April 5^th our pal author Jack Newcastle will be signing his new novel, the mad cap 1950s comedy  "The Fine Art of Mixing Girls" at Primativa in Hi-Fi. So while you stop by for a delicious Jet Pilot cocktail made by forbidden island vixens like Joanne “Lu Lu” Martinez, pick up a copy of Newcastle’s book which as been described as “a highball comedy of manners, full of too much gin and too many cigarettes — a must for cocktail enthusiasts and mid-century modernists alike!”

Find out about Jack Newcastle

Buy Jack's Book

Join Primativa's Facebook group

Head over to Painkiller NYC