Free NYC Dessert Fest

by Brenda Yun on

Back in February, Annie mentioned a “recessional special” for a New York City dessert tour, and then in April, Jeremy broke down the cool dessert spots for New York City dwellers. It seems the Big Apple isn’t short on shopping its sweets, and there are plenty of sweets to be had in Manhattan even though summer is coming to a close.

If you’re looking for a cool activity to satisfy your sweet tooth, you’ll be happy to learn that the Free NYC Dessert Fest is still taking place each month. It is a free walking tour, centered solely on succulent desserts. Purchase of desserts are optional & additional.
This month will mark the tour’s 10th consecutive monthly tour of the city’s neighborhood sweet spots. The walk explores the Upper West Side, which has 5 delicious eateries where you can sample everything from cookies and cupcakes to hand-made French chocolates. Or if fruitier fare is more your palatable, mouth-watering apple tart or cheesecake might just satisfy that stomach of yours.

To help support the good work of Food Bank For New York City, a non-profit helping to feed the hungry, Walking Tours Manhattan asks for a $5.00 donation per person. 100% of all donations go to charity. Since December 2008 tour donations have helped feed 39 New Yorkers for a month.

Meet our tour guide with the red ball cap saying Walking Tours Manhattan on Sunday August 23, 2009 at 11:00am at Magnolia Bakery, 200 Columbus Avenue at 69th Street. The dessert tour lasts 1.5 hours, and expect to walk a little over 1 mile.

For additional neighborhood dessert tours, visit http://walkingtoursmanhattan.com

Minnie Mouse molester convicted

by Tom Johansmeyer on

John William Moyer, a 60-year-old visitor to Walt Disney World probably won’t be welcome at the theme park any longer. The Cressona, Pennsylvania resident was convicted of feeling up Minnie Mouse (yes, there are people inside those suits). Moyer claimed he was innocent, and his son vouched for him, saying that his father would never touch a woman inappropriately.

Meanwhile, the victim reveals, according to an Associated Press report, that “she had to do everything possible to keep Moyer’s hands off her breasts.”

Moyer was nailed for misdemeanor battery. His punishment includes 180 days probation, 50 hours of community service and to write an apology to the victim. He’s also on the hook for $1,000 in court costs and may have to submit to a mental evaluation.

Apparently, nobody told Moyer that he could ogle all the boobs he wants over at Splash Mountain, where the ladies can’t seem (to be bothered to) keep their shirts on.

Undiscovered New York: Modern art in Long Island City

by Jeremy Kressmann on

It’s no secret New York is downright spoiled by a world-class modern art scene. Art lovers flock to great museums like MoMA, galleries in Chelsea and the famous annual Armory Show. With all this great creativity so close at hand, it’s hard to believe that one of New York’s best neighborhoods for modern art isn’t in Manhattan – it actually lies just across the East River in Long Island City.

Long Island City is a neighborhood on the rebound. Thanks to the nearby Queensboro Bridge, which dumps a steady stream of traffic into the area, this industrial neighborhood was long bypassed by visitors headed toward other points beyond in Manhattan and Long Island. Yet this feeling of a gritty zone time forgot is exactly what attracted the area’s first artists back in the 70’s and 80’s. Slowly, Long Island City began a remarkable transformation, replaced by an influx of artist studios, top-notch museums and monuments to New York’s influential role in street art.

Today, Long Island City is an art lover’s paradise. Ready to check out a less crowded version of Manhattan’s MoMA in Queens and dance at one of the city’s best outdoor dance parties? Or perhaps an outdoor sculpture park with views of the NYC skyline is more your style? It’s time to investigate one of New York’s best (and lesser known) neighborhoods for art. This week Undiscovered New York visits Long Island City. Click below for more.
P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center
Just off the 23rd St – Ely Avenue Subway stop, the first stop from Manhattan, lies P.S.1, one of Long Island City’s best museums and a mecca for up-and-coming artists. First opened in 1976 in a formerly deserted public school building, P.S.1 focuses on the shows of cutting edge art, resulting in an often delightful and eyebrow-raising mixture of works across all types and mediums from sculpture to painting to photography and beyond.

One of the most enjoyable parts of P.S.1 is the museum’s outdoor courtyard, where during the summer it plays host to Warm-Up, a series of outdoor weekend dance parties featuring DJ’s and live music. The backdrop for the party is a colossal ever-changing outdoor sculpture (see left) that is updated each Summer.

Socrates Sculpture Park
Another great reminder of Long Island City’s gritty industrial past is the Socrates Sculpture Park, located along the neighborhood’s East River waterfront. Named in honor of the area’s historically Greek residents, the sculpture park was built on the site of what was once an illegal dumping ground. Today the trash is long gone, having been replaced by large-scale sculptures, outdoor movies and art workshops.

Museum of the Moving Image
Just last week, we told you about New York’s long history with television. But we actually left one great museum out – the Museum of the Moving Image in Long Island City. In addition to galleries of movie and TV equipment, the museum features screenings of landmark movies, and has an extensive collection of costumes, photos and fan magazines. Museum-haters and those with ADD take note: it even has its own video game arcade as part of the exhibitions.

Primal Quest adventure race comes to South Dakota

by Kraig Becker on

This week, Primal Quest Badlands gets underway in South Dakota, where coed teams of four will embark on a ten-day long, non-stop adventure race across 600-miles of challenging backcountry. They will run, trek, mountain bike, and paddle their way across the course, with a little spelunking and climbing thrown into the mix for good measure.

Billed as “the World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition”, the race will also require the competitors to navigate their way, using just a compass and map, through a series of checkpoints that are strategically placed across the course. Teams with excellent navigation skills will save time, and energy, while inexperienced navigators can easily get lost, costing the team precious time.

Unlike many other long distance races, Primal Quest runs non-stop once the starting gun sounds. That means that the teams will be racing for up to ten days, with little sleep or down time. Sleep strategy actually plays an important role, as the athletes will need to decide how long they can go without rest, and how long they can afford to sleep. While the race is underway, most teams will get just two hours of sleep each night, while burning as much as 8000-10,000 calories per day.

Primal Quest Badlands begins on Friday morning, and until that time, the details of the course will remain tightly under wraps. We do know that it will run through the Black Hills, the Buffalo Gap Grasslands, and of course the Badlands themselves. The stunning landscapes will make for an amazing backdrop to the human drama that will play out over the 600-miles of pain and suffering that await the endurance athletes who will challenge themselves in this event.

Gadlinks for Tuesday 8.11.09

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Welcome back to another Tuesday of Gadlinks. How does it work? We scour the best of the travel web and pick our favorite links of the day, summarizing them all in one convenient post. It’s like a big “travel smoothie” of goodness, except we don’t add any antioxidants. OK, ready to see this Tuesday’s picks? Keep reading below:

  • Snorkeling takes you to another world. Simply strap on a mask and some fins and you’re instantly transported to a world of brightly colored fish and other strange denizens of the deep. Here’s a list of the Top 10 spots to snorkel to make sure you get your money’s worth. [Via CNN]
  • Grant recently brought us an in-depth look at the Western African capital of Dakar, Senegal. He’s not the only one checking out West Africa lately – check out this writeup on African tourist hotspot Ghana. [Via The New York Times]
  • Jonesing for the great outdoors? You might consider upstate New York, where Adirondack Park offers visitors plentiful hiking and some icy cold mountain lakes where you can cool off afterwards. [Via MSNBC]
  • This past week we learned of the passing of legendary filmmaker John Hughes, a man who captured the essence of 80’s surburban youth and Chicago like no other. Here’s a nice tribute to the much-loved director. What’s your favorite John Hughes movie moment? [Via Intelligent Travel]

More Gadlinks HERE.