Summer...Oh Yeah

Leave it to New York to do things a bit differently in the summertime. A bit more spunk. A bit more pizzazz. A bit more sumpthin’ sumpthin’. Scanning the horizons and the waterfront, it seems like hot times are in bloom in the Big Apple. Here are a few things we’ve had our eye on recently:

**We love that artist and bon vivant/man about town Julian Schnabel has created a hot pink mess in the West Village with his soaring residential tower/ode to all things rose. Of course, if we lived in the neighborhood we’d probably be horrified, but there’s something so punk about the color that we just can’t give it a thumbs down.

**When we were tiny little event planners-to-be, one of our favorite things to do was go to the pool in the summertime. Well, short of spending our hard-earned dough on a fancy-schmancy gym membership, what are we pool-lovers to do in NYC? Take it the barge! Opening in July, the Neptune Foundation’s Floating Lady will be able to accommodate almost 200 swimmers on their redesigned floating barge pool, docked in Brooklyn. Rumor has it that the Water Taxi will be docking there, which means we are so there with our goggles, floaties and flippers.

Broadway Awakening

The 61st Annual Tony Awards were presented on Sunday evening, and it was truly a night that rocked. The heavily favored anthem to youthful exploration,“Spring Awakening,” stole the night, taking home the most trophies, including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, Best Performance of a Featured Actor, Best Original Score, Best Direction of a Musical, Best Choreography, Best Orchestration and Best Lighting. Describing the show as “all about the hopes we feel as parents and the wounds we feel as children,” the show’s Tony Award-winning Book writer, Steven Sater was on-hand to collect one of the show’s 8 awards.

Other big winners included the Lincoln Center marathon production of “The Coast of Utopia,” and Grey Gardens, featuring the masterful Christine Ebersole The full list of Tony winners and their acceptance speeches can be found at www.tonyawards.com.

Old King Cole

So, imagine that you’re Old King Cole, hanging about in your mural in the St. Regis Hotel. It’s been about 40 years since your last tune up and things are not looking as…fresh as they once did. Well, it's nothing that a little $100,000 glam fix can’t remedy, and the St. Regis has recently unveiled the restored Maxfield Parish oil painting. As the centerpiece for the King Cole Bar & Lounge, the mural is now back in its rightful place, amongst the classic cocktails and stately elegance of this midtown gem!

All the World is a Stage

Maybe it's because the Tony's are right around the corner, but we're seeing drama everywhere! Taking the theatricality of dining one step further, the former Park Avenue Café is transforming itself seasonally in a very dramatic fashion. With plans to open and close four times a year, and restaurant-design wizkids, AvroKO (of Public and Stanton Social fame) on board, the restaurant will transform its physical space to match their customized seasonal menus. Is this the start of a new trend? As with most productions, its best to wait until the curtain is drawn to make a conclusion.