By Caitlin Hawke


It's time again for a look at our tuneful past by our friends at the Bloomingdale Neighborhood History Group.

Come on out to hear the story of the Bloomingdale School of Music this Wednesday.  There will even be a performance by the students.  These lectures are usually packed to the rafters -- proof that history enchants us and that what came before matters.

​Enjoy.

I have often been asked, how I felt when first I found myself on free soil. And my readers may share the same curiosity. There is scarcely anything in my experience about which I could not give a more satisfactory answer. A new world had opened upon me. If life is more than breath, and the 'quick round of blood,' I lived more in one day than in a year of my slave life. It was a time of joyous excitement which words can but tamely describe. In a letter written to a friend soon after reaching New York, I said: 'I felt as one might feel upon escape from a den of hungry lions.' Anguish and grief, like darkness and rain, may be depicted; but gladness and joy, like the rainbow, defy the skill of pen or pencil.

                                        ~Frederick Douglass, 1882
                                        From “Life and Times of Frederick Douglass”

But the "imported" street fairs along our avenues are big business in NYC. Buried within them, you can find a little originality and grit.  For example, at the last street fair, I got a load of the fellow in the funny hat and was mesmerized.  His name is Twister'z Ken. Pied Piper of latex, he brings out the kids who bring out the pocketbook-toting folks.  Watching him twist and pop and bend and tie, I was amazed by the novelty and creativity he brings to his balloon sculptures. First, get a good look at his hat. Not nothing, right?

Now, take a look at the bespoke creation that delighted the kid below who was overheard to order "a brown-haired princess in a pink gown." Not blond, not purple. This kid was asking for her ownself as a balloon avatar.  And she got it. In three minutes flat.

It gives me hope there is a little hidden joy for everyone at these ubiquitous fairs.

Whether you like 'em or not, they're here to stay. So check out the list below and plan accordingly!

By Caitlin Hawke


Dear Readers,
Here's my wish for Valentine's Day: more "Golden Rule" all around.  Assembly Member Danny O'Donnell is offering a special training a week from today on Tuesday, February 21st.  Have a look below.  Maybe I'll see you there?

What: Bystander Intervention Training
Who: You, me, everyone
Where: Bank Street, 610 West 112th Street
When: Tuesday, February 21, 6:30 p.m.

For information, call the O'Donnell office at (212) 866-3970.

And a "holla back" to our representative for stepping in to fill this important need.

By Caitlin Hawke
​
Remember last week's painting and all the Throwback stuff about the Broadway Barber Shop?  Well that suspended-in-time shop inspired cartoonists, painters and filmmakers as evidenced by yet another Bloomingdale gem below. It's an eight and a half minute film entitled "Broadway Barber."  The comings and goings on Broadway between W. 103rd and 104th Streets may be seen through the shop's windows.

In 1994, as an NYU film student, Rob Morton said the following about this old Greek-owned neighborhood time capsule: "Mr. Kay gave haircuts in his old-fashioned barber shop on Manhattan's Upper West Side for over fifty years. Watching Mr. Kay work is like stepping back in time. I directed this "day in the life" documentary short...while in film school at NYU. Hope you like it!"

Note: If you are reading this via email subscription to the blog, the embedded video below will not appear. To view this special film, please go directly to the blog post by clicking on the title of this post, "Throwback Thursday, Bloomingdale Edition."

For video, h/t to Wronksi's Wramblings.