Follow

The post World Maker Faire New York 2017 Will Showcase Innovation (+ Win 4 Tickets!) appeared first on The Culture Mom.

When I was younger, I loved watching classic movies with my mom. Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh, and Ingrid Bergman were just a few of some of the actresses that I looked up to. I watched movies where they played women defying odds, wearing the pants in a relationship, while leaning on each other for support. They weren’t afraid to make things happen and they showed me the value of determination and courage. They were fearless; they were feisty; they defined  the meaning of badass as well as girl power.

Flash forward to 30 something years later and now I’m the mom of a 14 year-old. If life truly imitates art, I want to show her films about women doing amazing things; films made by women, produced by women. I seek out girl power movies that feature women defying the odds, making things happen, offering  hope for the future, particularly during this dark era in which we are living.

When “Hidden Figures” was released a few months ago, I emailed a dozen mom friends and asked if they wanted to take all our girls to the cinema on a weekend afternoon. The movie had girl power written all over it and I thought of nothing better to do. After some back and forth on timing, at least half of the moms I contacted and their teenage daughters piled into the cinema, several of whom knew nothing about the movie before my prompting. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to watch the 13-14 year-old girls watch a movie about brilliant women who worked for NASA. It taught the girls so many things – that education is important; that careers in STEM are good for women; that if one reaches for the moon, it’s attainable. When we left the theater, the conversation was brimming with positivity and confidence for all the things they were going to do in life.

So I decided to make these girl power movie parties a tradition. After all, moms see these invites as opportunities to see the kinds of movies they want to see, too. It’s kind of tricky to find dates and times that work for everyone, so I always invite a lot to get a good group of attendees. Teens are busy, so it’s impossible to get everyone to come. Our next outing is on a Saturday night so it will be interesting to see who comes (it happens to be “Wonder Woman,” mentioned below).

Here are two movies, one currently playing, one coming soon to a theater you that could be worthy options for your first girl power movie party:

EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING

Adapted from Nicola Yoon’s bestselling YA novel of the same name, “Everything, Everything” follows a teenage girl with a medical condition that requires her to stay inside her germ-free, super anti-bacterial home. The film is helmed by a woman and directed by a woman, Stella Meghie. Kids know the book, many of them love it. The story is about a multifaceted, nuanced teenage African American girl that many girls will relate to.  She has the same dreams that my daughter has but an obstacle or two to conquer, and the story elevates one’s conscience in a very powerful, meaningful way.

WONDER WOMAN

Growing up, Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman on the tube was everything. She was fierce and made everything seem possible. That was a long time ago, and the world is ready for a female superhero. That’s why I can’t wait for the new version “Wonder Woman” starring Gal Gadot to come out this Friday. This movie has girl power movie party written all over it.  It’s also the first major studio superhero film directed by a woman, Patty Jenkins. This is the kind of badass, feminist movie I crave to watch with my daughter, and I hope it lives up to our expectations.

When the movie ends, don’t make a bee line for the exit. Linger in the lobby with the other moms and girls and talk the hell out of the movie. Hear what the girls have to say, react and listen. Share your thoughts with each other. Inspire, encourage and thrive on the work of female bad asses.

Follow

The post The Power of Girl Power Movie Parties appeared first on The Culture Mom.

It’s been two weeks since my last blog post, which is a million years in blog land, but I’ve been overly occupied. For one thing, work and my studies are taking a toll on my time, as well as caring for my family. Freelance projects to manage, books to read, shows to watch, textbooks, classes to attend, trips to plan, meals to make, laundry to fold, chauffeuring my kids around to activities after school – it’s a lot but multi-tasking is a specialty of mine.

But there was one major event that I attended that changed everything. It changed my attitude, my direction, the path to my future: The Women’s March. I went, along with my daughter who is 13, by train on a adventure to Washington, DC. I didn’t know what to expect, but I had been so upset since the election on November 8th and I needed to be with others who have been in mourning.

Well, that was no problem. From the moment I stepped on the train in NYC, I was surrounded by women who felt the same way. Women who want a future like the one I want for my daughter -where abortion is forever legal, immigrants are welcome and affordable healthcare is available for all. In my eyes, there was at least a million people who agree with me in a fierce, powerful way. There was a sea of pussy hats and posters that that said everything from “#Resist” to “Women’s rights are human’s rights” to “This is what democracy looks like”. Seeing these signs, hearing people yell – it just all felt so right.

Naturally, like with most rushes of emotion, I hit a wall when I got home. All this negativity came out about the rally and march. It was too white; it was run by Bernie-ites; its founder met with the head of Hamas the day before the march. I felt a bit swindled for a minute.

But then I remembered what I experienced. What my daughter experienced. What we saw. What we heard. And I knew that the march was what I needed to get over the hump and move on. We have no time to sit still right now. It’s time to stand up for our rights, for the lives of our children. Everything is at stake.

The march was everything and no one can tell me otherwise.

Follow

The post The Women’s March: What it Meant to Me appeared first on The Culture Mom.

Follow

The post State of America’s Fathers 2016 appeared first on The Culture Mom.

My grandparents passed away at the same time on a terrible day in 1992. I can’t believe it’s been 24 years since I last held them in my arms. I was 22 when they died and probably too young to stop to think what they left behind or how I would memorialize them, but I’ll tell you one thing I do know. If I had a copy of PASSED and PRESENT Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive by my friend, Allison Gilbert, I would have known how to preserve their memories.

Passed and Present

This past Sunday, I attended her first official “Memory Bash” in a nearby town to celebrate the launch of her new book, which I devoured that night. The book is a celebration of life, with the hope that remembering promotes healing and will help people live longer, happier lives after the loss of a loved one. After the loss of both her parents, Gilbert set out to find ways to keep them in her life, so that her own children would somehow feel connected to the grandparents they never met.

She writes about how it’s important to honor loved ones – allowing them to remain present in our lives, rather then push their memories away. She offers a number of ways to do this, all very tangible, viable and approachable. She has thoroughly researched the topic and has compiled her findings neatly in an easy read, yet the book somehow features eighty-five ways to celebrate and honor family and friends we never want to forget.

At the “Memory Bash” I was introduced to several creative strategies on how to repurpose with purpose, and I have images of some easily made items that memorialize loved ones below. Gilbert took her dad’s tie collection and had a quilt made. She put her mother’s dishes together to create a serving tray (which can easily be used as a knick knack for decoration). She had a drawing made of a photo of her mom to frame in her office. She took her mom’s recipes and created a very special recipe box. All useful and all sentimental ideas.

Technology Integrates Loved Ones into Daily Life

Gilbert then goes into how existing methods of technology can integrate your loved ones into your daily life. There are so many tools at our disposal today (compared to when I lost my grandparents in 1992). From home videos to audio recordings to web sites built to memorialize loved ones to customized hash tags on Twitter to random acts of kindness promoted via social media, there are more opportunities than ever to remember our loved ones, which leads to increased support from friends and one’s community. It’s even possible to fabricate a loved one’s history by traveling and tracing their steps using software and technology.

Of course, there is also food, music and rituals – all cultural norms that help one remember loved ones. Gilbert provides a monthly guide full of “Forget Me Not’s” to help the planning of chances to honor loved ones, as it may feel overwhelming or many. This section is particularly useful to someone like me, who can feel overwhelmed by so many valuable options.

Travel Creates Opportunities to Make Connections with Loved Ones

The last section is about travel, obviously a section I paid close attention to, as a travel writer myself. A few years ago, Gilbert and her colleague, writer Hope Edelman, took a group of 16 of their readers on a trip to Machu Pichu, where they hiked and worked in an orphanage. (I had asked to go, but alas was turned down as I am not parentless, something I am grateful for.) It was there that Gilbert learned the true value of travel and its incredible contribution to honoring memories of loved ones. She takes us from Mexico to Japan to Israel and further around the world to tell us important events and landmarks that help us find our own connections to the past.

It’s also important to add that the book is beautifully illustrated with drawings by Jennifer Orkin Lewis. The pictures accentuate the book’s mission of celebrating life. The book is a great shiva gift or gift for someone who suffers a loss – maybe not right away but down the road.

Disclosure: I was provided with a complimentary copy of Passed and Present to facilitate this review. As always, all opinions are my own.

Follow

The post Review: Passed and Present by Allison Gilbert appeared first on The Culture Mom.

Forgive the silence once again, but life has been busy. With a home renovation, a full client list and kid obligations THROUGH THE ROOF, there has been little time to do many of the things I love. I look forward to moving back home so I can once again sustain my heavy appetite of culture and travel wanderlust.

From Traveling…

But my adventures haven’t stopped completely. This past weekend, I was a guest of the Mont Tremblant tourist board and got to thoroughly explore (and ski) this amazing part of Canada. Stay tuned for that coverage here on the blog and elsewhere. I’ve been attending plenty of press events in NYC, including a fab one for See Australia last week with the sexy Chris Hemsworth in attendance. And I’ve been writing. You can find my latest on Yahoo Travel from last month on How to Celebrate the Holidays in New York City; my first published piece on one of my favorite blogs called Live.Do.Grow on Finding Wellness in Ireland; a piece I loved writing on the Best-Kept Secrets of NYC for Families on Minitime; and a latest and greatest updated article on the Best New York Restaurants with Kids on Ciao Bambino. My family and I also recently spent a fun-filled weekend at Woodloch Resort in the Poconos.

To Broadway

My cultural adventures haven’t ceased completely either. I saw Beautiful on Broadway last month and was enraptured by the life and music of Carole King. And I’ve been watching a lot of TV, most recently Difficult People on Hulu and Mozart in the Jungle on Amazon. I’m still obsessed with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Jane the Virgin and Younger and I long for OITNB and Transparent to start new seasons.

To Sundance

And in other news, a film I helped out on in its very early stages not only made it to Sundance but was picked up by Sony. Congrats to the gals at Broadstreet Pictures for their successful debut of EQUITY.

I’ve met some wonderful people in this space and gone to some wonderful places. The truth is in these posts.

Stay tuned to this space for a wrap-up on my Mont Tremblant visit this week.

Cheers.

Follow

The post Where I’ve Been appeared first on The Culture Mom.

I’m a big fan of the annual Orchid Show at The NY Botanical Garden, and I’m thrilled to be hosting a giveaway to send a family to experience it for themselves.

The year 2016 marks the 125th Anniversary of the founding of Garden. Since 1891 NYBG has been a museum of plants dedicated to achieving excellence in horticulture, education, and plant research and conservation. Today it is one of the great cultural institutions in the world, a preeminent center for botanical research, a natural treasure for visitors of all ages, and a leader and national model for plant-based education.

This landmark year is filled with exciting events that highlight the many facets of the Garden’s mission. The NYBG Orchid Show opens on February 27 and runs through April 17, 2016. The inspiration for this year’s exhibition is the 19th-century craze sparked by a single orchid bloom, which came to be known as Orchidelirium. Visitors to the landmark Enid A. Haupt Conservatory will be transported on an epic journey that engages all of the senses and underscores the allure and intrigue of these exquisite beauties.

The show is truly a New Yorker’s defining moment, and the experience will just add to the pride that you have in this incredible city that we live in. And now, right here on The Culture Mom, you can enter to win FOUR tickets to @NYBG Orchid Show.

HOW TO ENTER TO WIN TIX TO THE @NYBG Orchid Show:

• Comment here and let me know how you engage your children in nature.
• Tweet this message: “Hope I win the @NYBG Annual Orchid Show giveaway from http://bit.ly/1zf1TXV via @hollychronicles”

Contest ends midnight Eastern time, Monday, February 1st.  The four packs need to be used before the show ends on April 17th, 2016. The winner will have 24 hours to accept their prize.

For more information on the NYBG Orchid Show, please visitnybg.org.

Disclosure: These tickets were provided to me complimentary for this giveaway but I was not compensated for this post.

Follow

The post Giveaway: 4 Tickets to the @NYBG Orchid Show appeared first on The Culture Mom.

Motherstruck!

The show is also directed by Cynthia Nixon and produced by Rosie O’Donnell, two women I admire immensely, particularly for the contributions to NYC theater they have both made over the years. I immediately wanted to get the show on my agenda.

And I’m so glad I did. Staceyann appeared familiar to me at the start. She got her start in the 1990s at a poetry cafe called the Nuyorican Cafe in the East Village, where I frequently went for a dose of culture in my 20s and remember her strong, brave delivery that I witnessed in person back then. Her 100-minute one woman show is intense and gripping, and her delivery so compelling. It is no wonder that Nixon and O’Donnell joined up with her to make sure her story gets told. The combination of their power and commitment to her story is bold, courageous and significant particularly because the play hasn’t had the smoothest road. Performances were initially scheduled to begin September 24 at Culture Project’s Lynn Redgrave Theater, but were delayed indefinitely due to a lack of resources.

But Nixon and O’Donnell, and a whole slate of producers, saw MotherStruck!’s potential and pushed through to make this show happen. They clearly felt Chin’s message and story was one that needed to be told and waited until the resources were in place. Nixon has been vocal about her involvement and passion in Chin’s story:

…I was stunned by Staceyann’s ability to recall in such depth biographical details of her life, both recent and long ago. She is leading a remarkable life that is fascinating to hear about because of the many seemingly insurmountable obstacles she has overcome, but it is also fascinating because of the way in which she chooses to tell you about it – the humor, the drama, the poetry, the political backdrop, the jaw-dropping specificity – that compels you to listen as long as she is speaking. Staceyann is a national treasure, and I’m so proud and excited to be part of the telling of this most precious chapter in her life.

A Personal Journey to Motherhood

MotherStruck! is about Chin’s personal journey to motherhood as a single woman, lesbian and activist who does not have health insurance or a “serious, stable financial set up,” but wants to have a child, which she eventually does via IVF. Told through her uniquely personal and poetic lens, it explores how the process changed her life and how she makes peace with what she learns along the way. It’s not only about the people who help her but primarily about how she helps herself. She’s strong and talks about the challenges she faced growing up and how these challenges have made her a better mother.

The result is pretty harrowing yet completely uplifting. Chin’s honesty about the challenges of motherhood are so relatable and is a dose of reality that all women face. I found myself nodding and smiling in commiseration despite our different experiences. As expected, Nixon’s directorial techniques that make her story even more compelling. As Chin tells the audience about the challenges of getting pregnant and becoming a mother, she walks around the theater looking audience members directly in the face. Music is played to amplify moments and the sparse set with a big orange pillow somehow works perfectly to accompany her storytelling method.

I’m not typically a one-man show lover, but MotherStruck! was different. It’s special and a show you need to see, one that I hope you see.

The Lynn Redgrave Theater is located at 45 Bleecker St., New York. Tickets can be purchased by calling OvationTix at (866) 811-4111 or online at CultureProject.org., or we have a 20% off discount code for you – just click here.

Disclosure: I was not compensated to write this review and all opinions are my own.

Follow

The post MOTHERSTRUCK! at NYC Culture Project appeared first on The Culture Mom.

When my 11 year-old son asked me to take him to see School of Rock on Broadway, I was both surprised and thrilled. I haven’t taken him to a show since 2010, when I took my cue at Stomp, when his sensorial issues took over. It was a combination of being over stimulated and noise that were just too much for him.

But he loved the movie this show is based on – so much so that he’s watched it several times on Netflix. Somehow during the summer he took note of its pending Broadway arrival, as did I with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s name attached, and we both became determined to see it once it hit NYC. Still, I questioned his focus and ability to stay out late on a weekday night but went with an open mind.

If you haven’t seen the movie (and you should), it’s based on the Richard Linklater film starring Jack Black. Believe it or not, Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes adapted it for the stage, yet his style somehow is perfect and the adaptation faithful and appropriate for film lovers like my son. He admitted during intermission that the reason the show was working for him was indeed that he knew the story inside out, and the play’s authenticity helped. I must also tell you that I caught glimpses of my son clapping to the music, composed by Webber himself, and he never once closed his eyes (to sleep). If you only knew the happiness I felt in these moments….

The main character is called Dewey Finn, a slightly edgy, scruffy musician who gets kicked out of his band at the beginning of the show. Lying in bed, feeling sorry for himself, he answers the phone to find a prep school looking for his roommate to come teach temporarily. Once in that position, which he talks himself into, he takes a class of kids in school uniform and turns them into rock stars, calling the classroom the School of Rock. What is seemingly a group of very intelligent children is also a group of extremely talented musicians. Zack is a brilliant guitarist, Tomika has a beautiful voice and even Summer, a feminist, can sing. But how long will it last before they are caught? It takes a Parents Visiting Night for the bubble to burst but there is a twist, which you won’t know if you haven’t seen the film.

But I owe much of this play’s success to Alex Brightman, who plays Dewey. He resembles Jack Black almost exactly, from his appearance to his voice, and he’s a really, really good singer and musician. Also Sierra Boggess, who plays the nerdy principal of Horace Green, is a pretty wonderful actress and singer. In general, though, it’s the kids who rule the show, though – they’re a very talented group.

While not perfect, I suspect the producers are still ironing out imperfections (clunky storylines, loud music are two examples), School of Rock is already a hit at the box office and I have a feeling it will be around for a while. I’m most grateful to the show for bringing my son back to Broadway after a long hiatus. (Today he’s downloading the soundtrack.)

Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to facilitate this review but all opinions are my own.

Follow

The post Review: “School of Rock” on Broadway appeared first on The Culture Mom.

I recently spent a long weekend at Ritz Carlton Philadelphia with the kids. We jumped in the car, drove the few short hours to the City of Brotherly Love and landed at this historical yet extremely cozy hotel. Located right by City Hall, Love Park and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, it’s a reminder of a nation’s birth with its grand use of architecture. The building was originally Girard Trust Company, which became Girard Corn Exchange in 1951; Girard Bank in 1970; Mellon Bank in 1984, and finally The Ritz-Carlton in 2000. We felt the enormous amount of history every which we looked, as well as its elegance with the hotel’s choice of decor of marble floors, rotundas, high ceilings and classic portraits.

When it comes to family travel, you really can’t beat staying at the Ritz Carlton. Kids are indulged as soon as they enter the establishment with a glass of sparkling cider. I was also indulged, by the way, with a glass of champagne, and my eyes were instantly swept by the opulence of the lobby, where a duo was playing and singing jazzy love songs.

The Ritz clearly trains their staff to make guests feel right at home. From Philadelphia-favorite Peanut Chew candies on the counter at reception to an all day shoe shiner, the hotel goes out of the way to make their clientele happy. The rooms were made with comfort in mind and are extremely spacious for families traveling with children. Their onsite dining is plentiful, and many partake in the club suite on the 30th floor.

After we were given the full low-down on the hotel, we headed to our room. We chose to locate it on our own, but we were certainly given the option of being escorted. The decor was classic, with comfortable linens and soothing colors adorning the walls and floors.

We first noticed the most beautiful view of the city. It is very easy to understand the significance of this American city just by looking out the window. Our room offered a King sized bed, marble bathrooms with a rainforest shower head, plush terry cloth robes, a 40″ inch flat-panel HD TV, Wifi and as mentioned, access to the Club Lounge where we had constant culinary offerings throughout the day and access to a computer station − it was the perfect place to come back to after an excursion for a snack, cup of tea and a splash of breakfast. The Lounge provided a dose of ease for the weekend – I didn’t have to worry about much of anything.

We spent our first night hanging out in Love Park, watching break dancers, posing under the sign and strolling to nearby Rittenhouse Square for a bit of shopping. The next day we ventured to Federal Donuts, a short walk away, and then to Spruce Street Harbor Park for a day on the water and loungy time in hammocks. And when our days were done, the hotel was the perfect destination to come back to at the end of the day.

The Ritz offers vacation packages to make a trip more affordable. The Stay and Play package is geared towards family travel, which includes tickets to the Please Touch Museum, a great museum for kids. The Two Nights in the City package offers a couple or pair art, history, food, and culture with a two-night stay.

I highly recommend a weekend visit to Ritz Carlton Philadelphia with – or without – the kids. From outstanding customer service, to being right next to an abundance of culture and history, you can’t do better than this for a Philadelphia family getaway. It’s a city that begs to be explored and a hotel that demands to be booked at least once.

Disclosure: My stay at the Ritz Carlton was complimentary to facilitate this review but all opinions are my own.

Follow

The post A Family Stay at Ritz Carlton Philadelphia Offers Historic Elegance appeared first on The Culture Mom.