offManhattan

What: Earth Day Volunteering

Where: Socrates Sculpture Park

When: Friday, April 18, 9:00 am–2:00 pm

Why: Socrates said, “Let him that would move the world first move himself.” We’ve all tried to make a difference in the environment, either by recycling, bringing our own canvas bag to the grocery store, or by turning off unnecessary lights around our apartment. Just a tiptoe’s distance away from Manhattan, there’s a chance to make an impact on a local level. This wonderful community event kicks off volunteer season at Socrates Sculpture Park, adjacent to the recently featured Isamu Noguchi Museum. Is there a more perfect way to celebrate Earth Day than by giving back to your community? The park provides a day of training for future community program volunteers who will participate in a day of learning specialized skills in gardening and landscaping, such as weeding, planting and pruning. A community vegetable garden will also be planted and the park’s first compost unit will be built. Find an hour or two to lend a hand for the environment.

What: A week-long celebration of Earth Day

Where: Prospect Park, Central Brooklyn

When: April 19th—27th

Why: There aren’t too many opportunities for green-minded New Yorkers to let out their inner eco-feelings and learn how to preserve the environment, whilst enjoying a pristine Parisian park-like setting—undisturbed by the usual gaggle of joggers, bikers, and tourists one might find in Central Park.

What: National Cherry Blossom Festival

Where: Washington, D.C.

When: March 29 – April 13, 2008

Why: Usher in spring with a visit to the nation’s pink and white blooming capital. The cherry blossom festival runs for two event-packed weeks, with daily cultural performances, a kite festival, a fireworks show, cruises in the Potomac and of course, the parade. Other attractions include the country’s largest Japanese street festival on April 12, featuring Japanese art, vendors, cuisine, martial arts demonstrations and live performances of traditional and popular Japanese culture. For more information and a list of events, check out nationalcherryblossomfestival.org.

What: Bike New York’s Commerce Bank Five Boro Bike Tour

Why: Don’t pass up an opportunity to tour through all five boroughs on a route closed to car traffic, joining 30,000 other cyclists in the largest recreational biking event in the United States.

When: Sunday, May 4, 2008 - registration deadlines are March 28th (early bird) and April 18th

Where: The 42 mile tour starts in Battery Park, runs through Central Park, historic Harlem, the Bronx, down FDR drive, then over to Queens and Brooklyn, over the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and onto Staten Island. Before returning to downtown with a free ride on the ferry, riders enjoy a celebration at Fort Wadsworth with exhibits, food, and live entertainment.

What: All Points West Music & Arts Festival

Where: Liberty State Park, Jersey City

Why: This summer, with the Statue of Liberty looming in the near distance, Radiohead, The Roots, and Jack Johnson will be playing in concert. Other performing artists include Rodrigo y Gabriela, Sia, Youssou N’Dour, Cat Power, and Kings of Leon. Saturated in rich history, the area’s Ellis Island and NJ Central Railroad inspired the festival’s name, which recognizes the immigrants who boarded trains for ALL POINTS WEST. The park will be eco-friendly for the event, invoking a recycling program—ten empty bottles equals a free bottle of water—and requiring all visitors driving to carpool in order to claim a spot in the parking lot.

What: A Beaujolais wine and European olive oil tasting

Why: Wine not? Put something warm and bubbly in your belly to help brave the cold. In vino veritas.

When: Saturday, February 23rd 2-6 p.m.

Where: Red, White, and Bubbly Wine Shop in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Visit redwhiteandbubbly.com for their regularly scheduled tastings.

What: A Valentine Social, accompanied by a DJ with live conga and Timbale drumming.

Where: Salsa Salsa Dance Studio, 888 Broadway, Brooklyn

When: February 15th, 9:30-1 am

Cost: Cover $8

Why: Valentine’s Day in New York can be a tricky affair (especially if you’re in one). With a committed relationship, there’s pressure building each year to top whatever it was you did the prior V-Day. Usually something more expensive, clever, and well-planned. Then there comes a moment when you realize you don’t have to try as hard anymore. Now you’re considering a prix-fixe dinner, a previously consulted gift exchange, and that’s about it.

OR, you could really spice things up. Even for the couple who met two months ago on the NYU campus, Match.com, JDate, or Craigslist “casual encounters.” The last thing either of you want is an evening at the Lincoln Center or another night at the bar. (The bars on Valentine’s Day are for all those lonely people anyway—the one’s you’ve suddenly disowned.)

It is true that there are some things even Manhattan can’t compete with. In Brooklyn this month, the Bedford Stuyvesant/Clinton Hill Week of Wellness begins on January 20th and ends January 26th. Four spas will be offering treatments for $45 and less: body and back massages, yoga instruction, manicures, pedicures, facials, and donation-based classes on nutrition, belly dancing, meditation, and tai chi. A votre santé.

What: “Art & Global Survival” Presentation and Film Screening

Where: Tabla Rasa Gallery, Brooklyn

Why: Global Warming can’t continue to be a half-taken-seriously topic. Swedish-born Anders Knutsson has been painting 1,000-year-old trees for 19 years, and in his discussion on Saturday, he will address the essential role his subject plays in resolving climate issues. If you haven’t seen Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth,” this is a great opportunity. Art for Climate’s Sake.

What: Boston Harbor Hotel’s 19th Annual Boston Wine Festival

Where: 70 Rowes Wharf, Boston

Why: What better way to follow this holiday month of non-stop eating and drinking than with a wine festival in one of the best drinking towns in the Northeast? Taste wines from California, Oregon, Washington, and Italy beginning on Friday, January 11th, and indulge in the accompanying smorgasbord of gourmet food. Meritage Restaurant Chef Daniel Bruce will host the four-month event with the Boston Harbor Hotel. What to expect: Bordeaux, lobster bisque, braised chickens, and classy debauchery. Winos and New Yorkers welcome. Check this calendar for a weekly schedule of events.