Toys By Zimotco (All Photos By Gail)
OMG. Of all the trade shows making their way back after a million billion years of Covid, no return to the land-of-the-living has thrilled me more than that of Five Points Festival — the Mother of All Toy Shows — because Five Points just plain rules! If you failed to make that scene, here’s just a smidgeon of what you missed. Losers.
Art By Nate Bear
Continue reading Five Points Festival 2022: The Photo Recap!
A couple of weeks ago, I stopped to gaze into the window of Magnolia Bakery in midtown while en route to the NBC Studios to attend a taping of that week’s Saturday Night Live (Host: Rami Malek). What a delight it was to see this tiered Halloween-themed cake right up front. So scary cute! Whatever your plans (or lack thereof ), have a safe and enjoyable Halloween!
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Clutter Magazine Booth Display (All Photos By Gail / Jamie)
I feel no shame admitting that I had stuffed animals on my bed into my thirties. Despite being a grown adult with a day job, I still love and collect toys, and I especially have a sick fetish for Designer Art Toys. This is why the annual Five Points Festival is my jam. Thanks to this awesome blog, I was able to score press passes once again to this year’s Five Points Fest, which took place the first weekend in June.
Since Geoffrey is no longer on-the-scene, so to speak, I brought along my photographer and Partner in Squee, Jamie, and we spent about 5 or 6 hours trawling through hundreds of tiny toys and using the words “Cute” and “Adorable” about one hundred million billion times, each. Just being serious. While many designer toys are limited editions that can sell for hundreds of dollars, it is also possible find dozens of captivating art toys at Five Points Fest that can be yours for as little as $10 each. Please enjoy my photos of some of the toys that we found to be most squee-worthy, and you will see how easy it can be to build an affordable toy collection that adds joy to your life.
Continue reading Five Points Festival 2019: The Photo Recap!
Photo By Gail
Portland-based street artist MC Monster travelled all the way to NYC to put up this epic fantasy mural depicting the mysterious yet peaceful confrontation between a Wizard in a Moon-shaped boat and what is either a Dinosaur, or the Loch Ness Monster. To say that this tranquil scene encourages imaginative extrapolation is an understatement. The mural went up in November of 2018 at the First Street Green Art Park (located at 33 East 1st Street, NYC), and those murals tend to change every three or four months, so don’t wait too long to go check it out!
Update: As of March 16, 2019 this mural has been painted over.
The Headless Horseman (All Photos By Gail)
With Halloween falling on a Tuesday this year, holiday enthusiasts were able to enjoy three solid days of spooky-themed parties and events, which were happening all over the city this past weekend. Halloween in New York City: there is really nothing like it. I’m not much for dressing up, but I do love a good adventure, and this year Geoffrey and I had the most fun ever, at the Night of 1,000 Jack O’Lanterns, which had a three-night run on Governor’s Island state park — which is about 10 minutes by ferry from the southern tip of Manhattan. I’d never been there before, so I was pretty excited to see something new. Adventure time!
This is the view of the lower Manhattan skyline in the Financial District, as seen from the island. It is very breathtaking, as you can see. To give you a little background on the park, in 1776, during the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), troops raised defensive works on the island, which they used to fire upon British ships before they were taken. From 1783 to 1966, the island was a US Army post, and later, from 1966 to 1996, the island served as a major US Coast Guard installation. There are historic buildings all over and at night it looks like you are wandering around one of those abandoned mental institutions where they do the ghost hunting shows. Very Scary!
The Jack O’ Lantern trail features more than 1,000 illuminated pumpkins, carved by artists from around the tri-state area, set along a festive, paved, tree-lined pathway among the backdrop of centuries-old buildings. The more ornately carved Jack O’ Lanterns are staged on raised pedestals, and the smaller pumpkins help to light the footpath. It looks pretty cool!
Please enjoy a selection of my favorite photos, which I have grouped together in categories, just because. Let’s get to the Pumpkins OK?
Monsters and Horror Movies and Halloween Iconography
Vincent Price as a Vampire
HP Lovecraft Creation, The Cthulhu
The Mummy
Werewolf
Freddy Krueger
Frankenstein’s Monster and his Bride
Here on the left we have Its‘ Pennywise the Clown as portrayed by actor Bill Skarsgard, and I’m not sure what is on the right. What did not quite make it into the frame is one of the featured artists, who was talking to visitors about what tools he uses to carve the designs and that sort of thing. That was fun.
Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King
Here are some spooky trees that I am throwing in the mix as a palate cleanser.
Halloween’s Original Bad Boy, Michael Myers
Of course it wouldn’t be Halloween without some Day of the Dead Skull Action.
Fairy Tales and Kid-friendly Characters
The Wicked Queen, Snow White and The Poison Apple
Sleeping Beauty
Monsters Inc.
Celebrities and Pop Culture
Barbra Streisand
Game of Thrones
In Memorium
George Romero
Of course, it would not be as spooky and Halloween-themed if the Jack O’ Lanterns did not also pay tribute to recently departed celebrities. There were some really good ones!
Florence Henderson
Adam West as TV’s Batman
George Michael
Mother and Daughter Actresses Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher passed away just one apart in December of 2016. Unbelievably sad. This pumpkin was a beautiful tribute to two very talented ladies.
While it’s too late for you to make it to this year’s walk, why not bookmark This Link right now, so you can be sure to not miss next year’s Night of 1,000 Jack O’Lanterns!
See You Next Year! Happy Halloween!