New York City Center Access Group, Friends & Fete Event March 19
Catherine Gordon, friend and New York City Center Access Group Member emailed and then called me to ask, "Chris, are you coming Tuesday night to our Friends & Fete Event at Cafe Spice?" Catherine’s personal invitation was followed by a passionate dissertation on the history of NY City Center, as the oldest New York City Center for the Performing Arts, the importance of arts programming for urban youth and why she has devoted herself, her energy and network of friends to support growth of the Access Group, City Center’s Young Professionals Group.
I was informed that it would be a brief mixer, between 6-8 pm, centrally located on 55th Street, near the corner of 6th Avenue with Indian food and beverages to support City Center’s Adopt a School Program. The Program provides arts programming for students at the Access-sponsored Beacon High School. This season Beacon High School kicked off their participation with City Center’s Young People Dance Series by sending 100 excited students to an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performance. Students will again visit NY City Center this April to see Martha Graham Dance Company.
I equivocated initially since work, exercise and event coverage had left me over tired. I was actually hoping to have nothing to do of a social nature this week..no dates, no friends, no drinks. As I hung up the phone Catherine’s energy and enthusiasm reverberated in my ears. I realized that this was more than a simple cocktail party. So, this past Tuesday night I head to Cafe Spice with my gym bag in tow figuring that I would greet some friends that I had not seen in a while, take a few photos, support a great cause and otherwise limit myself to one (yeah right!) glass of wine, Sauvignon Blanc. This was to be followed by an evening of weights and cardio at Clay.
By 7 pm, while the rest of 55th street was relatively quiet, Cafe Spice was buzzing, filled with an eclectic array of professionals, a good mix of male and female attendees I might add, jamming the bar and indulging in the spicy Indian fare. Three glasses of wine later, all I could think about was laying down on my bed and not any kind of a bench in a gym. My summer exercise program suffered a setback yet another night.
At approximately 8:30 pm, I left Cafe Spice with the bar was still jamming. I head down 55th street towards 5th Avenue, snapped a few more photos, and noticed that The Pump Energy Food Restaurant was still open. I ordered my usual #48 Thunder Plate, grabbed a cab and head home to Yorkville on the Upper East Side. Never so happy was I to return home to an empty bed. Just a few years ago that itself would have made for a unique night. How ironic that I used to evaluate my relative success by how often someone was there waiting in my bed. Yet now it is the sound of silence that relaxes me even more than sex. To see photos from the evening, click here to go to the ofoto album