Downtown Happenings

I rarely make a trip to FiDi and still don't know my way around down there, despite having lived on Water St. for two semesters during the good ol' college days, but now that I'm there every work day, I'll have to admit there are some pretty cool things happening at Brookfield Place and the Oculus.  And there are so many pretty shops that make me want to drool, except none are open on my way to work, and most seem closed by around 7pm...and who has time to shop during the middle of the day?  *sigh...at least I'm enjoying Hudson Eats so far, but I'm sure I'll just default to the same three lunch places over and over in another week.

Anyway, for those of you who don't live or work downtown, here are a few fun things that you might be interested in checking out.

 1. Ice Skating (sign up for free lessons Sat-Sun 9-9:45am) 
Pay a visit to the rink soon before it goes away, you know, because now it's officially spring (in case you can't tell from the snow...ha).  If you're an early riser, live downtown, and/or really want to cash in on free benefits, sign up for a free skating class too!  Extra perk: the rink seems pretty empty, although I don't know if it gets more crowded on weekends.


 2. Hot Shots Basketball Competition (until Friday, March 24, 11am - 7pm)
Okay, maybe it's not really a competition, but you get to shoot hoops and enter a lottery to win a $250 gift certificate to Brookfield Place.

 3. Dancers Among Us Gallery (until Sunday, May 14, 12-6pm daily)
13 awesome photographs by Jordan  Matter of dancers doing extraordinary things in ordinary, everyday settings.  The best part is there's a story behind each of the photographs -- the inspiration for the shot, the difficult process it took to capture the moment -- as well as a "behind the scenes" video in the gallery to make you really appreciate the art.

He's not levitating...he's just mid-backflip

Rainbow!

That was a random dog...what a naturally talented actor

Mind blown.  They're all "lining up" to donate to Salvation Army.  The lady in the background could not care less though.

 4. "The Water Clouds" by Stella Artois
I've been wondering what people were doing with all those balloons in the Oculus the past couple of days, but now I know -- today is (UN) World Water Day.  As part of this year's campaign, Stella Artois is selling limited edition chalices for $6.50, and each purchase will fund 5 years of clean water for one person in the developing world.


P.S. In case anyone's wondering, I still don't know my way around downtown, but I do know how to get from the subway station to my office via the underground transport hub.  Shops I look at everyday but have not gone in: Grom, Bottega Venetta, Ferragamo, Hermes.  It's probably better this way.