Metro Cigar News Fall 1999

Autumn Action in New York City
While autumn has always been one of New York City's most glorious seasons, this fall is shaping up to be something special as the city celebrates the end of the century and gears up for the next millennium.

Special fall 1999 events include museums and performance groups feting the end of the 20th century with characteristic flair; the New Times Square bustling like never before, and the reopening of the spectacularly revamped Russian Tea Room and Radio City Music Hall.

Easy NYC Resources
For the latest and most comprehensive listing of NYC events, check out the official web site of the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau (NYCVB) at www.nycvisit.com, call 800/NYC-VISIT or stop by the Visitor Information Center at 810 Seventh Avenue at 53rd Street. For help with hotel bookings, contact the Peak Season Hotel Hotline at 800/846-ROOM.

New York on $4 a Day
The new MTA Fun Pass (212/METROCARD, www.mta.nyc.ny.us) provides visitors with unlimited subway and bus access all day long for only $4 - perfect for fast, easy and safe travel throughout all five boroughs. The Fun Pass is available at the new NYCVB Visitor Information Center (810 Seventh Ave. at 53rd St.) and at MetroCard merchants throughout the city. For longer stays, visitors can take advantage of the 7-Day Unlimited Ride card for $17.

The Rebirth of Two Classics
This fall, the venerable Russian Tea Room (150 W. 57th St. bet. Sixth and Seventh Aves., 212/974-2111) is reopening its famous revolving doors after a top-to-bottom makeover that preserved the best of the old while incorporating the wildly creative flair of restaurant impresario Warner LeRoy. In October, the Art Deco Radio City Music Hall (1260 Sixth Ave. at 49th St., 212/247-4777) will complete a $70 million renovation that is restoring this landmark to its original 1932 grandeur and modernizing the facility to technologically cutting edge specifications.

The World's Showcase: 2,000 Years of Culture
As the millennium approaches, some of New York City's 150 museums are taking the opportunity to present intriguing cultural retrospectives. The Whitney Museum of American Arts (945 Madison at 75th St., 212/570-3676) much anticipated "The American Century Part III" exhibition opens September, 26th tracing the changing American identity from the postwar years through the advent of Internet technology.

In a similar modernist theme, the New-York Historical Society (2 W. 77th St. at Central Park West, 212/873-3400) is presenting "Cass Gilbert: Ten Projects," a survey of the architect's most famous works that have shaped New York City's skyline (opens September 14th). "Modern Starts: Places Exhibition," part of the 17-month long MoMA2000 series at the Museum of Modern Art (11 W. 53rd St. bet. Fifth and Sixth Aves., 212/708-9480), opens October 7th and focuses on geographical sites as represented in early modern art and photographs, 1880-1920.

Jumping back to pre-millennial times, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fifth Ave. at 82nd St., 212/535-7710) is presenting "Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids" displaying some 200 works from the first great era of Egyptian art (opening September 16th.)

Surveying cultural evolution from Egyptian times up until the present, "Body Art - Marks of Identity" at the American Museum of Natural History (Central Park West at 79th St., 212/769-5100) opens November 20th focusing on body decoration through the ages, from Ancient Egyptian tattooing to modern plastic surgery.

For a peek into the future, Trump Tower (725 Fifth Ave. bet. 56th and 57th Sts., 212/832-2000) is hosting "Predictions for the Next Millennium" and "Millennium Mode," exhibits and panel discussions on what we might expect in art, culture, government, science and fashion over the next thousand years (begins October 25th.)

Other exhibits include: "Berlin Metropolis: Jews and the New Culture, 1890-1918" opening November 14th at The Jewish Museum (1109 Fifth Ave. at 92nd St., 212/432-3271); "Clemente" featuring 200 paintings by Francesco Clemente opening October 8th at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1071 Fifth Ave. at 89th St., 212/423-3500); and Cildo Meireles' room-scale installations and sculptures at the New Museum of Contemporary Art (583 Broadway at Houston, 212/219-1222.)

World Capital of the Performing Arts
Fall marks the debut of arts season in the city and this year is no exception. The New York City Opera (Lincoln Center, New York State Theater, Broadway at 63rd St., 212/870-5570) kicks off its season on September 11th followed on September 27th by the Metropolitan Opera (Lincoln Center, Metropolitan Opera House, Broadway at 63rd St., 212/362-6000.)

If it's music you're after, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center (Lincoln Center, Alice Tully Hall, Broadway at 63rd St., 212/875-5000) kicks off its 1999-2000 season September 15th as does the Great Performers (Lincoln Center, 212/875-5937) series of 102 concerts at seven venues throughout the city.

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra is at Carnegie Hall (57th St. at Seventh Ave., 212/247-7800) September 29th-30th and October 3rd, yo-yo Ma gives his only New York recital of the year on October 15th and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is in town October 24th-26th.

Festivals
New York is home to every conceivable festival this fall, with quirky food celebrations including the Gourd Festival (October 23rd-24th) at Wave Hill (W. 249th St. at Independence Ave., Bronx, 718/549-3200) and the Merchant's House Museum's (29 E. 4th St. bet. Lafayette and Bowery Sts., 212/777-1089) Oyster Festival (October 2nd).
Other festivals include Folk Parks '99 (Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center), Old Home Day: The Autumn Celebration (Historic Richmond Town, Staten Island, 718/351-1611), on October 17th.

Everyone Loves a Parade
New York strikes up the band this fall with an incredible variety of exuberant, colorful parades. Start with the classics, the Columbus Day Parade (Fifth Ave. from 42nd St. to 23rd St., 212/693-1475) on November 11 and the mother of them all, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (Central Park West and 77th St. to Seventh Ave. and 34th St., 212/494-4495) on November 25. And on October 31st, grab your costume and camera and head on down to the HUGE and irreverent Greenwich Village Halloween Parade (Sixth Ave. from Spring to 21st Sts. 914/758-5519).