Taste of the Seaport returns Oct. 17.
BY JANEL BLADOW | Once again it’s fall and around our neighborhood that means lots of fun stuff.
Yum! Yum!…The 6th annual Taste of the Seaport is set for Saturday, Oct. 17, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m., so mark your calendars! Last year more than 45 restaurants took part and some 4,500 people enjoyed the eats and fun, including a 40,000-square- foot kid zone and a stage with local bands and lots of dancing.
All proceeds benefit the local schools — both Peck Slip and Spruce Street — arts programs.
Organizers promise even more fun activities this year and a bonus treat.
Lauren Scala of WNBC News will serve as celebrity host of a fun, new feature event: live cooking demos from three local chefs — Ivan Beacco (Acqua, 21 Peck Slip), Dina Rata (Andaz Wall Street, 75 Wall St.) and Julian Medina (Toloache Taqueria, 83 Maiden Lane).
The Kids Zone is back in full force. Also returning is New York-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital with its Teddy Bear clinic and an actual ambulance to explore. New to the Zone is the South Street Seaport Museum with its Mini Mates program and other nautical-inspired children’s activities. And organizers even added a second stage, just for the kids with their own music and bands.
Again, more than 45 restaurants and businesses will line the cobbled streets along Front Street and Peck Slip. And the adult music stage on Fulton and Front promises some big name acts.
For tickets, visit the Taste of the Seaport pages on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Tots’ Trick or Treat…And as any long time Seaport resident knows, this is a special time in our hood. For 26 years we’ve had the annual Seaport Halloween trick or treat parade with kids from six months to well over 60 dressed in costumes and enjoying the fun.
This year’s parade, hosted by the Old Seaport Alliance, starts in Peck Slip Plaza (between Water & South Sts.) at 6 p.m., Sat., Oct. 31, as part of a full day of events and Halloween celebrations. Prizes for best costumes will be doled out along with a map of restaurants and shops giving out candy and treats.
“Halloween has been a long-running tradition in the Seaport, where kids come from all over Lower Manhattan to walk the cobblestone streets and enjoy the night,” said Whitney Barrat, executive director of Old Seaport Alliance, who expects up to 200 children of all ages.
“It’s always been a great opportunity for the wonderful shops and restaurants down here to demonstrate their dedication to the community as they greet trick-or-treaters and give out great candy,” she said.
The Hounds are Howling…It’s yip, yip, hooray for Howl-o-ween again as the seventh annual Salty Paw Halloween party promises more canine costumes than ever. Hosted by Grand Master Oliver the Green Lobster (a.k.a. Moose the bulldog), the party kicks off on Friday, Oct. 30 (5:30 – 7:30 p.m.) with a few tricks (beg, play dead) and treats (anyone up for a bone?) in the Peck Slip Plaza outside the pet shop (38 Peck Slip).
Come and see the pet parade and costume show. Best costume judges this year are celebrity dog trainer Travis Brorsen and Terri from the Seaport Animal Hospital. Beware of some way-too-cute bowsers!
Walk the Wild Side of History…This month has another added bonus. The South Street Seaport Museum launched “Archtober Tours,” walking tours illuminating the architecture of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Seaport’s Fourth Ward. The tours take place Thursdays, 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. with tickets ($10 Adults, $8 Museum Members, $5 Children) available at southstreetseaportmuseum.org.
There’s one more tour of the “Hidden History of the Brooklyn Bridge” on Oct. 15. Learn about the secret vaults, underground rooms filled with priceless drawings, passageways, fortified bomb shelter and more beneath the iconic granite towers.
Then on Oct. 22 and 29, go back in time to the 19th century’s wickedest ward, where sailors in port were looking for a good time in the district known for its vice and crime. The buildings still stand — the Meyer’s Hotel (now the Paris Café), where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid hit out, and salty pubs like Kit Burns’ Sportsmen Hall. Walk on the wild Seaport streets with tour director William Roka, Collections & Operations Assistant at the museum.
Pooch Photos…A quick reminder to all you dog folks, photographer and neighbor Debra Florez — mom to golden retriever Arthur — takes pup portraits at the Fishbridge Dog Park (Pearl & Dover Sts.) on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m. R.S.V.P. on his Facebook page: Arthur Dugless McMurray Bach. Suggested donation is $20, to benefit our community-maintained dog run.
Oh Rats!…The rats are as big as cats (see P. 9). And not nearly as shy or aloof, as I can attest.
I had visitors in from upstate last week and we went round the neighborhood, them sightseeing, me showing off our great little spot in Manhattan. That was until the rats were sighted.
As we walked all along South St., these huge buggers came out by the dozens and scurried around. During one stop, we were entertained — or maybe more repulsed — by the multitude of speedy gray rodents zipping in and out the canopy covering the construction of the Marketplace building and under cars parked along Beekman St.
The problem has definitely grown worse in recent years, not that we’ve ever been without these pests on the waterfront. Something more does need to be done than just have meetings about all the garbage. Call 311 and complain. And meanwhile, pick up and tie up your garbage folks!
