See ManAboutWorld At NY Times Travel Show

Have budget and PTO but don’t know where to spend them? Looking for the right gay-friendly getaway? Your wife wants a spa weekend but you want a camping trip?

Help is on the way!

Please come by the New York Times Travel Show’s annual LGBT travel panel on Saturday, January 19 3pm-3:50pm and hear from a knowledgeable group of avid, savvy travelers: Merryn Johns, Michael Luongo, Jerry Portwood, Joseph Pedro and myself. Free tickets to the consumer days are available, first-come, first-serve, with the code IGLTA13! http://ow.ly/gGcZT.

Before or after the show be sure to visit the IGLTA booth 342 to pick up the latest magazines by these and other media partners as well as information about gay-friendly hotels, destinations, attractions and events around the world.

Also be sure to come with your gay/lesbian travel questions. The panel can help you spend those dollars, discover the gay (and lesbian-)-friendlest destinations around the globe, and hopefully maintain vacation and same-sex marriage bliss with a perfect luxury/wilderness combo at what promises to be a lively session.

Sandy Cam Live Shots From NY Times Building

We have our eyes on you, Sandy

Check out the live camera feed from the 51st floor of the NY Times Building in Midtown for shots of Hurricane Sandy.

Click here.

 

Jake Gyllenhaal on Stage: A Great Reason to Visit NYC

Candid pic by Ed Salvato after show

Here’s another good reason to come to New York City as well as an excuse to gratuitously show a close-up picture of the handsome Jake Gyllenhaal. He’s seen here exiting the Roundabout Theatre where he’s performing in the dark comedy If there is I haven’t found it yet. He’s terrific in the show and, I just noticed, he has a lot of a’s and l’s in his name.

If you decide to come to New York to see Jake or for one of the other countless great reasons to visit the Big Apple, be sure to download ManAboutWorld’s summer 2012 issue chock full of up-to-the-minute recommendations for where to stay, eat, play, meet and soak up culture.

Eventi Hotel Pride Special

Happy pride participants enjoying a gorgeous day in NYC.

Lots of hotels offer NYC Pride specials, but since we particularly love the Kimpton Hotel Group, we are happy to include the Eventi Hotel‘s contribution: the I Swing for PRIDE package which includes the following:

• A bottle of bubbly
• A 2-hour trapeze class for two at The Trapeze School
• PRIDE-only wine hour on the 5^th floor terrace on the night before the parade
• Sleep in and enjoy breakfast in bed and morning mimosas the day after the parade
• Complimentary upgrade to next room type if available
• 10% of your rate will be donated to Broadway Cares

Fine print:

• Starting at $449, guests can book online or call 1-866-996-8396 and mention rate code PRIDE for travel now until July 31, 2012. Rates subject to availability. Taxes and gratuities not included. Blackout dates may apply.

From Kimpton:

• Kimpton is proud to be the only hotel brand to score 100% on the HRC Corporate Equality index for four years in a row and has provided continual support to the LGBT community through KPride, the company’s employee resource center, along with many other initiatives.

 

Frieze Art Fair Invades Manhattan May 4-7

Live from Frieze Art Fair this is LuckyPDFTV
Commissioned and produced by Frieze Foundation for Frieze Projects 2011
Frieze Art Fair 2011
Photo by Anna Kari
Courtesy of Anna Kari/ Frieze

For four days in early May, all eyes in the art world will be on Randall’s Island in New York with the arrival of the Frieze Art Fair, May 4-7, 2012. This is the first time Frieze has come to the U.S.

The most progressive art galleries in the world exhibit over 1,000 of the hottest artists on the globe. There are also specifically commissioned works, panel discussions, and lectures. Fear not having to leave Manhattan, there will be plenty of dedicated transportation to and from Randall’s Island.

There are other events associated with Frieze taking place in other boroughs, including “Chelsea Night” on Saturday, May 5 with galleries remaining open till late, a block party and food trucks. The HuffingtonPost has a nice round up.

Visitor information/tickets: http://friezenewyork.com/visitors/tickets/

“Zero Feet Away” from the Center of New York

That's close!

This sexy billboard is raising all sorts of eyebrows. To announce its new mobile app, Manhunt bought time in this rotating electronic billboard ad featuring two hot, shirtless guys. And they plunked it in the middle of one of the busiest spots in New York  amongst the tourist hordes.

Like Grindr, Manhunt’s new mobile app, may prove to be another arsenal in today’s gay male traveler’s tool kit for meeting other likeminded fellows when gallivanting around the globe.

 

New York City for the Holidays: My ProudFM Radio Spot

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/amatuerphotographer/

New York City is one of the most exciting destinations to visit, well, ever, but it’s particularly energetic, vibrant and fun between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The sidewalks are packed with eager shoppers from around the world. Stores try to one-up each other with festive window displays. The sounds of horse-drawn carriages clomping by and smells of roasted chestnuts for sale by street cart vendors add to the multi-media holiday extravaganza.

I was a guest on ProudFM’s Travel Tuesdays. Here are suggestions for a terrific time this season in New York. (Click here to listen to this 3-minute radio spot.)

More NYC info

• Click here for more holiday suggestions from NYC & Co, the Big Apple’s official tourism group.
• Click here for gay-specific suggestions from NYC & Co.

Harlem Oktoberfest: Discover an Up-and-coming NYC Neighborhood

Take the A train

Ask most Chelsea gay men to come visit Harlem and you’ll get a look as if you asked them to make the trek to Kyrgyzstan on a prop plane. It’s not that far, people. In fact you can zip from the northernmost edge of gay-centric Hell’s Kitchen to the heart of Harlem in exactly one subway stop (via the A or D express trains from Columbus Circle).

There is a lot going on in West Harlem. In the culinary scene alone you can experience dozens of new eateries, wine bars, burger joints and fine-dining establishments that weren’t there one, two and certainly five years ago. Many of these new spots are clustered along 8th Ave from around 112th St to about 125th St.

The Harlem Oktoberfest Bar & Restaurant Crawl is an event tailor-made to introduce visitors and locals alike to the distinct and savory charms of Harlem. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, October 25 from 6pm to 10pm. Tickets for exclusive food and drink discounts are $20 at the door and two-for-one in advance.

The crawl features such new and noteworthy restaurants as Nectar Wine Bar, Cedric, Lido, Harlem Tavern, 67 Orange, Zoma Restaurant and 5 & Diamond.

For more information visit their Facebook page: Facebook.com/ExperienceHarlem.

Pop Goes the Museum. Guggenheim Lands Briefly in NYC

A rendering of the space

First we had pop-up stores, then pop-up restaurants. Now, New York City gives us a pop-up museum.

The Guggenheim opened a temporary space between two former tenements in the city’s vibrant East Village neighborhood. The structure itself is beautiful and has an incredible design. The lower space is almost completely open and the chairs and other temporary elements of the exhibit space are stored above the ground level.

 

It’s a mobile structure traveling to nine different cities worldwide. Its purpose, according to organizers:

Part urban think tank, part community center and public gathering space, the Lab is conceived to inspire public discourse in cities around the world and through the BMW Guggenheim Lab website and online social communities.

More info here.

SUITE DREAMS: POOL PARTY AT DREAM HOTEL DOWNTOWN

The brand new and very hip Dream Hotel Downtown has opened and one of its coolest features is an outdoor pool and beach (with sand).

Well, would you know that the gays took one look at that space and thought, what a great place for a party!

And indeed it is. Promoted by Josh Wood and team, the party encourages guests to dance, swim, drink, and eat. The hotel is located at 355 W 16th Street at 9th Avenue and the party begins at 5:30 and goes till 9:30 on Sundays during the summer.