To learn more about our exciting programs and the endless possibilities for your traveling groups email us at info@theoffstagegroup.com or give us a call 212.265.6077.  Be sure to book your group’s trip today!

I would be lieing if I didn’t tell you that I was trepidatious about the pending gobble gobble day.  I was slated to work on Black Friday, it would be my third Thanksgiving away from home, and all of my friends already had plans.  It was looking bleak to say the least.  On Wednesday I was working late and I felt a faint vibration from my cell phone sitting on my work desk.  I ignored it the first time, then by the third time that it was shaking me from my work I decided to answer it. 

It was my mom!

I had been sloughing off my own mother!

I quickly called her back to learn, much to my extreme surprise, that she would be driving through the night, FROM VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, to visit me for Thanksgiving!  She told she would be arriving around 3 a.m. and she wanted me to have an action packed weekend planned!  You can imagine that I was overwhelmed thinking about how excited I was to see her, how nervous I was to put together a stellar weekend for her, and that I had less than 6 hours to put it all together! 

SAY WHAT!? 

This was going to be my first holiday season in New  York City and now my mother will be joining me in less than 6 hours.  Rather than walk you through my impromptu planning process I figured I would walk you through what turned out to be an amazing weekend. 

So after arriving at 3 am on Thursday morning, we slept at my apartment for 2 hours before getting up and pounding the pavement in the concrete jungle.  We topped off our tanks at The Hudson View restaurant in Washington Heights as well as with a delightful cup of coffee from the neighborhood Starbucks.  We then flew down to the 8av A Express Train servicing 59th street….to go and view The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Let me stop you for a second.  I know that you think I am crazy for attempting to battle the mass hysteria of crowds on 7th Avenue, but where we got to watch the parade from was breath taking.  I got to bring my mother up to The Offstage Group’s offices to get the best view in the entire city of New York of one of the greatest (and longest I might add) parades in the world. 

While waiting for the parade to begin we munched on our breakfast leftovers and surfed the Macy’s website so that we knew which celebrities to look out for.  Then we heard the screams and we knew it was time.  Leaning our heads out the window we watched as the parade came around the corner of 7th Avenue.  I will spare you the blow by blow of the parade…but I will say that nothing will ever beat the look on my Mom’s face when Santa Claus came down the Ave.  I watched as she turned into a little girl and screamed at Santa with what looked like a tear in her eye (though she would never admit that).  There was one point where she screamed so loud that Santa actually looked up at us perched in the window. 

My Mom unfortunately had to work on Friday, but you better believe that on Saturday she was back in the City bright and early.  We did some exploring and light shopping and decided to end our whirlwind adventure of a weekend with a guided tour bike ride through Central Park and tickets to Broadway’s smash hit musical, Wicked.  I got to see some parts of Central Park that were knew to me, including most of the Upper Westside.  Famous sites such as apartments where celebrities live, and fountains that you could spend hours staring at made for an inspiring hour long adventure through the park.  My mom marveled in the parks naturally unnatural beauty, and I got to spend some time talking with my mom about life in New York City and all of the big things that the Big Apple had in store for me.  

My mom got the chance to see the importance of the arts to me and to this great city that I call home.  She got to see the lifestyle of an artist in New York City.  She got to experience the “fairy tale” that I get to live everyday (I mean let’s be honest, there are times where I still get off the subway and get caught gawking in Times Square.)  I got to cross a couple things off of my bucket list WITH MY MOM!  All of it was made possible because of how The Offstage Group has inspired me to think and experience the world in which I live.  With The Offstage Group, I leave no stone unturned in exploring this expansive and jaw-droppingly beautiful city.

The Terrace was designed by architect Jacob Wrey Mould, who focused on the primacy of nature in all of his design work for the promenade.  Though Mr. Mould’s detailed sandstone work is definitely a highlight of this area of the park, perhaps the most inspiring is the  Bethesda Fountain.  The fountain was built in 1873 by Emma Stebbins, who was the first woman to receive a commission for a major public work in New York City.  Karen Putnam’s and Marianne Cramer’s, authors of 50 Best, say, ”The Angel was designed to depict blessing the water with one hand and holding a lily in her other to represent purity.”

Since arriving, I have spent so much time hustling and bustling through the crowded streets of New York City that I haven’t really stopped to think about how blessed I am to be in a new place, with a pure and unbiased outlook.

Don’t get me wrong, most of the rushing that I do is of my own design.  I drink 50 cups of coffee to get used to this new 9 to 5 life.  I push myself to get out and meet new people.  I run to new places and things that I have yet to experience in my young life.  I chase the dream day after day, striving to be the best person that I can be. 

That being said, I found my time at the fountain to be a lesson of sorts.  Perhaps my favorite lesson was that maybe, just maybe, I need to slow down a bit and not give into the fast paced motion of the city just because everyone else does.  Its important to stop.  Its important to take your time and appreciate the little gifts that life has given you.  Yes, its important to get out there and make things happen for yourself, but you won’t get anywhere unless you stop to appreciate your life every once and a while.  Its important to meet new people, but its still important to enjoy a cup of coffee with an old friend.  Its vital to have instant access to emails and messages, but what good are they if you can’t listen to and observe the world that already exists around you?

The Bethesda Terrace, is an amazing place to take in the melting pot that is New York City.  Its the right mixture of tourism, architectual marvel, natural beauty, and New York City spirit, to really earn the merit of being the Heart of the Park. 

To learn more about how The Offstage Group can help you experience Central Park like never before, be sure to contact us:

 Lisa Ellerbee
Director of Education and Sales
212.265.6077
Lisa@theoffstagegroup.com

One of our incredible Event and Sales Specialists will be able to match you with the perfect programs and ideas to create a trip for you and your group that is engaging, memorable, and truly one of a kind.

I decided to take a walk to one of my favorite Central Park hot spots: The Alice in Wonderland Statue, also known as the Maragrita Delacorte Memorial.  The statue depicts Alice, and her loveable friends The Mad Hatter, March Hare, Dormouse, and the Cheshire Cat.   The piece, built in 1959 by Jose De Creeft, and comissioned by philanthropist George Delacorte, struck me in a way it never has before.  I have walked by the statue countless times in my visits to Central Park, but this time, as I stopped to really take it in for the purpose of this blog, I was moved by the number of children climbing the multi-teered statue of Alice’s dream land.  The children were doing more than just climbing though, they were talking to Alice and the different characters, they were pretending to be at the infamous tea party, they were whispering secrets into the Chesire Cat’s devious ears…they were living out Alice’s story. 

Why is this so moving you ask?  It reminded me of the importance of education, particularly in the arts and humanities.  It was moving to see children actively engaged in bringing Alice’s story to life.  It was overwhelming to see children acting out their different parts in Lewis Carroll’s Wonderland.

In a world where education has begun to revolve around facts, test scores, and memorization, we have begun to lose sight of the importance of engaging our student’s minds.  We have begun to lose sight of the importance of providing experiences for our students that are going to help them develop dreams and ideas that will one day change the world.  When student’s are put into the high pressure situation of testing they begin to lose sight of the community that they exist in, the world that surrounds them, and their place within it. 

We should encourage students to wonder down the rabbit hole to discover the world that exists.  We should be challenging them to experience the world they live in and engage in their communities.  One of the best ways to do this is through the arts and humanities.  Letting student’s imaginations run wild is a great way for them to make sense of the young chaotic world that they live in.   

At the Offstage Group, our motto is, “Engaging Minds…Changing Lives.”  Through our one of a kind signature experiences students not only get to experience arts and culture in various cities throughout the US, they get to engage in it.  Whether they are learning a song and dance from a hit broadway musical, taking leadership workshops, taking a personalized and knowledgable tour of the city, or meeting with industry professionals from all walks of life, student’s are engaging themselves in the community.  We pride ourselves on our level of experiential learning that will leave a lasting impression on a young student’s life. 

So I offer you these questions:  When was the last time you let your mind wonder?  When was the last time you escaped into a fictional realm of wonder?  When was the last time you took your family or students on a memorable outing?  If the answer to these questions is, “not recently,” you should consider working with the Offstage Group to start putting together an imaginative and engaging experience for you and your students.

But amidst all that craziness there is one place where thousands of New Yorkers and Tourists alike seek daily refuge from, as many people it, The Concrete Jungle….

Central Park

I am no city boy.  Don’t get me wrong…I am living in the city of my dreams and every decision I have made in my life was all apart of the goal of one day making it to New York City.  That being said, I am no city boy.  Growing up behind a soy bean field in Virginia Beach, and having spent the past two years surrounded by the red rocks of Southern Utah, you can imagine that I am a bit out of my element.  So what place could be better for me to begin my explorations of this great city, than a place that reminds me of home.

Using Karen Putnam’s and Marianne Cramer’s “New York’s 50 Best Places to Discover and Enjoy in Central Park,” I have decided to begin my journey in this metropolitan rarity.  Over the next couple of weeks I will be exploring Frederick Law Olmstead’s and Calvert Vaux’s 845 acre cultural gem.  I will explore the park bit by bit with photographs and stories that will help to bring to life this historical relic that reflects the diversified population of this great city.

I start my adventure at a park entrance on 104th and Central Park West.  Near a beautiful lake.  On a near perfect fall day (not too hot and not too cold).  With a picnic with a friend.

Please feel free to leave comments or suggestions of must sees in the park.

Let the discovery begin!