I hurry down the streets of lower Manhattan. We’re a small group, trying our best to remain within the thin sidewalk that lines the street. Everyone seems preoccupied with our next destination, as the previous clue is held tightly by one of the women trudging at the lead. We arrive at a small park, where it seems we ought to be, but no one grabs our attention. Tourists line the benches, alternating with some of the locals. Students, lovers, a few of the city’s homeless, and even several pets hang about. After several futile minutes of searching, we find ourselves on the brink of defeat. We can’t seem to identify which of them is part of this game, and we need an out, until.. oh, wait, the homeless man just looked up at me from behind his sign and winked. Gotcha.
A Unique Night Out, To Say The Least
If you’ve perused through my first post titled The Queen of Hearts Brandishes A Knife, where I list my first three suggestions for unique things to do in NYC (or elsewhere, subject to availability), and want more, you’ve come to the right place.
I just love doing things that are different, on my time off.
After all, why go out for an ordinary evening when you can create memories with something a bit more extraordinary? Besides, those always end up the more memorable of the bunch!
Unique Things To Do, Take Two
(Here we go again)
Accomplice the Show
My hubby (please note the man on the right is NOT my husband, but rather one of the actors in the game) surprised me with this one several years back for my birthday. It offered a different means of killing (pun intended) several hours in the city and ended up cool as h*ll. Get your walking shoes on for this one, though, because you’ll be running around.
The experience is interactive, as you’re plopped into a mission, and the actors involved play various roles along the way. It’s like watching a Broadway play but you’re a part of it! They tend to blend in with the surroundings of NYC so that the action feels real, making it quite the challenge at times, because they’re at times difficult to spot.
Below are snapshots of our adventure.
You need to find appropriate clues, or solve riddles and puzzles along the way. This isn’t always a simple task!
Key point and part of the fun: you get fed along the way, in various culinary venues.
80’s Prom
A fun, immersive experience involving a recreation of the prom, set in the 80’s. Just like a Broadway show, again, except that you’re part of the players.
Whether you actually attended your prom in the 1980’s or even experienced first hand this fabulously neon decade, you’ll surely enjoy playing the role and schmoozing with others dressed the part. Even the silly dialogue making up the show will make you laugh.
Take prom photos together, see the crowning of the prom court (one of the husbands in our party got picked as ‘coach’ throughout the whole event and we’ve called him that ever since), and chuckle along as controversy unfolds. Bottom line: keep you mind open, get into the act and have a blast!
Artist for the Night
From a local art shop’s open-art nights to a BYOB paint-and-sip, spending an evening exercising your artistic creative juices can be exhilarating.
We recently did this as an activity – my boys and I – at a friend’s art studio. She offered a few afternoon hours of family fun, painting together, and with a finished product that was for keeps, to boot. If you are local, in Bergen County, NJ, her website is linked to this. Otherwise, google ‘sip and paint’ in a location near you for a night of fun creations.
The finished product, a joint collaboration of my boys and I, adorns a corner wall and adds a little touch of modern art twist:
