Posts Tagged ‘Events’

Antiques! Oddities! Ephemera! A City Reliquary (Back)Yard Sale

The City Reliquary will host Antiques! Oddities! Ephemera! A City Reliquary (Back)Yard Sale on Sunday, August 6, from noon to 6 p.m. True to its name, the event will take place in the museum’s backyard. RSVP for the event.

Local artists and collectors will be selling an eclectic variety of one-of-a-kind vintage ephemera, unusual collectibles, and unique art and crafts. For those who know the City Reliquary Collectors Night event, a show-and-tell where collectors display their strange collections, this is a rare opportunity: a show-and-sell!

Wares for sale include:

  • Midcentury records, clothing, and housewares from Kyle Supley
  • 1964 New York World’s Fair memorabilia, vintage ticket stubs to NYC sites, collectible spoons and spoon jewelry, and more from Yardsale Cafe (who will also offer refreshments)
  • Uranium glass and antique bottles from Emily Kawasaki
  • Bizarre products from world markets from George Rush
  • Vintage film and cartoon-related ephemera from Tommy Stathes (Cartoons on Film)
  • Vintage movie stills and promotional ephemera, and quirky vegetable commercial ceramics, from artist Steve Gerberich
  • Vintage Barbie collections, paper ephemera, and one-of-a-kind assemblage art from artist Marlene Weisman
  • Unusual old dolls from Andrea McManus
  • Assorted oddities, taxidermy, vintage toys, antique photos and postcards, and other oddities and kitsch from Bryan Sansivero, ruins photographer and author of American Decay.
  • Handmade jewelry and headbands from Shannon Richardson
  • And MUCH more!

Free entry with museum admission, but please RSVP! We suggest that buyers bring CASH as many vendors can’t accept credit cards.

Tunes from Kyle Supley, resident DJ at Julius’ bar, who will also sell a wide selection of midcentury lamps, clocks, records, and clothing.

Cool drinks and tasty pastries from Yardsale Cafe, “one of Brooklyn’s best new bakeries” according to Brooklyn Magazine. Yardsale will also be selling items from their antique store: 1964 New York World’s Fair memorabilia, vintage ticket stubs to NYC sites, collectible spoons and spoon jewelry, and more.

Calling all Vendors! (application now closed)

The City Reliquary invites applications from vendors to show and sell their vintage ephemera, unusual collectibles, and other unique items. Vendors interested in participating can submit an application through Friday, July 14. Space is limited!

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Miss Subways is Back and Coming to Coney Island

After a covid-imposed hiatus, The City Reliquary Museum’s Miss Subways returns! The beloved event, known for highlighting NYC’s underground and outsider talent, will take place on Friday, April 28, 7:00-11:00 p.m., at New York’s historic nexus of the weird and whimsical, Coney Island USA’s Sideshows by the Seashore Theater (1208 Surf Ave., Brooklyn).

As in previous years, this is sure to be a very. wild. time.

Tickets on sale now! Think you got what it takes to compete? Apply here! (Submissions closed as of 4/18.)

Evolving the Miss Subways Tradition for Today’s NYC

In 1948, Thelma Porter became the first African-American Miss Subways.

The City Reliquary’s Miss Subways celebrates the historic “Miss Subways” beauty contest held in New York City from 1941 to 1976 (and resurrected once in 2004) while challenging traditional ideas of beauty. Updated for the 21st century, the event expands on the progressive history of Miss Subways as the first racially integrated beauty competition and is open to contestants of all gender identities, body types, and ages 18+ to compete for the Transit Tiara and the prized title of Miss Subways 2023.

Meet the 2023 Contestants

Lena Horné (she/they, representing the Metropolitan G/L)
I am a dynamic drag entertainer and can be found serenading crowds all over Brooklyn and lower Manhattan with diva anthems of the past and present. I’ve performed at the past two Bushwigs, as well as guest starred in a Billy Porter music video (“Children”).
I’m in my Star-to-Be era, and my heart would grow 3x larger to be able to represent not only the subways, but the beautiful genderqueer individuals all over New York who ride it.

Meghan Sara (she/they, representing the E)

After moving to the Big Apple in 2008 to chase my dreams of an acting career (what else?), I soon realized I could make a living combining my natural desire to perform (Leo Sun/Leo Rising) AND my fascination with NYC history by being a tour guide!
I am the next Miss Subways because I represent unbridled and evangelical enthusiasm for New York City from the ground up, and especially, below.

MX. MAD SCIENTRESS (she/they, representing the R)
I’m a comedian and multidisciplinary theater artist, incorporating my interests in gender, science, visual arts, and evolution into my work. Most importantly, I’m a lifelong New Yorker. Much like the rats Eric Adams thinks he has a chance against, I’m never leaving. And I pride myself on wearing the biggest costume on the subway every Halloween.
I will be a historic winner of the Miss Subways competition, because i will be the first ever DOCTOR SUBWAYS!

Angelina Bowie Waggytail (she/her, representing the F)
Our first-ever canine contestant in Miss Subways history!

Angelina is an opinionated Chihuahua mutt rescued from the deserts of Los Angeles. Her mom, Holly, is the founder of Waggytail Rescue and once saved an aging pit bull from drowning in Prospect Park Lake by administering “mouth-to-snout” resuscitation!

Rob Coover (he/him, representing the Franklin Ave Shuttle)
I live in Brooklyn. I write medical journal articles, turn compost, and rescue injured birds. I have wept on the Q and slept on the A.
I lost twice already. Surely victory is within my grasp.

Chantelle (she/her, representing the B)
I’ve been living in New York City for 6 years, but when you adjust for Covid it feels closer to 10. I’m a cat mom and a cat modeler, an avid and prolific reader, a fitness enthusiast, unapologetic morning person, and a clean freak.
I truly and genuinely enjoy taking the subway, even if it doesn’t love me back. In my opinion, it’s the great equalizer and the one thing that really defines a “true New Yorker.”

Harmony (she/her, representing the 7)

I was born in a subway-less town where tumbleweeds blew, public transportation was scarce, and all we could do was twirl sticks and hoops as we suffered from excessive wait times. Finally, I followed my dreams to the Big Apple, home to America’s greatest transportation system. Now, after ten years and four home subway lines later, I’ve spent a lucky 7 years on the 7 line. I’m ready to represent my unique home with a song medley and hula hoop performance.

Much like the train I represent, I operate at 101% capacity. I’m hardworking and reliable, I never deviate from my track line. I might not always go into Manhattan or run express, but you know exactly where you’ll end up.

Annie Stone (she/her, representing the N/W)
Annie Stone once performed a 45-min set at Rockwood Music Hall with a broken insulin pump. She is fascinated by the endless offerings of this gigantic city, which often results in her overextending herself. During the day, she makes ridiculous things for the Nutter Butter Instagram.
Annie represents the best and worst parts of the city. Totally broke? Absolutely. Laughing about it all the way to the Atlantic Terminal Target? You bet. Electric and exhausted, Annie is always on the move, from one show, project, or fever dream to the next.

Miz E with a Z! (she/her, representing the 7)
Miz E with a Z! co-hosts KNG-TV’s “The Kong Show on TV!” on YouTube and Roku TV and also appears as her own evil twin sister, KNG-TV station manager Madison Lynne. A former child star, she once appeared in a Girl Scout cookie commercial with the Brady Bunch’s Ann B. Davis. A former belly dance instructor and roller derby queen, she now devotes her time to co-hosting the biggest little vaudeville style/comedy variety show on KNG-TV.

Ketriana Yvonne (she/her, representing the A)

Ketriana Yvonne is a native of Brooklyn and producer & host of the award winning “The Ketriana Yvonne Show” airing on BRIC Brooklyn Free Speech TV network. Author of “Sequin Soul Poetry from the Spirit.” Volunteer for the MTA’s volunteer Maskforce during the pandemic. Her award-winning tribute poem for Truly Brooklyn in 2019, “Dear Brooklyn,” is now part of the Intergenerational Community Arts Council Brooklyn Tribute Song “Spread Love the Brooklyn Way.”

I am like the subway, moving with speed, making connections, and making life flow in a forward progression. I am poetry in motion, greeting each stop I arrive at with a memory of a personal story that happened on the train, meeting now-lifelong friends and reconnecting with old ones.

An outrageous competition led by Miss Coney Island

Our event emcee, current reigning Miss Coney Island and local burlesque performer Maggie McMuffin, welcomes us to her kingdom and will preside over the evening’s antics.

Local Celebrity Judges

Local celebrity judges will determine who takes home the Transit Tiara. This year’s panel features some of the best of the city’s artists, performers, historians and daily documentarians:

Tickets on sale now. All proceeds benefit The City Reliquary and Coney Island USA. Space is limited!!!

Are you Miss Subways 2023? – (Submissions closed as of 4/18)

We’re looking for contestants! Miss Subways is gender/size/age-inclusive (18 and up, please). Send us your info to get a chance to take the stage at Coney Island and gain eternal glory! Winner takes the coveted title of Miss Subways 2023 and the Transit Tiara, an original work of art by celebrity judge Reverend Jen Miller!

Miss Subways 2023 Application

Applicants are invited to propose an original performance that captures their relationship with the NYC subway, in all its complexity. “Performance” may be interpreted broadly. Past performances have included an ode to the G train, an experimental soundscape inspired by the Q, songs about subway proselytizers, and an appearance by the Wicked Witch of the Upper East Side and an immigrant from Oz. Apply now!

See you at Sideshows by the Seashore.

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Wonder Woman Events!

Art by Isabel Samaras

The City Reliquary’s new exhibit, Wonder Women: NYC’s Heroes of Heterodoxy spans topics of feminism, equality, and community—all subjects that we at the museum hold dear and are determined to highlight and uplift.

In the spirit of Wonder Women everywhere, we have teamed up with some amazing community members to educate, inspire, and entertain you!

Get tickets to all events here, at our Withfriends events page. Museum Members may reserve free tickets through the same page.

Friday, June 24th
Opening Reception

– Open house, museum tours, informative talks, and some surprise performances –
 

Saturday, June 25th
Cartoon Carnival

– Vintage 33mm film cartoon showing with the theme: Wonderful Women –
 

Thursday, June 30th
Carousel


– A comics reading and performances focusing on Women in Comics –

Thursday, July 14th
Bare Book Club

– Women who love to read naked will be reading excerpts from articles, books, slash fiction, and more celebrating the world of comics –
 

Thursday, July 28th
Superhero Burlesque


– A sexy show where all kinds of superheroes take it all off in the name of comics –

Friday, August 26th
Lookalike Contest

– Enter to win a variety of prizes in several categories in this silly and enthralling competition to be the most like Wonder Woman –
Click here to submit a short form to compete!

And More TBA!

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Looking for our Events Calendar?

Hello City Reliquary website visitor! For the latest listing of our upcoming events, please visit our Withfriends page here! You can purchase tickets or reserve Member tickets to all upcoming events through that site.

Consider becoming a sustaining member of the City Reliquary – you can do that our Withfriends site as well.

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The History of Bazooka Joe! Thursday June 10 at 8 pm

The History of Bazooka Joe

Thursday, June 10 – Presentation at 8 – Doors at 7

$7 General Admission – Free for City Reliquary Members (tickets required)

The City Reliquary is proud to present a very special event celebrating America’s favorite eyepatched rascal Bazooka Joe! A distinguished panel of candy and comics experts will discuss the history of the iconic character and his lasting impact on marketing and design.

Our guests include:

Ira Friedman has spent his career on the merchandising side of pop culture. Since his early days at Starlog and Fangoria magazines, to a stint at Lucasfilm during the original release of The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ira landed at Topps in 1988 as the director of new product development. Since that time, Ira has been a fixture at the famed bubble gum and trading card company involved in hundreds of different projects, publishing, and confectionery products – ‘homegrown’ and licensed.

Charles Kochman is the Editorial Director of Abrams ComicArts and editor of the #1 bestselling series Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. For thirty-five years, Kochman has edited several hundred books for all age groups, including award-winning picture books, middle-grade novels, retrospectives, monographs, graphic novels, and art book collections published by Abrams, DC Comics, MAD magazine, Bantam Books, and Putnam. He is a recipient of the Inkpot Award, presented by Comic-Con International for achievement in comics.

Jason Liebig is regarded as one of the nation’s foremost experts on candy and snack food brand history and is considered an arbiter of candy as pop culture and nostalgia.  As such, he has written hundreds of articles on the subject matter and has served as a brand consultant as well as period television consultant for shows such as Stranger Things, Young Sheldon, Mad Men, and more.  His unique perspective and expert knowledge have led him to become an occasional television host and frequent guest, sharing his love of the candy and snack worlds he loves.  Blog: http://www.collectingcandy.com/wordpress/

R. Sikoryak is a cartoonist and author of the graphic novels Constitution Illustrated, The Unquotable Trump, Masterpiece Comics, and Terms and Conditions (Drawn & Quarterly). His comics and illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, The Onion, and more. Sikoryak presents his live comics performance series, Carousel, around the U.S. and Canada. 

Special guest appearance by M. Sweeney Lawless, writer of ill repute. Twitter: @Specky4Eyes

Bazooka Joe and his Gang appeared in mini-comics on Bazooka bubble gum wrappers starting in 1954. The comic concept was the brainchild of Woody Gelman and Ben Solomon, heads of product development at Topps, and the original comic artist was Wesley Morse. Topps, the king of trading card companies, has been based in NYC since 1947.

Admission to the Museum and The Call of Candy exhibit included – come early to check out vintage Topps and Bazooka Joe ephemera as well as that of other NYC candy manufacturers from the 1800s to today!

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POSTPONED: The 13th Annual Panorama Challenge

2019 winning team hosting the Panorama Challenge trophy
2019 Panorama Pro winners, the Dutch Killers!

The Panorama Challenge is postponed in light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation. We hope to reschedule this event later in the year when we can once again safely gather to celebrate our love of New York City, and we hope to see you there. We’ll announce a new date when we have more information.

The 13th Annual Panorama Challenge
Friday, April 17, 2020: Doors 5 PM, Open Museum Galleries 5-7pm, Game 7 PM
Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows-Corona Park

General Admission: $15 advance/$20 day of game

City Reliquary & Queens Museum members: $12 advance/$15 day of game

SEEKING KNOW‐IT‐ALL NEW YORKERS AND LOVERS OF NYC! 

It’s almost time for the 13th Annual Panorama Challenge! Once again, The City Reliquary, Queens Museum, & The Levys’ Unique New York! have partnered for an exciting evening of trivia with the whole city at your feet. Meet us at the world’s largest architectural scale model – The Panorama of the City of New York at the Queens Museum!

On the occasion of this year’s Panorama Challenge the Queens Museum’s galleries will be open after hours from 5 – 7pm, so that participants can visit the newly opened exhibition season, which features a wide range of perspectives and explorations of the city of New York.  Exhibitions on view include After the Plaster Foundation, a show on artists’ experiences with home, displacement and real estate in the city, Ridgewood Reservoir for the 21st Century (Community Partnership Exhibition in the Watershed Gallery), and Bruce Davidson: People in Public Places. Make sure to visit the exhibitions and expect a few related questions in the Challenge!

Panorama Challenge quizzes players on all things NYC. MC Gary Dennis reads questions while our judges highlight clues on the Panorama using lasers (well, laser pointers). Players in teams of 10 (or so) use those clues ​to determine the correct answer.

Quizmaster Jonathan Turer returns for his ninth year with another fresh batch of questions. This year, categories may include: ‘Women in Song’ (audio clues), ‘Brush Up on Your Shakespeare’ and ‘Bruce (Davidson) in NYC’ which will focus on works from the photographer’s exhibit at the Museum. And, to celebrate the 13th Challenge: ‘Unlucky’. Start building your teams accordingly!

Teams may organize as Panorama Challengers or Panorama Pros. Challengers are first‐timers or casual trivia fans. Their questions will be easier!  Pros are returning contestants and dedicated enthusiasts of our city’s hidden corners. They answer twice as many questions per round (60 total!) Friendly tour guides from The Levys’ Unique New York! will help match contestants to teams.

The winning Pro team will join the ranks of legendary past winners when its name is etched on the Panorama Challenge Trophy housed at the Queens Museum!

A new prize will be awarded this year in honor of the late Lee Gelber, long-time Panorama Challenge judge and ‘Dean of New York Guides’. To commemorate his love of jokes and puns, the team with the funniest or cleverest name will be added to “The Dean’s List”, a trophy that will live at the museum along with the ‘big prize’. 

Food and beverages will be available by suggested donation. A free shuttle, generously provided by DaVinci Limo & Tours, will travel between the Queens Museum and under the Mets‐Willets Point 7 stop from 5:30-7 pm and 9-10 pm.

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POSTPONED: Time Capsules: Relics of History & Hope

Westinghouse workers admire the time capsule created by the company for the 1939 World’s Fair in New York

POSTPONED UNTIL FALL

In light of the changing COVID-19 situation in NYC and to allow our speaker to avoid unnecessary air travel, we have decided to postpone Time Capsules: Relics of History and Hope until Fall 2020, when we’ll celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the Westinghouse time capsule. Hope to see you then!

Thursday, March 19 at 6:30 pm at the City Reliquary

$10 Admission – Members free (Join Today!) – Space is limited and advance tickets are recommended!

Precious antiques and relics are usually either handed down from generation to generation, traded by collectors, or preserved and exhibited in museums such as the City Reliquary.  But with time capsules, one can transform an ordinary artifact of the present into an instant relic, packaged and sealed for future antiquarians

In this talk, Prof. Nick Yablon will discuss the origins of this practice in Gilded Age America, drawing on his new book, Remembrance of Things Present: The Invention of the Time Capsule. In keeping with this museum’s emphasis on cultural ephemera, he will focus less on the written messages than on the artifacts that he found in various chests and boxes around the country—from handcrafted objects and exotic oddities (such as Robespierre’s molar) to manufactured items such as shoes or a telephone.

What kinds of insights or hopes did people hope to convey by depositing these things?  Why did historians and museum curators disdain such ordinary artifacts until well into the twentieth century?  And could such deposits, as material links spanning the centuries, foster respect for the rights of posterity?

Copies of Remembrance of Things Present will be available for purchase and signing, and the Museum will have a special selection of rarely-displayed artifacts on view in keeping with the time capsule spirit of the event.

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A Secret Speakeasy Benefit for the City Reliquary – Sunday, January 26 at 4 pm!

Sunday, January 26, 2020 at 4 pm

The Loft at Prince Street – 177 Prince Street, Manhattan

Advance Tickets $20 – Includes admission to the Museum of Interesting Things vintage film event following at 6 pm

Proceeds benefit the City Reliquary Museum

Your favorite collectors of historical curiosities are joining forces! We hope you’ll join us for a very special benefit event hosted by the Museum of Interesting Things! On Sunday, January 26 from 4 to 6 pm, the City Reliquary Museum will hold a Secret Speakeasy pre-show at The Loft on Prince Street. We’ll have unusual facts and artifacts from the collection of our founder Dave Herman, plus additional surprises! And your ticket includes admission to the Museum of Interesting Things vintage 16mm film jukebox (and more) at 6 pm. Refreshments will be available (it is a speakeasy, after all!) and there will be many marvels to see in this beautiful Soho space.

Advance tickets are highly recommended and available here! Your purchase will benefit the City Reliquary Museum and help us produce events and exhibits throughout 2020!

Many thanks to Denny Daniel and the Museum of Interesting Things!

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Stereopanorama Returns to the City Reliquary on January 16!

Thursday, January 16 at 7:00 pm at the City Reliquary Museum

$15 General Admission – $10 Museum Members (Join Today!)

Come and experience a retro-tech time-travel experience unlike any other! (Perhaps you read about it in the New York Times?) Immerse yourself in the 1950s through incredible Midcentury 3-D photographs — taken mostly by amateurs with the Stereo Realist Camera system. Emmy-winning writer and comedian Eric Drysdale has been collecting the amazing images produced by this largely-forgotten technology for 25 years and will share them with you in your own (for the night) high-quality restored vintage stereo viewer. New York City will be highlighted, but all of America is the star. Don’t miss this intimate yet spectacular trip to the past!

There are only 12 tickets available for this evening, so we highly recommend purchasing in advance to guarantee your seat (and stereo-viewer)!

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Discover Barren Island with Author Miriam Sicherman on November 21!

On a now-vanished island in Jamaica Bay, a community of new immigrants and African-Americans transformed the city’s waste into industrial products and built a neighborhood from scratch. In her book Brooklyn’s Barren Island: A Forgotten History, author Miriam Sicherman (of Closet Archaeology fame) traces the development of this oft-forgotten community from the 1850s to 1936, when they were evicted to create New York City’s first municipal airport.

We will celebrate the release of Brooklyn’s Barren Island with a talk and book signing by Miriam Sicherman at the City Reliquary Museum on Thursday, November 21 at 7 pm! Join us to learn more about this fascinating fragment of NYC history.

RSVP on Facebook!

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