Save the Date

Are you going to Hester Street Fair,

Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme?

I am going to have a booth at the Hester Street Fair on Saturday, June 7. The Hester Street Fair is famous in New York City for being the hip locale for foods, indy jewelry, vintage clothing and sundry fun things sold by (mostly) young entrepreneurs. 

And -- the Hester Street Fair is literally right in my backyard. My co-op, Seward Park, had a small parcel of land at the end of Hester Street, where it meets Essex Street. For years it lay fallow, until an enterprising young Seward Park resident had a light bulb moment, and decided to use the pocket park for a fair.

It's been in existence for several years now, and it's really fun to walk through on a Saturday or Sunday from April to October.

Hester Street runs from Essex to Centre Street.

It was a center of Jewish life, but now runs into Chinatown

as it moves west.

 A big part of the fair is food. There are many

vendors selling delicious food, much of

it ethnically oriented.

 Rosette is a new restaurant on East Broadway.

My friend, Carol, raved about their Kale Lettuce cups.

Don't these baked goods look yummy?

One must carefully navigate the minefield of 

calorie-laden goodies.

The fair was crowded this past weekend.

Picnic tables are set up for enjoying the curly fries.

 Sign by someone who speaks English as a second language,

or who does not know how to spell.

 Tee shirts that double as a chalkboard.

 Cute dogs like the Fair too.

Exotic oils and candles. Love her

Ralph Lauren blazer.

Note the basketball players in

Seward Park behind her.

 A bright, young designer.

 Love the eccentric spellling of "Pyknic."

 A flower vendor called "Pastoral."

 I adored this arrangement, and the

container too.

Audrey of Pastoral.

A hand-painted mannequin.

Vintage is big at Hester Street.

This young lady brought a vintage trailer

to the Fair as her shop.

La Poubelle Vintage means

the garbage vintage.

Delicious ices and ice cream sandwiches.

There are mats on the lawn for

impromptu picnics.

Leaving the Fair, I will show you

 a little of Hester Street beyond....

 My favorite dumpling place.

 Brown Cafe, now closed.

For a Lower East Side nano second it

was central casting for 20 somethings.

 An old-fashioned candy store.

 Barzinho --

A tiny Brazillian cafe.

 The owner, Leo, came out to talk to me.

He was so charming.

 Believe it or not, this is a combination

drugstore and coffee bar.

Old-school Lower East Side.

 Our local Hester Street school.

 Trendy shopping.

 Trendy garbage.

 A 112-year-old Roumanian synagogue.

Thomas Nozkowski, the painter, lived here

from 1967 to recently.

 A vestige of the old Lower East Side.

 A pretty child on Hester Street.

 Back in my apartment, my bouquet from Audrey

of Pastoral.

I am reading "Updike" by Adam Begley.

It is sooo fascinating. What a genius Updike was.

Mr. Begley brilliantly integrates Updike's life

and writing in such an illuminating way.

So, my friends, please save the date,

Saturday, June 7, to join me at

 the Hester Street Fair 

from 11 am to 6 pm.

I will be selling hats and beads.

À Bientôt!