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Day Three Hundred and Forty-Two Private Members Nights at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) May 27th, 2025

Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring The Upper East Side of Manhattan, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Met After Hours event, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around Manhattan, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

One of the nicest things about being a member of museums in New York City is when they have the ‘Private Members Nights’, where the museums are open after hours for the membership only. The funny thing about these nights are that the museums seem busier on these nights than they would when the museums are open during the day to the general public.

What also is difficult is when two major museums have their Members Night on the same night. I had to do a lot of coordinating to go to both museums. What made it work is that both museums closed at different times with The Met closing at 10:00pm. I timed it perfectly.

Members Night at the MoMA ‘Behind the Flowers’ for the Hilma af Klint exhibition

The theme that evening was based on the Hilma af Klint exhibition

https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5779

Going this evening took a lot of planning as I had to teach in the morning and cut the lawn on the afternoon. I was already exhausted by the time I left for the City at 4:00pm. Even on this gloomy afternoon, the weather held and it was a nice evening.

The area around the museum was in full bloom that early evening

The event opened early at the MoMA with their event from 6:00pm-9:00pm and the Met went from 7:00pm-10:00pm so I was able to enjoy both with a lot of walking in between. It was worth it as I was able to see several exhibitions on my bucket list before they closed. With work and finals, it had been tough to visit both of them.

People were enjoying conversation and cocktails when I arrived at the MoMA that evening.

I decided to start my evening at the Sculpture Garden on the first floor. The weather was cloudy but still it was a warm evening. People were conversing near the fountains and listening to music. The lines for the cash bar never let up and they were about thirty deep the whole time.

The Sculpture Garden at the MoMA

While I walked around the gardens and fountains I noticed a lot of the art that they were featuring was really unique, some of which I had not seen before.

The gardens with the poppies in bloom

This beautiful mosaic of a octopus did not have a name

This metal artwork was towards the back of the sculpture garden

The artwork makes quite a statement in the sculpture garden

I watched this interactive art that I had seen at the last Members Night

I love this interactive art in this video

I love watching this video sculpture moving around. I had seen it on my last visit and thought it was very interesting. I then moved upstairs to see the Hilma af Klint exhibition that would be closing that weekend. The galleries were jammed with members who wanted to see the artist’s work. She had some interesting pieces that looked more like a naturalist works.

The entrance sign to the Hilma af Klint

The entrance to the galleries

https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5779

You could barely move in the galleries it was so crowded. I was not able to get as close to the works as I wanted but I wanted to share from the exhibition the pieces I liked most.

Flowers and an Apple

These interesting drawings on mushrooms

I thought this set of drawings on dandelion’s and strawberries was interesting

As I finished the exhibition, I watched from above other members milling around the second floor

I then moved to the next exhibition ‘Pirouette: Turning Points in Design’, the use of design and concept in everyday life. I thought this exhibition was interesting because it described how we look at functionality and the reasons why things are designed for a specific purpose and then can take on new meaning.

‘Pirouette: Turning Points in Design’ exhibit

https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/5756

Of the many fascinating and famous items in the exhibition that I saw two well known works stood out to me. The first was the “I ❤️ New York” logo and its development in the 1970’s to be one of the most famous tourism campaigns in history

The Milton Glazer campaign for the “I ❤️ New York” campaign which saved New York tourism and is still used today. What was sad was the creator died during COVID in 2020.

The sign on the development of the design

The other stood out for its simplicity and fame was the development of M & M’s. This simple candy was a result of Forrest Mars seeing the rations of candy abroad of chocolate coated in a shell so it would not melt on the battlefield. With some experimentation, he created the modern M& M.

M & M display by Forrest Mars

I thought the whole museum would be open that night but it was just the two floors plus the gift shop and gardens. Since I saw everything at the MoMA already and it was around 7:45pm, off I ran out the back door to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Private Members Night.

Walking up Fifth Avenue at dusk

Walking up Fifth Avenue at dusk

The walk up Fifth Avenue to The Metropolitan Museum

The Met at night is quite dazzling

The entrance to The Met in the evening

Looking down Fifth Avenue at night

The entrance in the Rotunda was filled with fresh flowers and members chatting away. I even saw some of the members I had seen at the MoMA earlier.

The floral arrangements were spectacular

The beauty of the Rotunda in the evening

Maybe because these Members Nights were on a Tuesday evening, they both did not seem as crowded as they had been in the past. The museum was crowded but not as crowded as the past two Member’s Nights. I think that I arrived at 8:00pm most people were starting to leave. What was nice was that the MoMA night went until 9:00pm and The Met Night went until 10:00pm so it gave me the time to run through both museums.

I started my tour of The Met in the Greek Galleries looking at the Cycladic Art. I always loved the looks of these works.

https://www.metmuseum.org/departments/greek-and-roman-art

The entrance to the Cycladic Wing

The Cycladic Gallery in the Greek wing

Some of the interesting cases I admired that night

I then did a quick tour of the Roman Galleries which I had not toured in detail since the galleries opened years ago.

https://www.metmuseum.org/departments/greek-and-roman-art

Touring the Roman Galleries

Touring the Roman Gslleries

Touring the Roman Galleries

After the tour of the Roman Galleries, I headed to the Egyptian Galleries, I wanted to explore the galleries and get a drink at the Members Bar.

https://www.metmuseum.org/departments/egyptian-art

I love the Egyptian Galleries. I have been coming here since 1973 and have loved them ever since.

I love the ancient hieroglyphics

For the last two Members Nights, the Members Bar was in the Temple of Dendur. It is always so well lit and the music was wonderful. It is a nice way to end the evening.

The Temple of Dendur lit for the evening

The Temple of Dendur was the perfect place to relax and have a cocktail

The crowds were rather large at the bar that evening

The Passion fruit cocktail was the specialty drink of the evening

The Passion fruit cocktail was well worth the money

It was nice to just sit back with the other members and relax and listen to the music. After a long week at work, the sounds of jazz with a nice drink and good conversation is a way to enjoy the evening.

I had a renewed energy after being in the Egyptian Galleries for an hour and I headed into the American Wing to tour some of the exhibits around the main court.

Only the outside of the American Wing was open

I decided to see the new Costume exhibition “Superfine”, an exhibition of Black Men’s clothing through the ages from pre-slavery to current times. The exhibition was a discussion on attitudes, tastes, tailoring and how the Black style influences fashion.

The sign for the “Superfine” exhibition

https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/superfine-tailoring-black-style

Clothing and accessories I admired in the exhibition

Clothing styles I thought were interesting in the exhibition

The evening drew to a close and I was exhausted running from work to come into the City to walk from one museum to another and then walk back to the bus station. Still I got to see a lot in both museums.

The Rotunda at the end of the evening

The fountain dancing as I left

It was such a beautiful that I decided to take the long walk back to Port Authority via Second Avenue. I wanted to see if my favorite Chinese restaurant was still open. I was getting hungry but at almost 10:00pm not much was open. The Chinese restaurant had just closed for the evening. Since COVID, the ‘City that never sleeps’ is going to bed early.

As I was walking down Second Avenue, I came across a very reasonable pizzeria named Centro Pizzeria & Restaurant at 1469 Second Avenue. All I had to do is look at the pizza cases and I could not decide on what I wanted to order.

Centro Pizzeria and Restaurant at 1469 Second Avenue

https://www.centropizzeriarestaurantmenu.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d15164626-Reviews-Centro_Pizzeria_Restaurant-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

My review on Diningona ShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.con:

The selection of pizzas in the pizza case

The Cheese and Pepperoni pizzas had just come out of the oven and were the freshest of the pies. I noticed the Pepperoni pizza was loaded with pepperoni and I decided I had to try it. The pizza here is excellent.

My dinner that night

The Pepperoni slice was loaded with slices of pepperoni and cheese

The red sauce which is the base of the pizza gave the Cheese slice lots of flavor

Yum!

It really was a nice walk through Midtown with all the lights on and a nice crowd of people walking their dogs in the various neighborhoods. Walking down the streets of the Upper East Side is really a nice walk and the classic New York experience. These Members Nights are a wonderful way to spend the evening.

Places to Eat:

Centro Pizzeria and Restaurant

1469 Second Avenue

New York, NY

(212) 988-4200

https://www.centropizzeriarestaurantmenu.com/

Open: Sunday-Wednesday 10:00am-11:30pm/Thursday 10:00am-1:30am/Friday 10:00am-3:30am/Saturday 10:00am- 3:30am

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d15164626-Reviews-Centro_Pizzeria_Restaurant-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

Places to Visit:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

1000 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10028

(212) 535-7710

https://www.metmuseum.org/

Open: Sunday-Tuesday 10:00am-5:00pm/Wednesday Closed/Thursday 10:00am-5:00pm/Friday-Saturday 10:00am-9:00pm

Admission: Adults $30.00/Seniors & Disabled People $22.00/Students $17.00/Members and Caregivers with disabled person Free/NYC residents and NY, NJ and CT students: Pay as you Wish

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d105125-Reviews-The_Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art-New_York_City_New_York.html

The Museum of Modern Art

11 West 53rd Street

New York, NY 10019

(212) 708-9400

https://www.moma.org/

Open: Sunday-Thursday 10:30am-5:30pm/Thursday 10:30am-8:30pm/Friday 10:30am-5:30pm

Admission: Admission: Adults $30.00/Seniors & Disabled People $22.00/Students $17.00/Members and Caregivers with disabled person Free/Children Under 16 are free/Members Free/Guests of Members are $5.00.

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d105126-Reviews-The_Museum_of_Modern_Art_MoMA-New_York_City_New_York.html

Day Three-Hundred and Thirty-Nine Exploring Bay Head, NJ-A Local Journey June 21, 2024 and December 28th, 2024

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Bakeries for the budget minded, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring Bay Head NJ, Exploring Historic Ocean County, NJ, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Jersey Shore, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan at the Christmas Holidays, MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, Walking Downtown Bay Head, NJ, Walking In Bay Head NJ, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

While I was writing my blogs on the beach towns of Point Pleasant and Point Pleasant Beach and Seaside Heights and Seaside Park, I drove through the town of Bay Head enough times as I criss-crossed the popular and heavily visited beach towns. When I stopped and actually walked around their historic downtown, I discovered a town not just rich in history but beauty as well.

Bay Head in the Summer months:

Downtown Bayhead in the Summer

Bay Head Historical Society

The sign for the Bay head Historical District

The canal in Downtown Bay head in the Spring

Bay Head is a small town of less than a thousand people and the town is surrounded by Point Pleasant on most sides of the town. The town is also surrounded by water with the ocean and the bay and inlets.

What started as a resort town for people from the City to travel to by train for the summer months has morphed into an upscale community of clapboard beach homes, a picturesque shoreline and a wonderful little downtown. During the warmer months just walking around you can see the sheer beauty of the town.

The view of the Inlet from the dock

It is not difficult to walk the town and its quirky downtown area filled with interesting stores and restaurants. One of my favorite places to go is Mueller’s Bakery at 80 Bridge Avenue. Everything I have ever ordered here was excellent.

Mueller’s Bakery at 80 Bridge Avenue

https://www.muellersbakery.com/#/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g46289-d4682046-Reviews-Mueller_s_Bakery-Bay_Head_New_Jersey.html?m=69573

The Mueller’s sign of pride

The selection at Mueller’s is extensive

Some of the creative products in the cases. I loved this hamburger cake

It was hard for me to make a decision when I come to Mueller’s but on the recommendation of the young girl behind the counter I ordered the Apricot Pocket and the Apple Turnover when I could not decide between the two. So I just had them both and they were both excellent!

I settled on a Apricot Pocket

It was outstanding!

I also got one of their Apple Turnovers

The Apple Turnovers here are fantastic! Filled with fresh fruit and surrounded by sugary flaky pastry

I ate all of this while looking at the beautiful views of the inlets and canals that make up the waterways of Bay Head.

The bay at Bay Head on a sunny Spring day

After my snack one of the places I wanted to visit was the Bay Head Historical Society at 1643 Bay Avenue, which is actually in Point Pleasant just on the border.

The Bay Head Historical Society at 1643 Bay Avenue

https://bayheadhistoricalsociety.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46744-d10596027-Reviews-Bay_Head_Historical_Society-Point_Pleasant_New_Jersey.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

Bay Head Historical Society & Museum 1643 Bay Avenue Point Pleasant, NJ 08742

The Historical Society’s sign

The historical plaque of the original Loveland Homestead

The museum is small but has a unique collection of objects from toys to historical furnishings to Native American objects. It tells the story of the areas progression from Native American fishing grounds and summer month community to the farming communities these areas became to the modern resort towns they developed into today.

The Native American artifacts in the museum

A handmade dollhouse from a local resident

The collection of vintage furniture

The museum was having an exhibition “Maps” and it was interesting to see how the country created its borders.

The “Map” Exhibition

The Map Exhibition

The Berkeley-Carteret Agreement

The Founding of New Jersey

The Lord’s signage on the agreement of East and West Jersey

During the summer months, the Slade Dale Cottage building is open for touring. This was donated to the museum and contains a very extensive nautical collection.

The Slade Dale Cottage on the grounds of the Historical Society

The historic plaque for the Slade Dale Cottage

The nautical exhibits at the museum

The Boating exhibit

The Boating display

After the tour of the Slade Dale Cottage, I walked around the Society’s gardens and grounds. The property is beautifully maintained and the gardens were in full bloom.

The grounds in the Spring of 2024

The gardens at the Historical Society in bloom

After enjoying my snack by the bay and my tour of the Historical Society, I decided to walk through the other side of downtown and walk to the beach. I went to the top of the stairs and admired the breathtaking views of the ocean. The waters matched the beautiful blue of the skies.

The beauty of the beach in Bay Head

It was a nice relaxing afternoon just walking around the downtown and window shopping in the stores. There is also a nice selection of restaurants to visit in the future.

The historic Grenville Hotel at 345 Main Avenue

The historic Grenville Hotel in Bay Head

https://www.thegrenville.com/

Review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g46289-d121416-Reviews-The_Grenville_Hotel_Restaurant-Bay_Head_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

While I walked around town before I left for the day and passed the beautiful and historic Grenville Hotel, which was bustling on a warm day. It was after lunch so people were lingering around and enjoying the view. I thought that lunch on the patio might be nice in the future.

It was an enjoyable afternoon and I would have to come back later in the summer.

Bay Head at Christmas time:

After a very long semester both in Graduate School and at the College, I finally traveled back to the Jersey shore on a very gloomy afternoon. I was exploring Point Pleasant and then traveled back to Bay Head. The town was so nicely decorated for the holidays. It was a quiet afternoon and it got very misty outside so I decided to stop at Mueller’s Bakery again for a snack and visit the Historical Society again.

Downtown Bay Head on a gloomy day at Christmas time

The bridge on the Inlet decorated for the holidays

The Bay Head Chapel at 442 Main Avenue

https://bayheadchapel.org/

https://www.facebook.com/thebayheadchapel/

The Bay Head Fire Company One at 81 Bridge Avenue

https://www.bhfire.org/

https://www.facebook.com/Bayheadfireco/

Santa greets everyone outside the firehouse at the holidays. This is such a nice way to celebrate the holidays.

I walked around the downtown to admire the Christmas decorations. The town keeps it simple and elegant and the homeowners did a nice job decorating their homes. Then I went to the historical Society that was open that afternoon.

The Bay Head Historical Society museum decorated at Christmas time

The Bay Head Historical Society Museum explored a “Victorian Christmas” in 2024 and the museum was decorated with period holiday decorations, antique ornaments on their Christmas tree and vintage toys and games to admire as well as the museum was decorated for the holidays.

The display of vintage artifacts

Garland and decorations on the piano

The museum’s Christmas Tree with antique ornaments

I even stopped back at Mueller’s Bakery and an a Glazed Cruller. You should have seen the selection of holiday treats in the cases.

I ate this delicious treat inside the bakery at one of the tables and got to enjoy the holiday atmosphere.

I find Bay Head to be a relaxing alternative to Point Pleasant and Seaside Heights. There you ride the rides and eat fun foods on the Boardwalks. Here you just relax with the sounds of the waves, admire the beautiful homes with their colorful floral landscaping and just be in the moment.

I find Bay Head the perfect place to unwind.

Day Three Hundred and Thirty-Four Private Members Night at the Museum of Modern Art ‘Abstraction Unbound’ (MoMA) March 25th, 2025

Dedication to Warren Watrel, Dining on a Shoe String Restaurants in New York City, Exploring Manhattan, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring Midtown East in Manhattan, Exploring Midtown Manhattan, Exploring Midtown West, Exploring New York City, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the Theater District in Manhattan, Exploring Times Square, Historic New York City neighborhoods, Hot Dog, Hamburger & Fries for the budget minded., Little Shop on Main Street in New York City (LittleShoponMainStreet), My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, Sandwich and Deli's for the budget minded, Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New York City, Walking around Manhattan, Walking in the Theater District of Manhattan, Walking the Theater District, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Right after the Metropolitan Museum of Art had their private members night, ‘Met After Hours’, the Museum of Modern Art countered with their event. Neither museum has the whole museum open but at least at The Met there is more than one bar open and they keep two of the restaurants open for patrons so you can have dinner at the museum.

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) kept only two floors open and had one very crowded bar open that evening. Still it was nice to visit the museum after hours and walk through the halls.

The front of the Museum of Modern Art at 11 West 53rd Street

https://www.moma.org/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60763-d105126-Reviews-The_Museum_of_Modern_Art_MoMA-New_York_City_New_York.html

West 52nd Street the night of the Members Night

The entrance to the Members Night

Looking down on the bar crowd as I walked to the second floor

Listening to the music play with the artwork

The first piece of art I saw was ‘Cadence’ by artist Otobong Nkanga. This colorful and impressive piece took up the entire second floor atrium and the interesting part of the work was that it was interactive and you could walk through the display. It looked like a volcano had exploded and the rocks that spewed out you could walk around.

The work ‘Cadence’ by artist Otobong Nkanga

The write up on the this interesting work

The work took up the second floor atrium

The rest of the second floor of the museum was closed that evening so I made my way to the fourth and fifth floor to visit the galleries.

There was no special exhibition on the fourth floor so I stopped room by room to admire the art. Sprinkled amongst the paintings and sculptures, the museum had placed clips of movies, a few of them silent films. One of my favorites was showing, George Meles’s ‘Trip to the Moon’.

George Meles’s silent film ‘Trip to the Moon

The write up of the piece

The YouTube video on the movie “A Trip to the Moon”

I had first seen this film in high school and had fallen in love with the elaborate sets and the campy storyline. I never got how they thought they were going to get home. Still the movie is fun to watch and you think to seventy years later to movies like ‘2001 Space Odyssey’ and ‘Apollo 13’ and even the footage of really landing on the moon and think how far we have come.

Roaming around the Picasso gallery

Then I walked around the Contemporary Galleries and admired all the works by Picasso and Brancusi. Everyone else was still down at the bar on the first floor so I had these galleries to myself for the first forty-five minutes. I quietly walked and admired all the works.

The contemporary gallery

The works ‘Fish’ and ‘Bird in Space’

Brancusi’s works especially ‘Bird in Space’ I had studied in my Art History class at Michigan State University and zI had admired them for a long time. I had forgotten that versions of them were at the MoMA.

‘Broadway Boogie Woogie’ by Piet Mondrian

The signage

Then I passed ‘Broadway Boogie Woogie’, another work I had studied in college. It is amazing how many great works were at this museum. I just liked the colors and whimsy of this painting. Then I walked through the Claude Monet gallery where the famous ‘Water Lillie’s’ paintings were located.

The gallery dedicated to Claude Monet’s ‘Water Lilies’

The signage

Claude Monet’s ‘Water Lillies’

I love these immense murals either their beautiful colors and calmness to the painting.

I then turned the corner and came across Picasso’s ‘Girl before the Mirror’

I had forgotten that this painting was here and I stopped for a while and just admired it. I loved the simplicity of the idea but enjoyed its bold colors and crazy cubism to it. I have been attracted to this painting since I was a kid when my mother took me to the Picasso Retrospect here when I was a freshman in high school.

The signage for the painting

As the night wore on I visited the floors that were open and it was only two floors, four and five and the second atrium that were open so I visited the bar area when I finished with the other floors.

The prices here were just as expensive as the earlier Member’s Night at The Met and the selection was not as nice, so I bypassed it. I just watched everyone from a distance.

I just enjoy watching everyone having a good

time. I makes the evening even more special.

Watching the crowd while admiring the beautiful interactive art. This work kept moving around to the music in the background

The painting would move in different directions to the music

It had been a short but relaxing evening and got my mind off everything between work and home and I guess I needed a change of pace to shake me out of it.

After a short visit to the gift shop, I left the museum and headed home. As I turned the corner past the museum, I stopped to admire the lights of Seventh Avenue. I sometimes forget how breathtaking Manhattan can be at night.

Seventh Avenue at night around the corner from the MoMA

I took a short walk around the neighborhood, thinking about where I could stop for a snack. None of the restaurants at the museum were open the evening and they had nothing at the bar.

I remembered a wonderful hamburger/ hot dog place near Eighth Avenue, Lucky’s Famous Burgers at 370 West 52nd Street.

The meal specials at Lucky’s Famous Burgers

https://luckysfamousburgers.com/

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g60763-d4345188-Reviews-Lucky_s_Famous_Burgers-New_York_City_New_York.html?m=69573

My review on DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com:

Lucky’s Famous Burgers 370 West 52nd Street 10019/264 West 23rd Street 10011 (Closed June 2023)New York, NY

I settled on the ‘Double Dog’ special meal with two dressed hot dogs and a large size of French Fries with a large Coke. It was enough food for two people. The hot dogs here are fantastic and the French Fries are cooked to order. The meal just hit the spot and really cheered me up as had the visit to the MoMA. It was the perfect meal to cap off the evening.

The Doubledogs with French Fries meal

The delicious twin hot dogs

They were nicely decorated

What a way to end the evening

It was quick and relaxing evening and shook away the blues of the past days of gloomy weather and some of the long nights of grading papers at work. A pleasant night at the MoMA can really cheer you up!

Walking back to the bus station on Eigth Avenue

Day Three Hundred and Thirty Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents: “It’s Razzling in Ramsey, NJ-Be a Tourist in your Own Town” December 11th, 2024

"A Local Journey: Exploring the outskirts of New York City, Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Projects, Dedication to Warren Watrel, Exploring ' The Northwest Bergen History Coalition', Exploring Historic Bergen County NJ, Exploring Historic Towns in New Jersey, Exploring Manhattan Block by Block, Exploring New York City by foot, Exploring Ramsey, NJ, Exploring the Island of Manhattan, Exploring the State of New Jersey, Historic New Jersey Towns and Neighborhoods, Historical Towns of New Jersey, My walk in Manhattan (MywalkinManhattan.com), MywalkinManhattan Experiences, MywalkinManhattan-Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc., Uncategorized, Visiting a Museum in New Jersey, Walking Downtown Ramsey, NJ, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In my live classes, I open my consulting company, “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.”, for business and the whole class bands together and we have one big project. In the era of post-COVID and online learning, I was lucky that I was able to teach one of the live classes on the Bergen Community College, Paramus Campus. It was such a pleasure welcoming students back to campus with live lectures and conversing with them.

The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. corporate logo of the six trees

Contact Us

In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.

Professor Justin Watrel, CEO & Co-Founder of Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.

I wanted to create another project on Destination Tourism for one of the town’s in Bergen County to follow the projects previously created in Paterson, Rutherford, Westwood and Glen Rock. I narrowed it down to two towns, Hillsdale and Ramsey, NJ.

I toured both towns and looked at their parks and then studied their town websites for events taking place in town. The reason I chose Ramsey is that they had the Old Stone House Museum, where we could create special events and promote this wonderful historical site for tourism.

The Ramsey Team Project for Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.: “It’s Razzling in Ramsey-Be a Tourist in your Own Town”

BCC-Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. 2024 It’s Razzling in Ramsey, NJ-Be a Tourist in your own TownDownload

I presented the project to my students, created an Executive Team with many Alumni from my Introduction to Business and Marketing classes and broke the class into a corporate hierarchy with a Marketing Team, Historical Team, Special Events Team and a Talent Team. I had the students get their What’s App group chats in order and get to know one another.

I was very proud this semester to promote many of the Student Executive Consultants from previous classes to lead this project. My President this semester had been a Vice-President in two previous projects and through time and experience on the previous project led a wonderful Team. My Senior Vice-President of Operations was a former Vice-President as well on a winning Team for a previous project as well. Several of my Vice-Presidents and Team Leaders were Student Consultants from projects over the last three semesters and they really ‘stepped up to the plate’ for this project.

Then we took the Team Field trips to Ramsey to better understand the town and how it works and what everyday life is like in the town. Being ‘out in the field’ is very important to the class to better understand how create a game plan for the town.

On a warm October afternoon in lieu of class, we all met in Finch Park in Ramsey to tour the park where the location of the Strawberry Festival would take place as well as other activities would be planned. We were joined by the Borough Administrator, Bruce Vouche, who joined us for our afternoon tour of the town.

The Student Executives at Finch Park at the start of the tour

We made our introductions, I took attendance and we proceeded tour the park where we would be holding the event. We looked at the logistics of the park with parking and locations for things like tables and tents. Bruce was able to give us ideas on things like police involvement in traffic and security and permits that would be needed. Before we left the park, we took our group picture.

Our Team group picture at Finch Park

Then we all drove to Downtown Ramsey where we would be touring the business district. We would be looking at traffic patterns, parking and where the Farmers Market takes place and where the historical Trolley line that ran through Bergen County once stood along with the Trolley Building.

Our Team group shot by the Ramsey Train Station where the Farmers Market takes place

After we finished the tour of the downtown, I invited the Team for our corporate lunch at Anthony Franco’s Pizzeria, where we ‘break bread’ and enjoy a meal together to get to know one another and put our game plans together. It is a nice way to end the afternoon.

Anthony Franco’s Pizzeria at 128 East Main Street

Home

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g46762-d4918283-Reviews-Anthony_Francos_Pizza-Ramsey_New_Jersey.html?m=69573

The lunch was very successful and the students had a good time getting to know one another. This is the way the Teams jell.

The Marketing Team ding with one another

The Historical Team planning their projects

The Talent Team Dining with one another

The Special Events Vice-President an Team Leader and the Divisional President having lunch that afternoon

After lunch was over, the Teams stayed for a bit and got their game plans in order and left to go back to classes and work. There would be a lot of Team meetings and get togethers in the future. In class, I would let the Teams meet to work on the project, followed by Board Meetings on the progress for the project.

Right before the Thanksgiving Break, I was able to arrange with the Borough Administrator and the President of the Ramsey Historical Society s tour of the Old Stone House Museum. It took a lot of effort and phone calls and emails but we got the tour of this historical site.

The Old Stone House Museum at 159 Island Road

https://www.ramseyhistorical.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westervelt%E2%80%93Ackerson_House

My review on TripAdvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46762-d20323524-Reviews-The_Old_Stone_House_Ramsey_Historical_Society-Ramsey_New_Jersey.html

My review on VisitingaMuseum.com:

https://visitingamuseum.com/tag/the-old-stone-house-ramsey-nj/

The front of the Old Stone House Museum

The back of the house and its grounds

The historic barn and the fall foliage

The Old Stone House is run by the Ramsey Historical Society. The Student Consultants were given a tour by the President of the Ramsey Historical Society, Daniel Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy toured with the Student Teams all the rooms in the house and the barn. We got to see all the artifacts, room designs, displays and then tour the barn display. This helped the Marketing and Historical Teams with their proposals and gave them some time to film their ideas. It was a very interesting tour.

The Marketing Team touring the Old Stone House

The General Store concept of the home when it was center of the community

The Talent Team touring the house

The Dutch Bible inside the Old Stone House

The Historical Team touring the Old Stone House

Inside of the Old Stone House of the Second Floor Toy Display

Touring the barn on the house grounds

Touring the Barn on the Old Stone House property

The Student Consultants touring the barn on the property

The inside of the barn with farm equipment, a sleigh and historic markers

The Farm equipment in the barn

Historical Marker for the Revolutionary War years

Ending the tour of the herb garden in the front of the house and the stone basement

Our Team Group picture in front of the Old Stone House

These tours of both the Downtown Business Districts, Parks and the Historical sites gave the Student Consultants a perspective on what the town looks like, how the town is run and what the vibe of the town is to live and visit here. From the Student Consultants developed the project.

This project had several different components to it that we wanted to discuss and we wanted to invite the Council to join us for the presentation so a small group of us attended the November work session at Ramsey City Hall.

I presented a copy of the project to the Council and explained what the students were creating for the town. The Council took an interest in the project and that is when I invited the Council members to the presentation.

Since so many of them had full time jobs and the students were presenting the project to me on December 11th, that was also the night of their next work session. So they invited us back to City Hall to repeat the presentation that night to the Council in Chambers. Myself and the students who attended the meeting were thrilled by this and it upped the game.

I went back to the class and asked who would like to come to the Council meeting and about half the class wanted to attend the meeting. So I arranged for the class to attend the Council meeting that evening. Who knew it was going to rain the way it did that night?

The presentation during the day went by really well. We had a few parents and friends attend the afternoon presentation and we had a few interesting questions. I for one had many on how the students were going to implement the ideas the way they explained it.

The Marketing Team explaining their game l pool plan for the Borough of Ramsey

The Talent Team explaining their game how they were assist our employees

While the presentation went on, the other Teams got to ask questions of their classmates. It helped each group know how they assisted in the other Team’s work.

The Talent Team’s Corporate gift for the night of the holiday dinner

The Corporate Team listening constantly to the presentation on the Paramus campus

The PowerPoint of the Presentation:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1r7vMi-pDMDRtvKnh_FAyO1Xl4CLfsITEr13sAfMoo5U/edit?usp=gmail

The Video of the Presentation on the Paramus, NJ:

The Welcome and the Historical Team presentation:

The Introduction and the Historical Team

The Historical Team had to create a Historical Promotional video of the Borough, a Tour of the Old Stone House Historical Museum and for extra credit created a very clever video on the “Mr. Pumpkin” event.

The History of Ramsey video:

https://www.youtubeeducation.com/watch?v=wt8vrB5Ks_o

The Mr. Pumpkin Event:

https://www.youtubeeducation.com/watch?v=qbs2jhkrNWE

Tour of the Old Stone House:

https://www.youtubeeducation.com/watch?v=ndwsF047eUQ

The Special Events presentation:

The Special Events Team

The Marketing Team presentation:

The Marketing Team

The Marketing Team created three videos to promote the Borough of Ramsey: The Promotional Commercial of Ramsey, the new Town Song and a promotional video on the Ramsey Farmers Market. All of these created a pleasant and fun approach to what the Borough of Ramsey is like to visit to Dine, Shop and Entertain in.

The Marketing Videos:

The Town Promotion

The Town Song

The Promotion of the Farmers Market (Extra Credit)

The Talent Team presentation:

The Talent Team

The first run of the Presentation in the classroom went by really well and it got a nice applause. After the Questions & Answers portion of the project, we took our Corporate Team Picture:

The Bergecco- Parc Consulting Inc. Ramsey Divisional Team after the Paramus Presentation

CEO Professor Justin Watrel with SVP of Operations Kamil Malec and President Demetre Gratiashvili

After the Presentation, I held a small reception for the class where I bake cookies, brownies and muffins for the party along with chips and snacks, soda and water. It is a way to celebrate a job well done.

The President and SVP of Operations then created the website for the project:

https://www.ramseyrazzling.com/

Later that evening, the students met on an extremely rainy night, the Executive Team and part of the Team who could meet that night met at Ramsey City Hall to present the project to the Mayor and the Council of the Borough of Ramsey. It was an hour and a half presentation of the same project that impressed the Council.

The Presentation was made at the 7:00pm Ramsey Work Session Meeting on December 11th, 2024

The YouTube Presentation to the Borough Council in Ramsey, NJ December 11th, 2024

The Student Consultants really dazzled the Council with all sorts of ideas on promoting the Borough of Ramsey for domestic and foreign tourism by promoting the Downtown Business District, the Old Stone House Historical property and the Borough for the holiday season. Many of the ideas could be adapted with little budgetary concerns depending on how they wanted to run them and added on to many existing programs the Borough already ran.

The best part that seemed to impress the Council was the Town Promotional and Historical videos and the new town song “Welcome to Ramsey” created by one of the Student Executives. This was all capped off with a special sampling of homemade Strawberry Shortcake that the Team Leader of the Special Events team baked as an example of what could be done to expand on the Strawberry Festival. I could tell by the looks on the faces of the Council and many of the parents who attended that night that they were more than impressed. They treated this as it was a real Consulting Project and a very Professional one at that. “Hats off” to the students who were there promoting this project.

The Corporate Holiday Project: Quiz Four

For Quiz Four, I create the Bergecco-Parc Holiday Party Quiz where each of the Teams has been asked by the Corporate Division to create a proposal for a Holiday menu, an Invitation and then create a holiday greeting for Corporate. The class has 45 minutes to pull it all off and it is a great Team Building Assignment. Everyone seems to love this quiz because it has nothing to do with the textbook.

The link to the Project on Quiz Four:

BCC Quiz Four Fall 2024 Team Bergecco Parc Holiday ProjectDownload

The Holiday Team Presentation ideas from the Paramus, NJ Team

I was another very successful project by Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. On the last day of class, I presented my President Demetre Gratiashvili with his official President’s Corporate hat. Only the top executive of the firm receives this. It was an honor well-served.

This is a perfect beginning for many of these students who will begin their careers in corporations all over the world. I could not be prouder of them.