NYC Life: Holiday Cheer, Museums, City Renewal and More
Photo: Nicole Freezer Rubens
Our holiday lunch is just around the corner. Snap up your ticket before we’re sold out. The holidays are ringing with concerts galore, including some of our favorite groups and performers. Our NYC Insider’s Club recently explored the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center—step behind the velvet curtains with us. On Long Island, one woman’s inspiring journey through cancer spotlights courage and advocacy. Our photographer captures Ruth Asawa’s intricate art and sculptures, now at MoMA. Around the city, modern sheds will soon replace unsightly scaffolding. And more news— the city has launched a bold anti-ageism campaign.
Jazz and Jingles
Join us for a fabulous afternoon to celebrate the holidays. We have a private room and an Italian feast awaiting us at Tony’s Di Napoli. Plus Rick Bogart’s fabulous jazz trio, Tomato singers, raffle prizes, and a surprise guest. The perfect way to kick off the holidays. GET DETAILS AND TICKETS.
Backstage at the Metropolitan Opera House
Our NYC Insider’s Club had a fabulous Sunday afternoon at our behind-the-scenes tour of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center. The tour began with us all seated quietly in the vast auditorium. With no performance underway, the sheer scale was breathtaking—nearly 4,000 seats rising in tiers, the golden arches framing the stage. And then we went behind the scenes to the small city that brings 18–25 different operas to life each season—more than any opera house in the world. GET THE DETAILS.
One Woman’s Journey with Cancer
Our Long Island reporter, Andrea Peponakis, shares one woman’s journey of resilience, faith, and fierce determination. From her Brooklyn roots and family history of survival to her career as a speech-language pathologist, Betty Cohen has always been a source of strength for others. When faced with breast cancer, she chose not only to fight but to live with dignity, courage, and gratitude—reminding us all that life is measured not by what we endure, but by how we rise. READ MORE.
‘Tis the Season for Giving
Learn more about Hearts and Gold and Giving Circle.
Dec. 16. SoHarmoniums Present their Annual Holiday Concert
This wonderful women’s chorus is gearing up for the 20th anniversary of its annual HOLIDAY CONCERT. Guaranteed to get you in the spirit of the season with a heart-warming repertoire, ranging from classical to contemporary to holiday favorites.They are performing at beautiful Fourth Universalist Society. GET DETAILS AND TICKETS HERE.
Urban Stages Winter Rhythms
Every holiday season, they present a wonderful lineup of performers, and this year’s lineup includes 3 of our favorite performers. On December 4, enjoy Jazz Standards performed by two of Tomatoes Got Talent alum, Susan Mack and Leslee Warren. And on December 9, an incredibly talented friend, Steve Schalchlin, performs his show “Living in the Bonus Round”
DECEMBER 4 | 7pm Ron Drotos & Friends
Jazz Pianist, Vocal and Jazz Styling Coach and Educator, Ron Drotos has invited three of his favorite singers from his monthly series at Jazz on Main, to join him for an evening sure to please our jazz standards and American Songbook fans. Starring: Juliet Ewing, Susan Mack and Leslee Warren. TICKETS HERE
DECEMBER 9 | 9pm Steve Schalchlin in “Living in the Bonus Round”
What does it mean to be a survivor? In his new show, “Living in the Bonus Round,” Steve Schalchlin shares his powerful, life-affirming story. Weaving together his life-changing music with the incredible tale of a miracle. This show is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. TICKETS HERE
Roving at the Museum of Modern Art
Our roving photographer Nicole Freezer Rubens writes:
Immerse yourself in the delicate twisted world of Ruth Asawa A Retrospective. An overview of the artist’s career is at the Museum of Modern Art through February 7th. Walk through the artist’s life and life’s work dangling from the ceilings like jewelry, while casting ethereal shadow patterns on the walls and floors, anchoring the work.
Asawa was born in 1926 in Norwalk, California to Japanese immigrants and spent time during World War II in a Japanese internment camp where she first leaned to draw. She went to school to become a teacher but her heritage prevented her from getting a job. After the war she attended Black Mountain College where she studied with Josef Albers and Buckminster Fuller. It was there Asawa began crocheting wire into sculpture. Once settled as an artist in San Francisco, she became an integral part of the community there, working daily, receiving multiple public commissions and eventually returning to her roots in teaching. She helped found the San Francisco School of the Arts, known today by her name.
To wander through the museum galleries that also include drawings and sculpture all inspired by nature, is to have a chance to dance with the wire figures that dominate the exhibition, despite how light and airy they are. Asawa always remained focused on the material and turned that into the gift of weaving one continuous piece of wire into an eternity of quiet fascination and inspiration. Seeing so many works together with viewers moving amongst them, is a quick lesson in how Asawa wanted art to be for and with everyone.
Look high and look low when you go to MOMA, you wouldn’t want to miss one single shadow, as each one is a subtle but strong work of art itself.
Sheds Down
Mayor Eric Adams has unveiled six new sidewalk shed designs that promise to transform New York City’s streetscape. For decades, the familiar hunter‑green scaffolding has been a fixture across the five boroughs—protecting pedestrians but often blocking sunlight, hurting small businesses, and cluttering neighborhoods. Now with designs by Arup and Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, the city is introducing safer, more attractive alternatives.
The new designs—ranging from quick‑deploy Speed Sheds to adaptable Flex Sheds—balance safety, cost‑effectiveness, and aesthetics. Transparent roofs, cantilevered structures, and wider spacing will bring light and openness back to sidewalks while maintaining rigorous protection standards. What do you think of the new designs? Read more here.
Ageless New York
New York City has launched a bold anti-ageism campaign to challenge stereotypes and celebrate longevity. The initiative, branded as “Ageism Stops With You” and “Ageless New York,” uses subway ads, buses, social media, and community programs to remind residents that ageism harms everyone—young and old alike. Posters feature older New Yorkers thriving in unexpected roles, paired with messages like “Stop the labels” and “See it, name it, stop it.” The campaign also includes an intergenerational education effort, piloted in high schools, to help students recognize and dismantle ageist stereotypes.
With nearly 20% of the city’s population projected to be 60 or older by 2040, the movement underscores that aging is not a limitation but a source of strength, resilience, and community. We say bravo to that. GET MORE DETAILS.
The tomato behind The Three Tomatoes.
Cheryl Benton, aka the “head tomato” is founder and publisher of The Three Tomatoes, a digital lifestyle magazine for “women who aren’t kids”. Having lived and worked for many years in New York City, the land of size zero twenty-somethings, she was truly starting to feel like an invisible woman. She created The Three Tomatoes just for the fun of it as the antidote for invisibility and sent it to 60 friends. Today she has thousands of friends and is chief cheerleader for smart, savvy women who want to live their lives fully at every age and every stage. She is the author of the novel, "Can You See Us Now?" and co-author of a humorous books of quips, "Martini Wisdom." Because she's lived a long time, her full bio won't fit here. If you want the "blah, blah, blah", read more. www.thethreetomatoes.com/about-the-head-tomato
