SO! New event drop. I keep saying I’m going to do this, and now I’m actually doing it:

”wake up, upper west” club

it’s free! it’s tomorrow! which is Wednesday, Sept 2, at 8am!

all details here:

https://partiful.com/e/4bo6WiKtooJwK4vVsVWe?c=x2zw0Jmn

I’m going to do this one spontaneously, once in a while, see how it goes. You’ll need to follow me to make it!

This is one of my free community events. Every month, I have a few free events. I love free!

Paid events (because I have to pay venue and/or collabs):

• The following week, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, Joanne and I will be leading In-Between Club. We put together a beautiful workbook and reflection guide that we’ll be handing out, and Joanne, a licensed therapist, will guide us through a journaling and reflection circle. Our topic for the month is “Midyear Reflection & ‘Back To’ Intentions.” I’m so proud of the workbook, the prompts and the discussions we have planned. I genuinely can’t wait because I NEED this. If you also need this, join us for a therapeutic hour at the garden: https://partiful.com/e/uEWXO1JMKZUXkJHvda7M?c=OHdhywrg. If it rains, we have an indoor location ready. We want 12 people max, including us, so plz RSVP.

• Thursday, September 10, We try one last time to have my Speed-Friending social in the garden too. Here, I am aiming for 16 people, including me. RSVP here: https://partiful.com/e/UaG5Giuc0xZLqMVnggbd?c=2JRudb4n. If it rains, it wasn’t fate! I loved all my garden events so far this season and I feel fulfilled!

• On Sunday, Sept. 13, Central Park Pilates and I will be leading our Stretch & Sketch event, if the weather goddess is kind to us. I just want to celebrate Central Park! I want to move in the park. I want to draw the park. Join me for two beautiful Sunday hours outside. Message me if you want an invite! This will also be a small private group!

• The following Thursday, perhaps I’ll do another social at Good Company later in September. They want us back. We shall see! Let me know if you want the social but can’t come on the 10th..

I really appreciate everyone who supports me, whether you’re paying for my events, coming to my free events and being kind or simply liking my posts. I mean it! I forget to like people’s posts myself!

I was especially touched by how many people reached out after my last two posts here. I probably shouldn’t be surprised because I’ve been writing for years, but it still delights me every time I realize that a real person somewhere took the time to read something that just flew out of me.

It’s also a delight to go to sleep writing this Substack and it’s a delight to wake up to morning plans with neighbors. Thanks for being here, in my life, like this!!

Maybe see you in the morning,

Katya

I am here to share some of the September invites. Scroll down for those!

But first, I wanted to make one lovely UWS Sunday feel a little more permanent by writing it down here…

This Sunday has been the first Sunday “off” I have had in forever and the last Sunday off I’ll have in a while. By “off” I mean… I didn’t have any plans! No family obligations. No tabling. No events. No birthdays. Not even Sunday night jazz (iykyk).

I didn’t know when I’d get back to my apartment so I didn’t make any plans. I ended up back at my apartment too late from CT last night, fell asleep maybe 2 am, and woke up with the sun and then, no muscles of mine could move until noon! I just lay there!

When my body finally woke up and I got out of bed, I decided to spend the day doing whatever my heart of hearts wanted, just to remind my brain why I’m spending so much money on an apartment where the construction seems never-ending. Sigh.

Lots of joys were had. Here are a few of them:

• I said hi to my Epilogue Vintage neighbors who were doing a popup in front of the garden. They personally invited me so I felt motivated to show up. Plus, Nina and Erica have great taste and are SO friendly!

• While by garden, although I was too in my own feels to socialize with strangers, I peaked at the children drawing in the garden. I smiled remembering my sister playing at the garden as a kid.

• Then, I grabbed a new drink (for me) from Plantshed. It’s called Dreamsicle and it’s okkk. At the end, I always prefer the staples over the seasonal drinks. But it always feels joyful to try a new drink to celebrate the seasons!

• With my Dreamsicle in hand, I sat and sipped, watching little doggies in Central Park while listening to the faint sound of jazz in the distance.

• Eventually, the jazz became too enticing, so I moved closer. In Central Park, it’s always a bit of a tug of war for me between staring at doggies and staring at a saxophone.

• I started to finally feel like a person so I decided it was time to take my walk to the gym.

• Weather was perfect! I was walking to Dolly’s music, wearing a Dolly shirt, btw.

• Sorry for the one lady I almost walked into! She was so kind though. Kind neighbors are joyful!

• At the gym, I ate some brunch while doing some computer work.

• And don’t worry, I worked out too. Not too hard but I did it!

• And did I also lie on the roof deck, reading Dolly Parton’s autobiography, while wearing my Dolly shirt? Yes.

• At one point, I left the gym to hang out with Joanne, who I run In-Between Club with. This was not planned! Spontaneous! We met at Black Press Coffee and I realized that I’ve never actually been there before! I also realized that I confused it with Black Lab Cafe so I thought it closed. Black Press Coffee is very much there, and is excellent vibes! I came convinced I was going to get a latte, but got curious about their Hot Honey Lemonade, and the lovely barista gave me a sample to try! I loved it! It had a fun little kick without requiring coffee for the kick, which was especially ideal because it was already past my “definitely don’t drink coffee after this time” o’clock. Joanne is perfect, and got us the most perfect outdoor table, where I drank my perfect lemonade. When life gives you lemons.. Say.. “oh yeah????” and add some spice!

• Also, did I mention my new Dolly shirt? Well, it is perfect, although a little casual, so I felt shy following my heart of hearts to La Pecora Bianca for dinner. I’m glad I didn’t let that stop me from getting my curly pasta because: 1) I love my curly pasta, 2) the servers were so nice, and 3) a table of women with big hair and loud voices took me in as one of their own, and we had a lovely time together.

• Also, I was alone, because I love eating alone and nobody made plans to eat dinner with me, so I started writing this Substack there! I love writing from Pecora.

• Warm rain fell on me on my walk home. And I fell right asleep, very early for me. It’s probably because I felt soooo peaceful after my day wandering the UWS.

I share this to

• remind future me that I don’t need to plan out every single day

• process how lucky I am to live in a place where I can walk outside in a bad mood, in a very casual and comfy outfit, after a long two weeks, and still somehow encounter so many kind neighbors, friends and little moments of warmth.

• And, for all of the above, say thank you to the Upper West Side.

It’s easy for me to feel joyful here! Even when I’m utterly depleted, like I felt this weekend, the Upper West Side has a way of bringing me back to life. I roll on a budget so I can afford to live here and keep my gym membership, which means I can’t also spend $60 every single time I leave the house. But this one Upper West Side Sunday gave me all the energy back that I needed.

Central Park jazz. Little doggies playing. Kids making art. Friendly young baristas yapping with me over drinkies. Friendly older ladies yapping with me over pasta. All the beautiful people running the tracks, gracing us with their abs. Neighbors starting businesses. Smart, wise friends laughing with me. Sunset hitting a high-rise. Rain hitting a brownstone. I love it here!

Anyway, I owe you all a guide, but this came out of me instead.

Since there’s a teeny chance you read my Sunday diary, I’ll share some of what I’m planning for September.

Btw! I’m giving myself grace. September, for me, means wedding weekends away, music festivals, all the holidays and lots of family time, which has been a lot for this older immigrant daughter. And there is SO MUCH WORK. So much work. Did I mention that I’m a working girl? How else do you think I’m funding the $30 curly pasta, plus tax and tips?

So, I’ll do what I can… And you should too! Let’s all do what we can this September…. Leave the pressure in the past. Something Joanne and I were discussing..

which brings me to my first events of September.. they’re all low pressure:

1. Tomorrow, September 1, I’m running a virtual reading party at 7pm. Where I’ll be reading Dolly’s autobiography. You’ll be reading your own book. But we will yap. Infinite spots. Message me if you want to join.

2. this Wednesday morning, September 2nd, I’m going to grab a coffee at 8 am and journal outside. I’m not a morning person but have been waking up early and just lying there so this would really help my day get started! Open invite! The more the merrier! Message me if you’re coming!

3. The following week, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, Joanne and I will be leading In-Between Club. We put together a beautiful workbook and reflection guide that we’ll be handing out, and Joanne, a licensed therapist, will guide us through a journaling and reflection circle. Our topic for the month is “Midyear Reflection & ‘Back To’ Intentions.” I’m so proud of the workbook, the prompts and the discussions we have planned. I genuinely can’t wait because I NEED this. If you also need this, join us for a therapeutic hour at the garden: https://partiful.com/e/uEWXO1JMKZUXkJHvda7M?c=OHdhywrg. If it rains, we have an indoor location ready. We want 12 people max, including us, so plz RSVP.

4. Thursday, September 10, We try one last time to have my Speed-Friending social in the garden too. Here, I am aiming for 16 people, including me. RSVP here: https://partiful.com/e/UaG5Giuc0xZLqMVnggbd?c=2JRudb4n. If it rains, it wasn’t fate! I loved all my garden events so far this season and I feel fulfilled!

5. On Sunday, Sept. 13, Central Park Pilates and I will be leading our Stretch & Sketch event, if the weather goddess is kind to us. I just want to celebrate Central Park! I want to move in the park. I want to draw the park. Join me for two beautiful Sunday hours outside. Message me if you want an invite! This will also be a small private group!

6. The following Thursday, perhaps I’ll do another social at Good Company later in September. They want us back. We shall see! Let me know if you want the social but can’t come on the 10th..

And that’s all for now! I’ll let you all know if anything changes! You know where to find me!

I want to make sure I’m creating the events you’re genuinely excited to come to, so your RSVPs and enthusiasm will help me decide what we make happen this month! Let me know!

Leave a comment

Peacefully,
Your Upper West Insider, Katya

I’m checking the weather for my three outdoor events this week, and so far, it looks beautiful! Truly the perfect week to be outside.

Unfortunately, I have a lot of family obligations right now, plus an apartment with lots of construction happening and therefore no AC, lol. So I’m trying to get a sense of the week ahead.

Let me know if you’re around and would like to join me at any of the events below:

• Tuesday, Aug. 25: Stretch & Sketch with Central Park Pilates

  6:30-8:30 p.m. | Central Park

  This might be my perfect Upper West Side summer evening. We’ll begin with sketching and yapping on our mats. Then, we’ll end with an hour of peaceful stretching by the water, led by Central Park Pilates.

  No drawing experience is needed, and you certainly do not need to be the most flexible person in Central Park, either. Come move a little, make something and enjoy one of those late-summer evenings we’ll probably miss desperately in February.

  Space is limited to 12 people. RSVP here!
  

• Wednesday, Aug. 26: In-Between Club: Midyear Reflection with Joanne Raptis

  6-7:30 p.m.

  The In-Between Club is back! This is a guided midyear reflection circle led by licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Joanne Raptis and hosted by me. Our first gathering sold out and exceeded my expectations, so I am very excited to gather again We’ll work through a structured reflection worksheet, respond to guided prompts and make room for thoughtful, optional sharing. You do not need to be going through one giant life transition to belong here. You can be between jobs, relationships, versions of yourself, decisions or simply between where you are and where you hope to go next.

  Everyone is welcome, wherever you happen to be in life right now. Space is limited to 12 people. RSVP here!

• Friday, Aug. 28: Sketch & Switch: a Speed-Friending Social at the Garden

  6-8 p.m. | 87th Street Garden

  Our all-ages outdoor neighborhood social is back! I’ve hosted a few Sketch & Switch events now, and they’ve become some of my favorite gatherings. Due to new garden rules, this may be one of our last socials in this particular space, so come enjoy it with us while we still can.

  This is NOT an art class. I provide the sketchbooks, but no one is expected or required to show their drawings. Some people love to draw, while others have barely picked up a pencil since childhood.

  The point is not to create good art. The point is to relax, get away from our phones, have a little fun and get to know a few neighbors.

  Space is limited to 30 people. RSVP here!

To be clear, I’m genuinely excited about all three of these events and would love to do them! I’m just trying to get a sense of interest ahead of time so I can make the logistics of the week work.

I know we often make last-minute decisions for the week ahead over the weekend, I really appreciate the heads-up so I can plan my week. :)

You can RSVP or send me a message!

Thanks so much,
Katya

One hot summer night, illustrator Cara drew a live portrait of me at my friend David’s rooftop art gallery.

I looked at it and immediately thought: Cool. I love this. I want one for every person I know.

So naturally, I asked Cara if she would come to Open Streets with me and draw our neighbors.

She said yes.

And the line to get a portrait was the longest line on the block for hours.

People waited, watched each other get drawn and walked away holding these tiny, joyful versions of themselves. It was such a simple thing, but everyone seemed genuinely delighted by it.

And unfortunately, not everyone got a portrait then.

So I knew we had to do it again.

This is why Cara is coming to come draw us at our speed-friending social this Friday.

It’ll be such a fun time, we will still play our speed-friending games, we will still sketch, but now, we all get a portrait of ourselves!

Ticket invite here

https://partiful.com/e/TavAuHAsCzMwUO4h90lY?

Also, surprise surprise, is coming to bring us some samples!

This is all included in the price of the ticket which is just 20 dollars (I’m paying Cara and the venue and supplies, and if I have anything leftover.. great) .

Book your tickets now! Everyone with an early bird ticket is guaranteed a portrait. For drop-ins, we’ll do our best, but live portraits will depend on time and availability.

Claim ticket for live portrait.

See you Friday,
Your Upper West Insider,

Katya

Scroll down for my August events and RSVP links, but first, a July recap.

July wasn’t the easiest month for the Upper West. Perhaps best evidenced by my little video of the smoke-filled air getting a lot of views and shares..

It was rough out there! Weather wasn’t great, I developed a cough from the fire air, and also I had a very hard time figuring out food in August. It was hard to go on long walks, to dance outside, to go to the gym.

June was so surprisingly and effortlessly fun, which made July feel even harder by comparison.

Still, I think Upper West Siders made the best of it. All of my events were full, and people were out and about!

Here are all the hangs, socials, and events I helped bring to life in July:

• Our first “Sketch & Switch: a Speed-Friending Social” at Good Company! This was such a success. Yes, it sold out, which was exciting and validating, and everyone showed up even though the air quality was terrible. But more importantly, people actually seemed to connect. Three different groups of strangers left together afterward to get dinner or watch the Minions movie. That was the whole point! It felt like proof that there really is an appetite for low-pressure, slightly silly ways to meet new people in the neighborhood.

  • Our next one is Friday, August 14th! RSVP here: https://partiful.com/e/TavAuHAsCzMwUO4h90lY?

• “Sketch & Switch: a Speed-Friending Social” at the 87th Street Garden had the same kind of magic. We used up every chair in the garden and wished we had more sunlight so we could keep talking to even more people. We even got to sketch and switch with a dog! It was awesome to see an idea I first dreamed up back in February come to life in my favorite place in the world. I was so happy that day. :)

  • Our next one is Friday, August 28th! RSVP here: https://partiful.com/e/ViYaxEIrsRoZXHUC2BjA?c=xTerjlAy

• The In-Between Club officially came to life this month. With licensed therapist Joanne’s guidance, 12 of us sat in a circle in the beautiful garden, journaled through a worksheet and shared what it feels like to be at a transition point in our lives. I found the whole experience SO healing. I’m forever grateful that I somehow dreamed up the idea for the In-Between Club, and that Joanne approached me about co-hosting events at exactly the right time. We have big plans for the In-Between Club, and I’m very excited to see where it goes.

  • Our next one, is Wednesday, August 26th! RSVP here: https://partiful.com/e/uEWXO1JMKZUXkJHvda7M?c=SuiDzTgt

• At the Sunday Open Streets at Columbus Avenue BID, a few times, I ran a table where kids colored pages from my self-published Terra the Turtle book. I already really miss Open Streets! It’s such a wonderful way to meet neighbors and feel connected to the neighborhood.

• SO many Reading Rhythms events and every single one, better than the other. My favorites were when Harlem Book Company visited us at Hex & Co, and our Writing Rhythms event at Hotel Alameda where Soman Chainani shared about his journey writing The School for Good and Evil and then Young World. I left wanting to write fiction!

• Also, I hosted Creative Coworking at Good Company! So many people are asking me to host co-working sessions or creative writing nights! I hear you and will plan some for September.

So even though the weather and air quality made July a little rough, Upper West Siders kept showing up for each other.

Personally, it ended up being my best event month yet! Let me know if you came and have feedback or if you want to come to future ones!

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What I attended and really enjoyed:

• World Cup parties at the American Museum of Natural History and then Ella Social

• Lunch at Parla

• Craft Club’s BYOC event with Yan sketching us

• Central Park Pilates x Craft Club event

• The Betrothed at WP Theater

• Craft Club’s Betrothed themed shell craft!

• Reverie Room and Four Hands Collective performance at Open Streets!

• Poster House’s tour of “Love & Fury” exhibit

• Good Sessions at Good Company!

Invite me to your events and I am happy to write about them! I’ll be posting recaps of the above soon

August theme: Direction 🌻

I like to choose a theme each month because it helps time feel slower and makes my plans more intentional.

For July, I chose freedom. Often, after freedom comes direction. 🌻

Freedom is having choices. Direction is deciding what you want to do with them.

July: Freedom 🌞
What would I choose if I gave myself more room?

August: Direction 🌻
Now that I can choose, what do I want to turn toward?

For me, July tested my idea of freedom. I didn’t feel quite as free to spend endless hours outside or eat everything under the sun as I had hoped. And yet, with more structure coming in August, I’m realizing that July may have actually been one of the freest months I’ll have for a long time..

I recently had someone share that they felt directionless, and I realized that was exactly how I felt last year. It is a feeling I do not miss. I’m grateful that I’ve spent the past six months really thinking about the direction I want my life to go in, and even more grateful that some of the things I was working toward are finally starting to happen.

So for August, my joy prescription is to choose a direction and take a few steps toward it. Maybe that means starting something new, returning to something you miss, making progress on a goal or just turning toward the people, places and experiences that make your life feel fuller. And if your direction this month includes more creativity, community, friendship or fun on the Upper West Side, I have plenty of places for us to start!

Your Upper West Insider August Guide 🌻

Below is what I’m prescribing for joy this month! This list will be updated regularly, and I’ll add new events as I’m invited to them, so check back in your browser or in the Substack app for the latest.

Joyful Happenings I’m Hosting or Co-Hosting as Your Upper West Insider

RSVP ASAP because these gatherings have limited space! Several of my July events sold out, and I want newsletter readers to get first dibs. 🌻

• Friday, Aug. 14: Sketch & Switch: a Speed-Friending Social

  7-9 p.m. | Good Company Shop

  Our indoor, 21+ speed-friending social is back for August, with a few extra treats this time! We’ll use tiny sketchbooks and very low-stakes drawing prompts as an excuse to put our phones away, laugh a little and actually talk to the people around us. This is NOT an art class, and you absolutely do not need to know how to draw. The art can be weird, funny, messy or terrible. That is kind of the point.

  Even better, talented illustrator Cara will be there drawing everyone, so each attendee will leave with a portrait of themselves! We’ll also have bread samples from to snack on while we mingle.

  I’ve hosted a few of these socials now, and my favorite part has been watching strangers leave as actual new friends. Come make some questionable art, meet a few neighbors, eat some bread and leave with a much better drawing of yourself than anything I will personally be producing.

  Tickets include supplies, snacks by , sips by @goodcompany, and your portrait by Cara. You’ll need a physical ID to enter Good Company. RSVP here!

  A joy prescription for more friendship, play, creativity and local treats this August!

• Tuesday, Aug. 25: Stretch & Sketch with Central Park Pilates

  6:30-8:30 p.m. | Central Park

  This might be my perfect Upper West Side summer evening. We’ll begin with an hour of peaceful stretching by the water, led by Central Park Pilates. Then we’ll spend the second hour relaxing at sunset, sketching and chatting with neighbors.

  No drawing experience is needed, and you certainly do not need to be the most flexible person in Central Park, either. Come move a little, make something and enjoy one of those late-summer evenings we’ll probably miss desperately in February.

  Space is limited to 12 people. RSVP here!

  A joy prescription for more movement, creativity, nature and late-summer sunsets this August!

• Wednesday, Aug. 26: In-Between Club: Midyear Reflection with Joanne Raptis

  6-7:30 p.m.

  The In-Between Club is back! This is a guided midyear reflection circle led by licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Joanne Raptis and hosted by me. Our first gathering sold out and exceeded my expectations, so I am very excited to gather again We’ll work through a structured reflection worksheet, respond to guided prompts and make room for thoughtful, optional sharing. You do not need to be going through one giant life transition to belong here. You can be between jobs, relationships, versions of yourself, decisions or simply between where you are and where you hope to go next.

  Everyone is welcome, wherever you happen to be in life right now. Space is limited to 12 people. RSVP here!

  A joy prescription for more reflection, connection and direction this August!

• Friday, Aug. 28: Sketch & Switch: a Speed-Friending Social at the Garden

  6-8 p.m. | 87th Street Garden

  Our all-ages outdoor neighborhood social is back! I’ve hosted a few Sketch & Switch events now, and they’ve become some of my favorite gatherings. Due to new garden rules, this may be one of our last socials in this particular space, so come enjoy it with us while we still can.

  This is NOT an art class. I provide the sketchbooks, but no one is expected or required to show their drawings. Some people love to draw, while others have barely picked up a pencil since childhood.

  The point is not to create good art. The point is to relax, get away from our phones, have a little fun and get to know a few neighbors.

  Space is limited to 30 people. RSVP here!

  A joy prescription for more friendship, play, fresh air and neighborhood connection this August!

P.S. If you have a food business, or know someone who does, and would like to sponsor snacks for one of these gatherings, I’m always open to collabs. I love partnering with local businesses that want to help make community events feel even more welcoming.

Please send over any questions about any of the above events!

Leave a comment

Friends of the Upper West Insider are hosting

• Craft club has 3 events in August! BYOC as always. Also, watercoloring in the garden. And a fancy floral arrangement dinner in Soho.

• Reverie Room now hosts free community events! I am excited for karaoke nights, clothing swaps, and their casual morning jam and creative session!

• Ruth Antrich is performing original music at the Pictor Gallery.

Are you my friend and you want me to add your event? Let me know!

More August Joy on My Radar

• Wednesday, Aug. 12: “La Chimera” on the Pier
  8:30-10:30 p.m. | Pier I
  
  Pack a picnic and watch La Chimera by the Hudson! The free, open-captioned screening is part of Summer on the Hudson’s Pier I Picture Show series. An Italian movie outside by the water feels like a very good direction to point yourself on an August Wednesday.

• Thursday, Aug. 13-Sunday, Aug. 16: “The Dancing Men,” a Sherlock Holmes Mystery
  6:30-8:30 p.m. | Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument
  
  Outdoor Sherlock Holmes on the Upper West Side! Hudson Classical Theater Company is performing The Dancing Men behind the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument at West 89th Street and Riverside Drive. I love that our neighborhood casually gives us the option to wander toward a mystery being performed beside a monument.

• Saturday, Aug. 15: Fly NYC
  Noon-5 p.m. | Pier I
  
  A whole afternoon dedicated to flying kites by the Hudson! There will be music, and free kite kits are available for kids while supplies last. You can also bring your own kite. If August is about direction, I suppose “up” is a perfectly acceptable one.

• Sunday, Aug. 16: M.A.R. Quintet at the Harlem Meer
  2 p.m. | Charles A. Dana Discovery Center
  
  The Harlem Meer Performance Festival continues with a free performance from jazz group M.A.R. Quintet. The whole festival is free and all ages, and I remain extremely pro-listening-to-jazz-in-Central-Park-on-a-Sunday.

• Tuesday, Aug. 18: Joyflow
  6:30-7:30 p.m. | 145th Street and the Hudson River
  
  An hour-long, music-based experience combining gentle movement and free-form dance by the river. It is designed for all abilities and, frankly, anything literally named “Joyflow” deserves consideration for the joy guide.

• Wednesday, Aug. 19: “National Treasure” on the Pier
  8:30-10:30 p.m. | Pier I
  
  Pack a picnic and watch Nicolas Cage attempt to steal the Declaration of Independence beside the Hudson River. The screening is free and open-captioned. Is stealing a national document the right direction? Probably not. Is watching Nicolas Cage attempt it beside the Hudson? Absolutely.

• Friday, Aug. 21: Harlem Moves with Limón Dance Company
  6-7 p.m. | West Harlem Piers
  
  Dancers from the world-renowned Limón Dance Company will teach a free Limón Technique class accompanied by live music. You do not need to spend Friday night at a bar when you could apparently be learning modern dance beside the Hudson instead.

• Saturday, Aug. 22: Star Gaze Saturdays
  8-11 p.m. | Pier I
  
  Expert stargazers from the Amateur Astronomers Association will be at Pier I helping New Yorkers look for stars and planets. It’s free, romantic in an astronomy way and an excellent reminder that sometimes changing direction just means remembering to look up

As always, if you’re hosting something creative, community-centered, outdoorsy, bookish, crafty, reflective, neighborly or just genuinely delightful, send it my way. If I am free, I’m happy to attend, feature it or co-host it!

And if you go to something from this guide, please tell me. I want to know what you loved, what felt worth it and where we should all go next.

Leave a comment

A few more words on direction 🌻

The biggest motivator for finding direction might simply be how difficult it is to feel directionless. This came up a lot at the In-Between Club. Feeling directionless can be disorienting and lonely. When you do not know what you are moving toward, even having endless options can start to feel overwhelming instead of freeing.

When the possibilities feel endless, it can help to choose just a few things you want to move toward and let those guide where you put your time and energy. It does not have to be a permanent decision. Sometimes it is enough to say: These are the things I want more of right now..

My direction currently?

I want to keep building community, writing things I care about and doing meaningful work in product.

How? I am a BIG planner. I make plans, break them into steps and keep moving toward them… I have plans for my events, my Substacks and my day job. I have ideas I want to try, things I want to get better at and goals I want to work toward. I definitely do not know exactly where all of it will lead, but for the first time in a while, I feel pretty good about the direction I’m heading. Some things are really coming together for me!

At the same time, I am constantly surprised by how I actually end up getting the things I want. It is almost never exactly the way I imagined it would happen. An opportunity comes from somewhere unexpected. An idea turns into something different. Someone enters my life at exactly the right moment. A plan changes, but somehow I still end up moving closer to where I wanted to go.

I think that is the important distinction: Having direction is not the same thing as knowing exactly how to get somewhere. You can know which way you want to go without knowing the exact route. In fact, I think that is true of most worthwhile things. We rarely get step-by-step directions for building a meaningful career, finding our people, making something we care about or creating a life that feels like our own.

So that is what I’m thinking about this August: not whether we have our steps figured out, but whether we have some sense of what we want to move toward.

Where are you headed right now? What direction do you want your life to take next? Maybe it is something big, like a career change or a new chapter, or maybe it is simply wanting more creativity, friendship, rest, movement or fun in your days.

If you are figuring it out, I would love to hear about it! Reply and tell me what direction you are moving in. And if you are on the Upper West Side and want to talk it through over coffee, I am always happy to meet a neighbor and think out loud together. 🌻

Katya
Your Upper West Insider and Joy Prescriber

On Tuesday, I was supposed to co-host Stretch & Sketch with Central Park Pilates, but Central Park had other plans: rain. We postponed the event, so I used the unexpected free time to map out my August schedule.

The timing was perfect because so many people have asked me about August events this week. I love the enthusiasm!

I’m excited to give Substack subscribers an early look at my August events so far, plus first access to tickets before I share them to the entire world.

August Events hosted by The Upper West Insider (me):

• Friday, August 7, 6pm to 8pm, “Sketch and Switch: a Speed-Friending Social” at my favorite garden!

  • This is our all-ages neighborhood outside event!

  • I’ve hosted two events like this already, and both sold out! Due to new garden rules, this may be one of our last socials in the space, so come enjoy it with us while we still can!

  • 30 people max. Rsvp here: https://partiful.com/e/ViYaxEIrsRoZXHUC2BjA?c=Hjc1uJxj

  • Frequently answered questions:

    • This is NOT an art class. I provide the sketchbooks, but no one is expected or required to show their sketches! Some people love to draw, while others have never taken an art class or rarely draw at all.

      The point is not to create good art.

    • The point is to relax, have fun away from our phones and get to know a few neighbors.

    • Rain/heat/air fire/whatever reschedule date: August 28

• Friday, August 14, 7pm to 9pm, “Sketch and Switch: a Speed-Friending Social” at Good Company!

  • This is our indoor, 21+ speed-friending social for August! A few fun surprises will be announced soon about this one…

  • 30 people max. RSVP here: https://partiful.com/e/TavAuHAsCzMwUO4h90lY?

  • Frequently answered questions:

    • See above!

    • This one is 21+ . You need to show an ID to enter Good Company!

• Tuesday, August 25, 6:30pm to 830 pm, “Stretch and Sketch” with Central Park Pilates

  • We’ll begin with one hour of peaceful stretching by the water in Central Park, followed by an hour of relaxing at sunset, guided sketching and chatting with neighbors. My perfect UWS evening!

  • Central Park Pilates will lead our stretching. I will lead the second hour.

  • 12 people max. RSVP here: https://partiful.com/e/lqOtZFCpFUbWAuaf4Q2U?c=apZdQqcT

• Wednesday, August 26, 6pm to 730pm, “In-Between Club: Mid-Year Reflection” with Joanne Raptis

  • This is a guided midyear reflection circle led by a licensed clinical psychologist and hosted by me. Our first In-Between Club session sold out and exceeded every expectation, and I cannot wait to gather again for this one! We provide a structured worksheet, guided prompts, and a thoughtful safe space for sharing and reflection. Everyone welcome! Everyone is welcome, no matter where you are in life or what you may be in between.

  • 12 people max. RSVP here: https://partiful.com/e/uEWXO1JMKZUXkJHvda7M?c=gnWR08_b

What else?

• “Beyond the Page: Strangers”!

  • I want to host Beyond the Page, a journaling book club for people who want to do more than simply discuss their rating of a book, but go deeper by reflecting and connecting over interesting topics. We recently held one for “Famesick,” and our next book is “Strangers” by Belle Burden.

  • I’ll bring journaling prompts about love, betrayal, financial independence, the feeling that someone you know has become a stranger, speaking your truth and more.

  • I already have four people interested and would need six to solidify the plan. Let me know if you’re interested!

• I’m also helping out with a few Reading Rhythms parties, including one this Saturday morning at Lincoln Center!!! These aren’t my events. I am paid to work them! Still, I hope to see you at a few!

A longer August guide is coming soon! I just wanted to give those of you already planning your month a chance to lock in a few dates.

If you want me to include something in the August guide, or if you have introductions for potential collaborations, sponsors or venues, please let me know!

Happy end of July,

Katya, Your Upper West Insider

Why you should come:

• there’s cold seltzer and water

• there is strong Wifi and real seats

• a good mix of fun music & not too many people so it’s quiet

• I feel very productive so you can borrow some of my energy

• I can help you make a plan for the week!

• meet other interesting people that are local

Just bring your ID please!

Here is more details: Partiful invite!

If you can’t come this time but want me to host this again, let me know!

Best,

Katya, your Upper West Insider

Today, July 19, is the first day in more than 10 days that I am genuinely excited to be outside.

I searched through my camera roll, and the last time I took a photo of anything outdoors was July 8. For context, I usually average about 10 tree photos a day..

The Upper West Insider has been veryyyy inside lately, and I have not been happy about it. Between the heat and the air quality, being outside has given me headaches and irritated lungs. Rude!

Still, I have been having SO much fun in the neighborhood. Just, you know, inside fun.

Friday’s Speed-Friending Social!

As you know, I have been hosting drawing parties, reading parties, writing parties, shopping parties, for forever.

Friday, I finally tried an idea I had been sitting on for what felt like a million years. It combines my love of the neighborhood, meeting and celebrating my neighbors, and drawing casually with absolutely no pressure to be good at it. The only goals are to enjoy yourself and maybe make a few new friends, which is much easier when you’re actually having fun.

And that is how Sketch & Switch was born: a speed-friending social where neighbors draw each other, talk and make new friends.

We also play a game, and each event features a prize from a local small business or artist. Let me know if you’d like to sponsor a future prize!

By the end of the night, three different groups of strangers left together to grab food or see the new Minions movie with people they had met only two hours earlier. That is incredible! I have never seen that happen at other art events!!!

If you had a fun time, I would love to hear from you! You can also support our wonderful host venue by leaving Good Company a Google review about your experience. Feel free to mention that you attended The Upper West Insider’s Sketch & Switch speed-friending social so they know which event brought you in. Good Company was so nice to let us come last minute and it would help both me and them!

I have a few notes for myself about how to improve my stage presence, but overall, I am thrilled with how the night went. I would love to do it again and again, especially because every event will bring together a new mix of neighbors.

Good Company Sessions at Good Company

Our prize for Speed-Friending was two tickets to Good Company Sessions. These were $50 dollars each!

After Sketch & Switch, I stayed and had an amazing time. Broadway performers put on an intimate cabaret and were interviewed about their careers, creative journeys and experiences in the theater industry. I will be coming again!

Thank you !!!

Six Days of Creative Community on the Upper West Side

July isn’t over! I have more invites for you!

(Free) Sunday: The Garden & Open Streets

Today, the air finally feels better, the sun is out and I would love to see some of you in the neighborhood.

After I publish this and eat something, I’ll be spending time drawing at the 87th Street Garden. Come say hi, walk around, sit in the garden and draw or join me for a little Upper West Side socializing.

After, come find me at Open Streets on Columbus. I am going to be leading a coloring activity for children. Stop by and say hi!

And, of course, happy World Cup Final Day to everyone celebrating! Let me know if you’re heading to the watch party. I didn’t get tickets, but I want to hear all about it!

Monday: Work with Good Company!

I’m hosting our very first creative coworking session at @goodcompanyshop.nyc.

Bring your laptop, notebook, half-finished screenplay, neglected Substack draft or mysterious project you have been “meaning to start.”

Come so I don’t just sit there working alone! This is the first one, so I am a little anxious, but I know it will pick up. We simply do not have enough affordable coworking hangs on the Upper West Side!

RSVP here!

Tuesday: Sketch & Switch Speed-Friending

We are speed-friending again at

Please RSVP in advance so I know how many tables and seats we need. At yesterday’s event, we completely ran out of seats by the end.

You will meet new people, sketch each other and leave with a mini sketchbook filled with drawings. Artistic talent is absolutely not required. Strange little doodles are encouraged! The event is much more about getting to know new people and having fun than creating art.

RSVP here!

Wednesday: An Intimate Journaling Circle

I’m so grateful to be co-leading an intimate journaling circle about career transitions with Joanne, a local licensed clinical psychologist, in our favorite garden.

This will be a quieter, more reflective evening with guided prompts, thoughtful conversation and space to slow down.

RSVP here!

Thursday: Writing Rhythms

On Thursday, I’ll be working a Writing Rhythms event with Reading Rhythms.

Come write alongside other people, work on something meaningful and experience the strange magic of being productive in public.

RSVP here! This isn’t my event but I’ll be there! Taking photos!

Friday: Speed-Friending in the Garden

Due to popular demand, we are bringing speed-friending to the garden!

We tried to do it this Friday but had to move indoors.. I am excited to see my Sketch and Switch event come alive at one of my favorite places in NYC!

RSVP here!

See you soon!

I’m excited to see so many new faces this week. A lot of people asked me to host more gatherings, and I currently have the energy, so why not?

Expect more sketching, more yapping and more chances to meet creative people in the neighborhood.

And if I already saw you yesterday, come again. The only way to build community and friendship is to keep showing up. One nice conversation is lovely. Seeing the same person again is how a real friendship starts.

If you are new here, hi! 👋 I’m Katya.

I host creative, unique events on the Upper West Side that are designed for introverts like me. I curate experiences that make connection feel easier, warmer and less awkward.

I’m also growing this little business so I can keep living on the Upper West Side and continue hiring neighborhood small businesses, artists and facilitators for future events.

These gatherings are ticketed, but I never want cost to be the reason someone feels excluded. If you cannot pay the full price right now, please reach out. I am always happy to exchange a discount for thoughtful participation, kindness or help making the event special.

See you very soon!

Best,

Katya

“The next two weeks are looking… very… interesting…. weather and health wise… will it storm? will we all collectively faint from this heat? the Guggenheim has Legionnaries??? What is happening?”

Well, the air is now lava, can’t touch it, I guess, we should stay indoors.

No worries! I have the perfect night plan:

1. Tonight, 6-7:30 p.m.: Join me for Sketch & Switch, a speed-friending social, now indoors!

• Event link! We are trending on Partiful! Please RSVP there.

  • We’ll be sketching each other, yapping at each other and playing a game with a prize!

  • Introvert friendly! Beginner friendly (doodles are preferred, in fact).

• You must bring your ID because, like a bar, the new location checks your IDs.

  • Sober friendly! You cannot consume any of the fun stuff or even alcohol at the venue itself. I will be sober!

• $20 Ticket includes

  • All supplies, including a mini sketchbook for you to take home

  • Guests will also receive 10% off any purchases they choose to make.

  • Anyone who wants to stay for next event, also gets $20 off the next event!

  • If price is too much for you right, just send me a message!

• Good Company is a cool new venue, soft-launching, so they’d appreciate a google review! We thank them for saving us from the terrible air!

2. Afterward, stay at the same venue for Good Company Sessions, a live music series!

• I’ll be staying!

  • You get $20 off for staying with me! I have a special code.

• There will be a bathroom/food break in the middle between 730 and 8pm.

• “​Our inaugural event features Christina Jones (The Wiz on Broadway), Blu (MJ the Musical on Broadway), local artist David Rhodes, and is hosted by Anthony Murphy, with music direction by Broadway pianist and conductor Michael Ferrara (Titanique, Wicked).”

Stay safe out there! Air is a little better so you can walk without a mask to the venue, that is on 82 and Broadway so it’s right off the train and the buses.

I was a little bummed that I wouldn’t get my perfect little garden event, but now I’m only excited!

I love live music. I love sketching and doodling. And we have some very cooool people coming whom I cannot wait to look directly in the eyes, talk to and get to know. The air quality may be questionable, but the people quality is 100.

👀 Will I see you there ? Reply to this email!

Btw, if you ever find yourself in this situation, where you need a venue ASAP or need a connection on UWS, message me! This is why I am here!

See you inside,

Your Upper West Insider, Katya

I’ve gotten a lot of new subscribers in the last month so it is time for a reintroduction.

I’m Katya! I’ve lived on the Upper West Side for foreverrrr, and I’ve been a New Yorker even longer. I’ve had a lot of lives, including organizing sex education events, Latin dance socials, refugee community gatherings and an entrepreneurship club. I’ve also been in jazz bands, worked at two museums, and been to about a billion artsy and music events around the city. Through all of it, I’ve always loved creating community and bringing interesting people together around joyful experiences.

People have been coming to me for UWS recommendations and help making new friends for years, and eventually, some of my longtime friends encouraged me to finally share it all more publicly. So now, I share my hangs more publicly and take them to the next level. All of my events are designed to give us a place to relax, have fun and build real connections. Basically, I create the kinds of things I’d genuinely want to do instead of just going to a bar, and I hope people join me :)

Anyway! Here is my July Guide! It is updated with all sorts of things I would recommend to my friends. I feature my own events and events you all shared with me.

The next two weeks are looking… very… interesting…. weather and health wise… will it storm? will we all collectively faint from this heat? the Guggenheim has Legionnaries??? What is happening?

Regardless, here is the plan... These are the events I’m hosting & co-hosting so far, for some joy and connection for us all, with recommendations based on what you like:

If you like reading, Monday, July 13: Reading Rhythms Harlem Book Company Book Fair!

If you are moving through a career transition, a layoff, a job search, big life change, and would like some support, join me and licensed clinical psychologist Joanne, at In-Between Club on Wednesday, July 15th.

If you are looking for a fun way to form connection with neighbors, you should come to Sketch and Switch: a Speed-Friending Social, Friday, July 17 or on Tuesday, 21st.

If you, like me, just have SO much to do, join me to Work in Good Company on Monday, July 20.

Feel free to reach out!

I hope to see you all at some of these! You should message me with any questions about the above! You can just reply to this email or find me on instagram at @upperwestinsider.

Also, there is still time to sponsor one of my events or do a collab. I am open to hearing all ideas!

With a fan inches away from me and AC on blast,

Katya, your Upper West Insider

Scroll down for my July events and RSVP links, but first, a tiny June recap because June really was fun!

Seriously, wasn’t June fun????

I feel like it was a great month to remember why we live here. Between Pride Month, Open Streets, outdoor concerts like the Philharmonic, Art Week at my favorite garden, and Knicks and World Cup crowds, the Upper West Side was buzzzzzzing.

Here are all the hangs and events I helped bring to life in June:

• At the Sunday Open Streets at Columbus Avenue BID, Craft Club & I ran a table where kids colored pages from my self-published Terra the Turtle book. A little rain didn’t stop us from having a great time!

• Museum Mile walk! We did the scavenger hunt at St. John the Divine. I won the rainbow fan and used it to cool myself off at outdoor events all June!

• Philharmonic! This time, we sat on benches and got a great view, and some much-needed back support.

• Beyond the Page: Famesick! A small group met to talk and journal about boundaries and the tendency to over-explain.

• My June garden event was the Portrait Drawing Party with Figure Sketch! A large crowd got caught in a brutal summer storm, but it was still such a blast!

• Lots of Knicks hangs!

• Multiple Reading Rhythms events: virtual, at Hex & Co, in Downtown Brooklyn, at Freeman Alley, and at Leonetta

• Embroidery Party with Craft Club at Madewell! I love the socks I embroidered. Kudos to Kiely for leading such a fun craft! I also got a fun shirt and cap, and Madewell gave us a free crafty tote!

• Live portraits on Open Streets at Columbus Avenue BID. Cara is an amazing illustrator and it was so cool to see her draw our neighbors! She said she had never drawn that many people in her life!

They were all so much fun, and I got so much energy from hosting them!

If you attended any of the above events and took photos, please send them over!

Would you like me to host any of these again? Please send me a message. It helps me gauge interest!

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That’s my one photo for you for today! I decided not to post 320492349 photos here because this guide is already long enough (and will get longer as I add more things), but I’ll be posting separate June recaps here and on my Instagram too.

What I attended and really enjoyed:

• Jacob Pickle’s watch party for the Knicks

• Art Week at my favorite garden

  • Craft Club’s BYOC event with Candice singing for us!

  • Tiny Traveling Sketchbook’s exhibition and art-making event!

• Death Becomes Her on Broadway

• Kacie Sky’s show at Prohibition

• The Consumer AI Mixer with my friend Dmitri Mirakyan

• Hip Hop Sound Bath at !

Invite me to your events and I am happy to write about them! I’ll be posting recaps of the above soon!

July theme: Freedom 🌞

I like to choose a theme each month because it helps time feel slower and makes my plans more intentional.

For July, I’m choosing freedom.

Of course, we just celebrated the Fourth of July, and I know that can bring up a lot of complicated feelings. Say what you want about the state of America, and there is certainly a lot to say, but I also know I am much freer here than I would have been if my family had stayed in Russia.

That is not something I take lightly.

But this month, I’m not only thinking about freedom in a big political way. I’m thinking about the smaller, daily kind of freedom, too.

The freedom to build a life that feels more like your own. The freedom to stop living only by the rules, timelines and expectations set by the people around you, and to start asking what actually makes sense for you.

The freedom to spend time outside. The freedom to make art, read books, try new things, meet neighbors, start projects, change your mind and arrange your days with a little more intention.

That feeling is important to me, and I want to protect it.

So, for July, that is what I’m prescribing for joy: more freedom, more breathing room and more little reminders that we get to participate in our own lives.

Your Upper West Insider July Guide 🌞

Below is what I’m prescribing for joy this month! This list will be updated regularly, and I’ll add new events as I’m invited to them, so check back in your browser or in the Substack app for the latest.

Joyful Happenings I’m Hosting or Co-Hosting as Your Upper West Insider

RSVP ASAP because all of these have limited space! No pressure, but a lot of my events from last month were sold out! I want the tickets to go to you first!

• Monday, July 13: Reading Rhythms Harlem Book Company Book Fair!
  7-9 p.m. | Hex & Co.
  Read with me at Reading Rhythms. It’s a reading party meets grown-up Scholastic Book Fair! Harlem Book Company is visiting us. RSVP now.

  A joy prescription for more reading, discovery and belonging this July!

• Wednesday, July 15: The In-Between Club at the Garden

  6-8 p.m. | My local garden

  A psychologist-facilitated journaling and reflection circle for anyone moving through a career transition, layoff, job search, creative pivot or general “what now?” season. This is the first event in a series of guided gatherings led by licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Joanne Raptis and co-hosted by The Upper West Insider. Each session will include thoughtful prompts, optional sharing and gentle next-step reflections to take with you afterward. Bring a notebook, a pen and whatever version of yourself is showing up that day. No journaling experience needed. Sharing is optional. Rain date: July 22. RSVP!

  A joy prescription for more reflection, support and self-trust this July!

• Friday, July 17: Sketch and Switch: a Speed-Friending Social

  6-8 p.m. | My local garden

  A tiny, low-key sketchbook social in the garden. Come hang in the garden and draw tiny portraits of your neighbors with me. All supplies are included, and no drawing experience is needed. The tiny drawings can be weird, sweet, funny, bad, cute or all of the above. No pressure to share your drawings, either. I just want this to be a fun little summer evening where we meet neighbors, maybe make a new friend. Rain date: July 24. RSVP!

  A joy prescription for more art, nature and belonging this July!

• Monday, July 20: Work in Good Company

  6-8 p.m. | Good Company Shop

  A creative coworking social hosted by Good Company Shop on the Upper West Side. Bring your laptop, notebook, sketchbook, business idea, half-finished project, Substack draft, to-do list or whatever you’ve been meaning to finally work on. We’ll start by casually sharing what we’re working on and who we’d love to connect with, then spend time making progress in good company. You might meet a writer, artist, founder, designer, photographer, organizer or neighbor who gets what you’re trying to build. Tickets include all supplies, $5 off a purchase, and not-alcoholic sips and samples provided by Good Company. Since this is at a dispensary, guests must be 21+ and bring a physical ID to enter. RSVP!

  A joy prescription for more creativity, focus and collaboration this July!

• Tuesday, July 21: Sketch and Switch: a Speed-Friending Social

  6-8 p.m. | Good Company Shop

  A tiny, low-key sketchbook social at Good Company Shop on the Upper West Side. Come hang out and draw tiny portraits of your neighbors with me. No drawing experience needed. The tiny drawings can be weird, sweet, funny, bad, cute or all of the above. No pressure to share your drawings, either. I just want this to be a low-key way for us to meet neighbors, maybe make a new friend and try something creative on a summer night. Tickets include all supplies, $5 off a purchase, and not-alcoholic sips and samples provided by Good Company. Since this is at a dispensary, guests must be 21+ and bring a physical ID to enter. RSVP!

  A joy prescription for more art, play and belonging this July!

I have a few more plans in the works for the last week of July! I’m still confirming the details and will email everyone as soon as everything is finalized.

P.S. If you have a food business, or know someone who does, and would like to sponsor snacks for one of these gatherings, I’m always open to collabs. I love partnering with local businesses that want to help make community events feel even more welcoming.

Please send over any questions about any of the above events!

What else would you like to see this July? Let me know. I’m always updating this guide!

Leave a comment

Why I keep talking about Joy Prescriptions

I keep using the phrase “joy prescription” because I really do believe we need to plan for joy, not just hope we magically stumble into it when we are less busy, less stressed or more put together.

I also work with clients on this: planning out their months with more intention, making room for things that actually feel good, and creating realistic steps toward the goals they care about. Let me know if you’re interested in a joy prescription session of your own!

A note for parents: A few more spots in my summer Entrepreneurship Lab

I’m opening a few more spots in my Entrepreneurship Lab for teens this summer at a special summer rate.

This is for creative, curious teens who want to spend the summer building something real: a small business, a passion project, a product idea, a website, a newsletter, a jewelry line, a community project or an idea connected to something they already love.

My goal is not to pressure kids into becoming tiny CEOs. My goal is to help them practice creative confidence, problem-solving, follow-through and the very useful skill of turning a vague idea into an actual plan.

It’s a great fit for students who want a meaningful summer project, something to eventually talk about in applications or interviews, or simply a structured way to explore what they care about.

To me, this also fits perfectly with July’s theme of freedom: the freedom to stop waiting for permission, start small and learn how to bring an idea into the world.

If you are a parent on the Upper West Side, or nearby, and you have a teen who wants to make something this summer, reply to this email and I’ll send you the details! And if you know a family this might be a good fit for, please send them my way!

Friends of the Upper West Insider are hosting

• Friday, July 17: Good Company Sessions

  7:30 - 9 p.m. | Good Company Shop

  Good Company Sessions is a cozy live music series all about artistry, creativity and community. Hosted by Broadway performer Anthony Murphy, the night brings together Broadway performers, local artists and some of New York City’s most exciting talent for live music, storytelling and conversation in an intimate, welcoming setting. The first event features Christina Jones from “The Wiz,” Blu from “MJ the Musical” and local artist David Rhodes, with music direction by Broadway pianist and conductor Michael Ferrara of “Titanique” and “Wicked.” I’m excited. I enjoyed their Soundbath event and I love Broadway! Tickets!

  A joy prescription for more live music, creativity and belonging this July!

• Tuesday, July 21: Open Mic Night

  7-830 p.m. | Reverie Room

  This is the neighborhood’s open mic night! I went to one recently and really enjoyed it. The performers included people of all ages and skill levels, sharing talents across all kinds of creative mediums. If you perform, let me know! Tickets!

  A joy prescription for more belonging and art this July!

• Monday, July 27: Seashell Trinket Dish Decoupage with WP Theater and The Betrothed

  7- 9 p.m. | Chaotic Good Cafe

  Come to Kiely’s Craft Club, have a fun time, and leave with a summery seashell trinket dish. Also, UWS Insider community can use code “CRAFTY” for $10 off the show. I’ll be there. Will you be joining?
  A joy prescription for learning a new skill, making something summery and spending a creative evening in community!

More July Joy on My Radar

New York is basically one giant summer camp in July, so here are a few more events I’m hoping to fit into the month:

Sunday, July 12: Bastille Day at SummerStage
6-10 p.m. | Central Park
Celebrate Bastille Day with a free evening of French music in Central Park! The lineup brings together French rap, pop and plenty of ’80s nostalgia, with performances from Black M, Laurent Voulzy, Legends of the ’80s and Michel Polnareff. The event is all ages, and doors open at 5 p.m.

Thursday, July 16-Friday, July 17: World at Play at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center is combining soccer, dance, film and community with freestyle soccer performances, outdoor screenings, music and a silent disco. This feels like the perfect way to soak up the last stretch of World Cup energy without necessarily understanding every rule of soccer.

Sunday, July 19: FIFA World Cup Final Watch Party
Central Park’s Great Lawn
The World Cup final is coming to the biggest possible neighborhood screen. About 50,000 people are expected to gather on the Great Lawn to watch together, which sounds chaotic, historic and very New York.

Wednesday, July 22: “Loving Vincent” on the Pier
8:30-10:30 p.m. | Pier I at West 70th Street
Pack a picnic and watch the gorgeous, fully painted film “Loving Vincent” beside the Hudson. The screening is free and open-captioned. A joy prescription for art, friendship and pretending your Wednesday night is a tiny European film festival.

Beginning Saturday, July 25: “The Winter’s Tale” at Shakespeare in the Park
8 p.m. | Delacorte Theater
Free Shakespeare in the Park returns with “The Winter’s Tale,” a mysterious and romantic story involving jealousy, destiny, lost children and true love. Free tickets are available through several day-of distribution and lottery options.

Wednesday, July 29: Julieta Venegas at SummerStage
6-10 p.m. | Central Park
Julieta Venegas, Lasso, Micro TDH and DJ Anamaria Sayre are bringing an evening of Spanish-language pop to Central Park, and the show is free.

Thursday, July 30: Dance, Cumbia and a Silent Disco at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center has an almost comically full night planned, including an outdoor dance performance, the BAAND Together Dance Festival, Mexican Institute of Sound and Meridian Brothers on the Dance Floor, and a late-night R&B silent disco. Pick your own adventure, or ambitiously attempt all of it.

I’ll keep adding discoveries as July unfolds, but these are officially on my joy radar.

As always, if you’re hosting something creative, community-centered, outdoorsy, bookish, crafty, reflective, neighborly or just genuinely delightful, send it my way. I’m happy to attend, feature it or co-host it.

And if you go to something from this guide, please tell me. I want to know what you loved, what felt worth it and where we should all go next.

Leave a comment

.

Katya
Your Upper West Insider and Joy Prescriber

I’m here to share a few ways we can spend these last days of June together, and to gift someone a free ticket to an event happening this evening.

The Upper West Insider

For those of you who don’t know, I only grabbed The Upper West Insider handles and started this Substack and Instagram a few months ago. And guess what? We just hit 1,000 followers on Instagram.

This has all been word of mouth, community love and me posting from my little corner of the Upper West Side. No paid marketing. No ads. No growth hacks. I’ve also never had 1,000 followers on Instagram before. It was never really a goal, which makes this feel very cool and a little surreal.

I’m really proud, and I’m very grateful you’re here!! and wanted to say thank you.. so…

Today: Two Little Gifts and a Few Surprises

1. I recently went to a rooftop art gala and met a brilliant artist Cara who drew me a portrait I really enjoyed.. I wanted to share her art with all of you… And so.. as a little gift to all our neighbors and friends..

   
   Cara & I are going to be at Open Streets On Columbus Avenue today, drawing free portraits of our neighbors! Find us there starting at 1 p.m., until the rain kicks us out. Let’s see how many portraits we get done!

   

2. I've been having fun but feeling pretty anxious about life adult things, so I am going to go to a Hip Hop sound bath today at 7:30pm. I’ve never done this before! I’m excited! Andddd I’m offering
   

I’m giving away one free ticket to this evening’s event, so come be my plus-one!

Here is a link so you can see more details.. Free for whomever DMs me first!

Happy Pride!

How have you all been celebrating?

I made sure to have a pride themed event with Reading Rhythms!

I also went to one of the last performances of Death Becomes Her, which closes in just a few hours, and wow. This show is incredible. One of my favorite Broadway shows! I have a lot of thoughts about it so I will review it on my other Substack soon!

Although it is not overtly a Pride show, it is, to quote some lyrics, “for the gays.” It is campy, glamorous, ridiculous, sharp and so much funnier than I expected! It was nominated for lots of Tonys and won for costuming, which is it very much deserved.

There are still seats left here: tickets for the 3pm June 28 last show!!

Closing out June:

1. Monday, I’m working this Reading Rhythms party in midtown! You’re welcome to come read with me! It’ll be nice and relaxing! You can sit with me! or

2. You can come craft with Kiely at Craft Club. I’m sad I can’t make this one but you should! You can make me some jewelry! Kiely is going to bring cake because it’s Craft Club’s 2nd birthday! Save me a slice!

As for July,

As for July, I already have some dates locked down for portrait parties. DM me if you want first invites.

I’m also figuring out the next Madewell party and more, so stay tuned.

If you want to co-host something, or if you have an event request, this is the time to tell me.

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I hope to see you all today, at the Open Streets or at the Sound Bath, or tomorrow at my reading party!

Proud and excited,

Katya, The Upper West Insider

Knicks in five!

On Friday, I watched the game at a bar in Hell’s Kitchen, even though I am not usually a sports or sportsbar person, and it was so much fun! I couldn’t want to go again! A lovely reminder that we are never too old to try something new.

Yesterday, I was back on the Upper West Side, so I decided to make an Instagram post asking for people to give me recommendations. People came through and DMed me lots of info!

I ended up walking around and taking photos of the scene for you all, especially for anyone trying to decide whether to stay uptown or go downtown on Wednesday.

Here is my video summary: My TikTok video .

Basically, the Upper West Side came through. Most places near me prioritized showing the Knicks, and you could walk around and choose from so many different vibes for your night: crowded bar, wine bar with jazz, standing outside, whatever. People even brought their own chairs to sit outside!

And this was a Monday! Wednesday on the UWS is going to be fun.

This weather!

When I was standing outside Upper West Side bars yesterday, I was so grateful that the weather was very much “let’s all stand around outside together” weather.

I kept thinking: Hasn’t it been lovely to have so many hot, summery days in a row?

I’ve been spending a lot of time outside lately, getting more steps in than I did during the first five months of 2026 combined.

I know, I know. “But the rain!”

I got caught in the rain, not once but twice, while co-hosting an Open Streets event on Columbus Avenue, and the fact that I was not cold afterward felt like a small miracle. It felt refreshing!

Yes, even as I sat there under a craft table, damp, clutching my Terra the Turtle book, which I self-published for bilingual children, and a stack of Terra coloring pages, I was still grateful for June weather and fully determined to have all my outdoor events this month.

Don’t rain on my parade, etc., etc.

It’s Pride Month! Life’s candy and the sun’s a ball of butter!

And our theme for the month is Pride: queer joy, chosen family, self-respect and taking up space.

Thank you to everyone who read my previous post, the Upper West Insider June guide preview, and sent me tips about Pride-themed events happening on the Upper West Side. I now have more Pride events on my own calendar, and I’ve included them in the official guide below:

Your Upper West Insider June Guide 🌈

Below is what I’m prescribing for joy this month! This list will be updated regularly, and I’ll add new events as I’m invited to them, so check back in your browser or in the Substack app for the latest.

Joyful Happenings I’m Hosting or Co-Hosting as Your Upper West Insider

• Sunday, June 7: Craft Club at Open Streets
  1-3 p.m. | Columbus Avenue
  Yes, this one already happened! Thanks to all that came to say hi! We loved coloring Terra with all the children!

  A joy prescription for more art, play, and belonging this June!

• Tuesday, June 9: Walk to Museum Mile!
  6-9 p.m. | Meet-up at 86th CPW entrance, then walk to 5th Avenue
  Join me for a group walk from the Upper West Side to Museum Mile. We’ll get our steps in, enjoy the city, wander through art and make the most of one of New York’s best free summer nights. Last year, lots of pride-themed happenings there! People asked me if I could organize so I just made this Partiful… RSVP!

  A joy prescription for more movement, art, and belonging this June!

• Wednesday, June 10: Picnic, Philharmonic & Finals
  6-10 p.m. | Meet-up at 86th CPW entrance, then walk to picnic spot.
  An extremely New York evening: bring a book, a sketchbook or whatever you want to work on, sit in the park with me, listen to the New York Philharmonic and then head somewhere nearby to watch the Knicks. People asked me if I could organize so I just made this Partiful… RSVP!

  A joy prescription for more nature, art, and belonging this June!

• Thursday, June 11: Beyond the Page: Famesick
  7 p.m. | Gelateria Gentile
  A free journaling and discussion gathering inspired by Famesick. RSVP to get the optional journaling prompts ahead of time, then bring a journal and pen, or whatever you like to write with. No need to finish the book to come. This is not your usual book club, it is more of a low-pressure way to take some time to reflect, write and meet other people who enjoy doing the same. RSVP!

  A joy prescription for more writing, art, and solo dates this June!

• Friday, June 12: Portrait Drawing Party
  6-8 p.m. | Local garden
  A beginner-friendly portrait drawing night where everyone draws each other in a fun, low-pressure, speed-dating-without-the-dating format. I went to one and knew I needed to bring it to UWS because it’s SO fun and such a great way to meet neighbors. Limited seats (small garden)! RSVP now to grab the last seats.

  A joy prescription for more nature, art, and belonging this June!

• Sunday, June 14: Figure Drawing at City Coffee & Bar
  6-8 p.m. | City Coffee & Bar
  A relaxed figure drawing night for all levels at a new UWS bar, featuring a nude model. All supplies are included, and it’s a lovely, low-pressure way to unwind on a Sunday evening. Limited space! RSVP now for early-bird pricing.

  A joy prescription for more art, play, and solo dates this June!

• Monday, June 15: “Reading Is Fundamental” Pride-Themed Reading Party
  7-9 p.m. | Hex & Co.
  A Pride-themed reading party at Hex & Co. Bring a queer book, a book by a queer author, a book that makes you feel more yourself or, yes, queer smut. RSVP now.

  A joy prescription for more reading, play, and belonging this June!

• Thursday, June 25: Madewell Shopping & Embroidery Party
  7-9 p.m. | Madewell
  A shopping and embroidery party at Madewell, co-hosted by Craft Club. Come hang out, browse, embroider something cute and enjoy a very crafty little summer night. This is an exclusive free party for my subscribers, and we’ll be celebrating Craft Club’s second birthday! Limited space. RSVP now!

  A joy prescription for more art, play, and belonging this June!

• Monday, June 29: Reading Rhythms Midtown
  7-9 p.m | Leonetta, (not UWS but we can commute together)
  A welcoming social reading party where you bring any book, read quietly alongside others, listen to curated music and join optional 1-on-1 breakouts and group discussion. RSVP now.

  A joy prescription for more art, play, and belonging this June!

Phew! That’s a lot. Those are just my IRL happenings I’m hosting or co-hosting in June. I also host virtual reading hours with Reading Rhythms! Hope to see you at one or two of these!

If you want to co-host something with me, in person or virtually, in July or August, tell me now!

Pride on the Upper West Side

Here are a few Pride events happening in and around the neighborhood this month:

• Select dates in June: Queer Central Park Tour
  10 a.m. | Starts at Bethesda Terrace
  A 90-minute Central Park Conservancy tour exploring Central Park’s LGBTQ+ history and influence, including the contributions of LGBTQ+ figures connected to the park. June tour dates include June 14, June 20, June 21, June 27 and June 28.
  A joy prescription for more movement, nature, and belonging this June!

• Friday, June 12: Gorgeous Gorgeous
  10 p.m. | The Dance Floor at Lincoln Center
  A free Pride celebration and silent disco on Lincoln Center’s outdoor dance floor. Come after the portrait garden party and dance, people-watch and enjoy a very glittery summer night at Lincoln Center.

  A joy prescription for more movement, play, and belonging this June!

• Sunday, June 21: Pride Evensong at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
  4-5 p.m. | Cathedral of St. John the Divine
  A special Evensong service featuring LGBTQIA+ composers and a performance by the Cathedral Choir. The space looks beautiful and I’d love to learn of more LGBTQIA+ composers.
  A joy prescription for more art and belonging this June!

• Thursday, June 25: Spotlight: Where the Boys Are
  7:30 p.m. | David Rubenstein Atrium, Lincoln Center
  A free, 18+ Lincoln Center Presents performance at the David Rubenstein Atrium. Add this one to your Pride Month calendar if you want something theatrical, joyful and a little more grown-up.

  A joy prescription for more art, play, and belonging this June!

• Saturday, June 27: Summer on the Hudson: Speak Up! Festival at Pier I in Riverside Park South

  4-7 p.m. | Riverside Park South
  Opera on Tap hosts a family-friendly Pride celebration with music and performances in Riverside Park South. This feels like a good one for people who want Pride, park air and a little dramatic singing, which is a very Upper West Side combination.

  A joy prescription for more art, play, and belonging this June!

• Sunday, June 28: UWS Walking Group: Pride Parade
  10 a.m.-noon | Chaotic Good Cafe, 200 W. 84th St.
  A free group walk from Chaotic Good Cafe through Central Park and down toward the Pride Parade. The route includes the Ramble, Bow Bridge, Bethesda Fountain, Sheep Meadow and Fifth Avenue before ending near Madison Square Park. Great for groups, friends or people going solo. RSVP for a half-filled cafe punch card.
  A joy prescription for more movement, nature, and belonging this June!

I’ll keep adding more when I hear of it!

Friends of the Upper West Insider are hosting

• Tuesday, June 9: Tiny Traveling Sketchbook Exhibition and Art-Making
  3-7 p.m. | 87th garden
  A one-day-only art event featuring watercolor images from the Tiny Traveling Sketchbook, with scenes from the garden and around NYC. From 3-5 p.m., join guided nature sketching and watercolor activities. From 5-7 p.m., stay for the exhibition and reception with the artist.
  A joy prescription for more art, nature, and belonging this June!

• Sunday, June 14: BYOC: Bring Your Own Craft
  1-3 p.m. | Garden
  Craft Club NYC is back with a BYOC event in the garden. Pack a project you’re already working on and stop by for an afternoon of crafting, conversation and sweet treats. Drawing supplies, seasonal snacks and drinks will be provided. Craft kits are available to pre-purchase and pick up at the event if you’re looking to start something new. Craft Club is also proud to present a live acoustic set by singer-songwriter Candice Wu from 1:45-2:15 p.m. I will for sure be there because we are celebrating Craft Club’s second birthday!!! RSVP here!
  A joy prescription for more art, nature, and belonging this June!

• Monday, June 29: Garden Rest & Read
  5:30-7 p.m. | Garden
  Bring a book, a blanket and whatever you need for a quiet, restorative reading break in the garden. Come read, rest, enjoy a little fresh air and spend time around other people doing the same.
  A joy prescription for more nature, solo dates and belonging this June!

Also Happening This Month

• The Knicks. Game 4 of the NBA Finals is Wednesday, June 10, at 8:30 p.m., with the Knicks playing the Spurs at Madison Square Garden. Yes, this is at the same time as the NY Philharmonic in Central Park. Lots of planning to be had!

• Smorgasburg is in Central Park. The outdoor food market is open Thursday through Saturday, noon-8 p.m., which means you can now “snack wandering in the park” with better snacks!

• Shakespeare in the Park is back at the Delacorte. Romeo and Juliet runs through Sunday, June 28!

• SummerStage is back in Central Park. The 40th anniversary season includes free and benefit concerts all summer, with June shows ranging from opening night with Ledisi to Met Opera recitals, Laurie Anderson and Pride weekend dance energy. Basically, Central Park is booked and busy.

• Movies Under the Stars season is here. NYC Parks is hosting free outdoor movie screenings across the city all summer, so keep an eye on the calendar for park movie nights near you.

• Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City is in full swing starting TOMORROW. Expect outdoor dancing, music, performances! I love to go!

That’s the June guide for now!

As always, I’ll keep updating this list as I find more joyful things happening around the Upper West Side. If you’re hosting something creative, community-centered, Pride-themed, outdoorsy, bookish, crafty or just genuinely delightful, send it my way.

And if you go to something from this guide, please tell me. I want to know what you loved, what felt worth it and where we should all go next.

See you outside,

Katya
Your Upper West Insider and Joy Prescriber

I’ll get right to it: Happy Pride Month!

June theme: Pride.

Queer joy, chosen family, self-respect and taking up space.

Lately, I’ve been seeing more people dress loudly as themselves at events, ask for pronouns on name tags and build spaces that feel so cozy, so loving and so joyful. I love that. This month, in the most joyful of New York months, I want to celebrate that even more.

I’ve also realized I haven’t been invited to nearly enough Pride-themed events yet, so consider this my very official, very unsubtle request: invite me, invite us. I know my readers will want to go, and I’d love to include more Pride events in my official June guide.

For now, while I’m gathering more Pride Month plans, here is a quick preview of June events from me, friends and community partners that you should put on your calendar:

June Preview: Gatherings On Upper West Side From Me, Friends and Community Partners

1. June 7th, Sunday, 1–3pm: Find me and Craft Club at Open Streets on Columbus Avenue!

2. June 12th, Friday, 6–8pm: Portrait Drawing Party at our beautiful local garden (I’m co-hosting), RSVP now for early-bird pricing!

3. June 14th, Sunday, 1–3pm: Bring Your Own Craft, with live music

4. June 14th, Sunday, 5–7pm: Figure Drawing at City Coffee & Bar (I’m co-hosting), RSVP now for early-bird pricing!

5. June 15th, Monday, 7–9pm: “Reading is Fundamental” Pride-themed reading party at Hex & Co! (I’m co-hosting) (Yay Pride!) (I dare you to bring queer smut!) RSVP now for early-bird pricing!

6. June 25th, Thursday, 6:30–9:00pm: Madewell Shopping & Embroidery Party (I’m co-hosting).

7. June 29th, Monday, 7-9pm: Jewelry Making Bead Party at Chaotic Good Cafe

A lot of the above have early-bird pricing and limited seats! RSVP soon!

I also want to host a free Famesick: Beyond the Page journaling and book club. Should I do it this Thursday or next Thursday?

RSVP here if you can make this Thursday, June 4th.

More events, details and links are coming soon. But for now, you have 6 awesome days in June to look forward to!

And if you’re hosting something joyful, creative, Pride-themed, and community-centered on the Upper West Side, send it my way.

This is just the preview. The full June guide is coming soon!

See you out there,

Katya, Your Upper West Insider and Joy Prescriber

Do you know that neighborly kind of third space that feels always open, affordable, inviting and useful for every version of your day? You see it in movies and TV shows and wonder “where???”.

These kinds of spaces exist in so many parts of the world, but I feel like we don’t have enough of them on the Upper West Side. I’m not complaining. We have beautiful parks, cozy cafes and plenty of neighborhood charm. Still, you have to agree: We don’t have enough casual, flexible spaces that make it easy to linger, gather and actually use the neighborhood.

But I found one, and I wanted to share.

Walking to my Reading Rhythms event at Hex & Co., I kept passing City Coffee & Bar, so I finally decided to stop by and check out the space.

And I’m so glad I did because I have news for you:

City Coffee & Bar can be your work-from-a-laptop coffee shop, your brunch, lunch or dinner spot, your date spot, your place to watch the game and even your “I’ll grab the espresso martini and stay out later for dancing or hookah” spot.

It’s casual, flexible and lively in a way I wish we had more of in the neighborhood. You can sit there for hours because the tables and chairs are comfortable. The Wi-Fi is strong. The space is big. There really isn’t anything else quite like it on the Upper West Side.

How City Coffee & Bar describes itself

Here’s their own description from their website:

“Start your mornings with fresh coffee, breakfast/brunch favorites, and a cozy café atmosphere. By night, we transform into one of NYC’s best Restaurant- nightlife spots — a bar and lounge with premium cocktails, hookah and the best vibes in the city. Watch your favorite games on big screens, enjoy Happy Hour specials, and dance the night away spinning Latin, Afro beats, and global hits. Whether you’re here to relax during the day or celebrate at night, this is where NYC comes together for good times and great energy.”

Work from here, alone

I originally came in to see if I could work from here because I work from home and need more places with outlets and Wi-Fi. People know this, so they are always asking me for advice and reviews.

So here is my “Where to Work From on the UWS” review of City Coffee & Bar:

Is this helpful? Let me know if I should do more “Where to Work From on the UWS” reviews.

Leave a comment

Socialize and have fun here

Watch the game: I am not going to pretend to be a sports expert, but I can confidently say this would be a great place to watch the NBA Finals, the World Cup or whatever game your friends are emotionally invested in. The TVs are huge and everywhere, the seats are comfortable and there is lots of space. The food and drinks are also affordable for the neighborhood, especially during happy hour.

Hookah with friends: If you’re looking for something unusual for the neighborhood, City Coffee & Bar also has hookah. I personally don’t know of another hookah lounge within a 30-block radius of me, so this feels like a rare option for the Upper West Side. It’s nice to have a place nearby where you can meet friends, settle in and do something a little different without leaving the neighborhood.

Dancing: We are very low on places to dance into the night on the Upper West Side, especially somewhere open from midnight to 3 a.m. City Coffee & Bar has DJs on some nights, which makes it a rare neighborhood option for when you just want to dance the night away without leaving the UWS.

Come to my figure sketching event there

City Coffee & Bar is also one of the rare venues in the neighborhood that is open to hosting figure sketching with a nude model. This is very normal in the art world and somehow very difficult to find in the Upper West Side event world.

So, obviously, I had to take the opportunity.

I’ll be co-hosting a figure sketching event there with FigureSketchNYC on Sunday, June 14, where we can draw and hang out!!!

RSVP early for a discount: https://partiful.com/e/SC2zU3KqVHfzkG9hqUyV?c=SkTJX9ha. I’m inviting you first! All supplies are included in the ticket price.

RSVP here! Early bird discount!

I am going to wait for a few hours before posting this elsewhere so get it first!

Also, I’ll probably be having dinner and drinks there too, so feel free to come early, stay after and grab something while you’re there.

Very excited for this partnership with City Coffee & Bar. Love when I discover a new place and they are happy to host us!!

See you there? Tell your friends!

Katya, Your Upper West Insider & Joy Prescriber

This is a very quick note to SHOUT that you NEED to make it to the Matisse exhibit. Closing tomorrow, May 22, at 5:30 p.m!

If you can make it to the Upper East Side today or tomorrow before 5 p.m., you should prioritize the Matisse exhibit at Acquavella Galleries. It’s free, it’s beautiful, it’s air conditioned and, apparently, it has a line like the hottest club in town.

After Matisse, I’m inspired to pose like this, to pose nude, and to paint more. I’m grateful for our neighborhood, and for greater NYC, for making so much art feel accessible and free. I’m grateful for friends who invite me to exhibits (thank you Stephanie!!), and inspired to create more content that invites my followers into art, too.

I’m inspired to create art that inspires others to create art. When art inspires, it becomes a chain. Someone creates, someone invites, someone is moved, and then someone else begins.

more photos here:

That’s the whole review:

Super joyful exhibit! If you can go today or tomorrow, go, go, go.

Let me know if you liked this, if you’re going, if you went or if you want more visual reviews like this.

Best,

Katya

Wanted to send a quick note about everything happening in the next few days because there is a lot! It’s going to be hot, hot, hot, and I am personally in need of wholesome, nourishing distractions, so I’m excited for all of this:

Garden hang
Today, 5-7 p.m. at my community garden
I’ll be at my community garden today from 5-7 p.m., probably reading or doodling. You’re welcome to join, say hi, and bring a quiet activity to do. Just message me.

Smorgasburg is making its Columbus Circle debut this Friday and Saturday
For the first time, Smorgasburg is popping up at the Columbus Circle entrance to Central Park, bringing 25-plus food vendors and a very strong excuse to turn lunch, dinner or “I need to leave my apartment” into a park hang.

Columbus Avenue Open Streets are back! There is never a bad Sunday when I make it to Open Streets. See you there!

Lux Mea Spring Concert: Les Sirènes
Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17
5:30-6:30 p.m. | Advent Lutheran Church, 2504 Broadway
🎶 Art and Culture
The Lux Mea Choir presents its sixth annual spring concert, Les Sirènes, with an evening of song to celebrate the culmination of its season. A lovely neighborhood plan for anyone craving live music, choral beauty and a little local spring enchantment.

UWS Chapter: Audiobooks and Crafts! Co-hosted by me!
Monday at 7-9 p.m. | Hex & Company, 2911 Broadway
🎧 Art and Community
A welcoming Reading Rhythms NYC gathering for people who want to keep their hands busy while listening to their books. Bring headphones and your own craft, like knitting, crocheting, embroidery, origami, coloring, sketching or journal decorating, or use the supplies on hand for pressed flower bookmark making.

Speed Portrait Drawing
Tuesday at 6-8 p.m. | Winnie Said, 1624 Amsterdam Ave.
🎨 Art and Community
A beginner-friendly portrait drawing night where everyone draws each other in a fun, low-pressure, speed-dating-without-the-dating format. Tickets are $50 and include all art materials, one drink and food, plus free ice cream from NunLeft, a woman-owned, Harlem-based small-batch ice cream company. You can draw me! I can draw you Register here.

Let me know if you’re coming to any of the above so we can chat! And if there are certain types of events you’d like to see from me, or if you want to co-host or collaborate on anything, I’d love to hear from you.

Best,

Katya, Your Upper West Insider

Saturday, May 9: Japan Parade and Street Fair

I got a LOT of questions about Japan Festival on UWS and realized there was some confusion with what is happening when. I explain it on this post:

But essentially, today there is Japan Parade, rain or shine. The parade steps off at 1 p.m. along Central Park West, from West 81st Street down to West 67th Street.

There will also be a Japan Street Fair from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on West 72nd Street between Columbus Avenue and Central Park West.

Expect performances, community groups, cultural celebration and, very importantly, Japanese food vendors. It’s free, festive and right in the neighborhood, which is my favorite kind of plan: high reward, low subway involvement.

My suggested plan: grab coffee, walk over early, watch the parade along Central Park West, then make your way toward the street fair for snacks and a little weekend wandering.

and if you have your mom around, bring your mom!

Sunday, May 10: Mother’s Day on the UWS

This year, the Mother’s Day plan cannot be simpler: go enjoy the first day of Columbus Open Streets with your mom, walk around, get brunch at Ella Social, where they’ll have live music until 4 p.m., and treat her to a few Mother’s Day sale gifts from the shops along Columbus. For example, Madewell has a sale right now.

There’s also the Mother’s Day Bazaar at Grand Bazaar NYC on Columbus Avenue, which is perfect for browsing, gifting and pretending you are “just looking” while absolutely finding something.

And on Broadway, between 64th and 65th streets, Makers Manifest will have a craft market full of things to get Mom, or to get now and gift to Mom later, because sometimes the holiday logistics require a little creative timing.

It really cannot be easier to celebrate a day with your mom, spend the day finding a gift for a mom or mother figure, or, maybe, if you’re a mom yourself, treat yourself to the sweetest Upper West Side day. Brunch, live music, open streets, local shopping and spring weather? The neighborhood understood the assignment.

A few ways to make a weekend of it

Saturday: Japan Parade, street fair snacks, a park walk and an early dinner.

Sunday: Columbus Open Streets, Mother’s Day brunch at Ella Social, Grand Bazaar NYC, Makers Manifest, local shopping and a little gift-hunting along Columbus and Broadway.

No Mother’s Day plans? No problem. Make it a solo date. Buy yourself flowers. Browse for a gift to give later. Call someone you love. Sit in the park and let the Upper West Side do what it does best: make an ordinary weekend feel a little cinematic.

And if you’re a mom, consider this your official permission slip to treat yourself.

Happy weekend, neighbors. Save this, share it with someone making plans and let me know what else should be on the May guide.

Best,

Katya

All of April, in between hosting a dozen events, all I did was neurotically tour the blooming spots around the UWS, as if I hadn’t been seeing them for eight years already, as if I would never see them again:

First, my favorite community garden, of course, claiming a table just for me and playing musical chairs just with myself and my headphones, deciding which chair to sit on so I can stare at all the trees and flowers equally.

Then, I’d walk repeatedly to the trees near the West Side of Reservoir. They’re the Kanzan cherry trees and some of the first trees to bloom in the park. I’d be in awe of their early start and their deep pink flowers. “You bloomed early just to help me out”, I’d thank them! “Thanks for being there now so I catch you before my trip!”

In fleeting bursts of energy, I’d run to the east side of the Reservoir to smell the Yoshino cherries, their flowers a softer white. Any tree that gets me out of the house for a run is a good tree. These are some of the very best trees.

In lazier moments, I’d sit on the grass, close my eyes, and let the flowers blow into my face, reminding me they were there.

I took so many photos! I caught them! Before leaving! I have receipts! So grateful! I can enjoy my trip in peace.

And then I came back from my trip, and to my surprise, thank you pessimism, everything was even MORE beautiful.

The Tulip Garden was in bloom for my birthday, as always. And packed! So grateful that half a century ago, the vacant lot turned into a garden, not anything less. Happy 50 years!

Lastly, I have to shout out the Conservatory Garden, my plan for bringing people out on my birthday.

And so, I did a lot of staring, awing, and pondering. I stared at everything in bloom, as if I couldn’t believe it was there… like I couldn’t believe spring had arrived and the flowers had made it.

How did all this nature survive such a hard winter and come out the other side as if nothing had happened, ready to be beautiful and delight us all?

How do I get through my own wintering and emerge in bloom like that?

The obvious answer, annoying as it is, is that nothing blooms from nothing.

The trees did not simply wake up one morning and decide to be impressive. They had been receiving nourishment all along: water, light, soil, time, rest, roots, pruning, protection, cold, warmth, patience. Some of that nourishment was visible. Some of it was underground.

And maybe that is the lesson I want to carry into May.

Blooming is the part everyone sees. Nourishment is the part we have to choose before anyone claps.

May feels like the month where everything is visibly becoming. The city is once again pretending it has never known winter. But underneath all that beauty is the less glamorous truth: things bloom because they were tended to.

And so, our theme for May is nourishment.

(scroll down for all the events!)

Not just food, though obviously, yes, please nourish me with a good sidewalk dinner and a little treat from the farmers market.

But nourishment as in: What gives you energy back? What helps you feel rooted? What makes you feel like a person again? What reminds you that you are not only surviving, but growing?

It also feels fitting that May brings Mother’s Day, a holiday that can be sweet, complicated, tender, commercial and emotionally loaded all at once. Mothers, grandmothers, aunts, sisters, friends, teachers, neighbors, chosen family, mom-like figures: so many of us survive because someone nourished us before we knew how to nourish ourselves.

Someone packed the snack. Someone held the bag. Someone reminded us to bring a jacket. Someone listened. Someone fed us, literally or otherwise.

And then, at some point, adulthood asks us to learn how to nourish ourselves, too.

Annoying. But important.

So this month, I’m thinking about nourishment in every form: meals, movement, friendship, sunlight, creativity, rest, beauty, community, conversation, flowers, books, quiet walks and the kind of plans that make you feel a little more alive.

May on the Upper West Side is full of ways to practice that. Ways to feed yourself, tend to yourself, leave the house, see something beautiful, sit near water, call your mom, honor your mom, miss your mom, become your own mom for a second, or simply buy yourself flowers and call that growth.

Here’s to a month of active nourishment.

And here’s to the Upper West Side in May, where everything is in bloom, and maybe we can be, too. 🌿

Your Upper West Insider May Guide 🌸

This list is updated regularly. I’ll add new events as I am invited to them, so check back on your browser or in the Substack app for the latest.

Ongoing Events

Central Park Nature! Wander with others, spot flowers, birds and little seasonal surprises, and let the park remind you that being outside counts as being fed**.**

• Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays – Bird Watching with Bob

• Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays – Central Park Highlights Running Tour

• Saturdays – Central Park Sunrise Yoga Walk

• This is the time to spend hours doodling at the Conservatory Garden!

Comedy! Go laugh in public with other people. It’s cheaper than therapy, louder than journaling and occasionally just as clarifying.

• Mondays, 8 p.m. – E’s Bar

• Wednesdays, 8 p.m. – Jake’s Dilemma

• Thursdays, 7 p.m. – Upper Yes Side’s Improv Show

Crafts at Columbus Circle! Crafting keeps your hands busy and your mind soft. It’s one of the simplest ways to turn an ordinary evening into something gently restorative.

• May 6th: Brooklyn Craft Company Pressed Floral Coaster Workshop

• May 13th: Color Me Mine UWS Pot Painting Workshop

• May 20th: Flowers by Special Arrangement Plant Potting Workshop

note: they write “While RSVPs may be full, we welcome day-of walk-ins and will accommodate as space allows.”

Jazz Nights! Stay local for live music and let the sound fill in whatever the week took out of you.

• Various times on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. – The Speakeasy

• Wednesdays, 8 p.m. – Florentin Bistro Jazz

• Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays at 7pm – The Wallace Lounge

• Ongoing concerts – Jazz at Lincoln Center

Markets! Wander, snack, and let yourself be charmed by something small, lovely, or unexpectedly delicious.

• Fridays – 97th Street Sunday Greenmarket

• Sundays – Columbia Sunday Greenmarket

• Sundays – 79th Sunday Greenmarket

• Sundays – Grand Bazaar

• Every Thursday, Friday, Saturday - Smorgasburg is now at Columbus Circle!!!

Movies! Step into another world for a few hours and let yourself be transported, entertained, distracted or emotionally rearranged.

• Film at Lincoln Center (for indie films)

• Largest AMC IN NY, with largest IMAX screen ever, Lincoln Square 13 (for popular releases. I recommend Avatar!)

• Free movies at St. Agnes Library

Trivia on UWS! Trivia is a sweet little excuse to remember what you know, learn what you do not, and let your brain stretch in a way that feels social, silly and low-stakes.

• Tuesdays, 7 p.m. – E’s Bar

• Wednesdays, 7 p.m. – Jake’s Dilemma

• Wednesdays 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. – The Wolfe

• Wednesdays, 7 p.m. – Chaotic Good Cafe

Movement on UWS! I always feel more nourished on weeks where I moved a lot. This is coming from a NYC girl who avoided all sports and read books in gym class.

• Join a gym:

  • Equinox Columbus Circle, Sports Club NY, West 76th Street, West 92nd Street (message me for a referral bonus!)

  • West Side YMCA

  • Crunch W. 83 Street

  • JCC

• Join yoga:

  • Upper West Side Yoga and Wellness

  • NY Loves Yoga

  • Aura Yoga & Pilates

  • Corepower Yoga UWS 70th & Broadway

  • Momentum Fitness Yoga Classes

  • Heatwise

• Join Pilates:

  • Club Pilates UWS

  • [solidcore] Upper West Side

  • Aura Yoga & Pilates

  • Momentum Fitness

• Join run clubs:

  • Upper West Side Run Club

  • Upper West Side Runners

  • Fleet Feet NYC Group Runs

  • NYRR Group Training

  • Central Park Running Club

Spend time in your local gardens! Not only are they a great place to let trees and flowers nourish you, but they also host live music and other types of parties.

• 87th street garden

• West Side Community Garden

Columbus Avenue Open Streets are back! There is never a bad Sunday when I make it to Open Streets. See you there!

• Check out https://www.columbusavenuebid.org for all the events!

Standout Events

(If you want to co-host more events with me, send me an email theupperwestinsider@gmail.com )

Thursday, May 7

Botanical Rest and Read
5:30-7 p.m. | 87th Street Garden
📚 Community and Culture
A peaceful spring evening with Lit Club NYC and friends, set in the beauty and tranquility of the 87th Street Garden. Bring a book, settle in for quiet reading, enjoy light refreshments and free edibles, and stay for gentle community connection. RSVP required.

Sunday, May 10

Mother’s Day on Columbus Avenue Open Streets
12-4 p.m. | Columbus Avenue
📚 Belonging and Community
A lively Mother’s Day Open Streets afternoon on the Upper West Side, with outdoor dining, live music, comedy and neighborly fun all along Columbus Avenue. Stop by Ella Social for a warm block party moment with food, drinks and a live set from NYC bass player Miriam Kemp, catch an improv comedy jam with Reverie Room, and enjoy Cynthia & BG’s block party energy nearby. A sweet, low-lift plan for moms, mom-like figures, families, friends and anyone who wants to spend the afternoon outside in the neighborhood.

Tuesday, May 12

Reverie Room Monthly Open Mic
Tuesday, May 12
7 p.m., sign-ups at 6:30 p.m. | Reverie Room, 163 W. 72nd St.
🎤 Art and Community
A no-cover open mic night where all art forms are welcome, from songs and poems to comedy, storytelling and whatever else you’re brave enough to bring upstairs. Sign up at 6:30 p.m., grab a snack at the bodega and settle in for a cozy neighborhood night of local talent and creative courage.

Saturday, May 16

Lux Mea Spring Concert: Les Sirènes
Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17
5:30-6:30 p.m. | Advent Lutheran Church, 2504 Broadway
🎶 Art and Culture
The Lux Mea Choir presents its sixth annual spring concert, Les Sirènes, with an evening of song to celebrate the culmination of its season. A lovely neighborhood plan for anyone craving live music, choral beauty and a little local spring enchantment.

Sunday, May 17

Kids Day on the Upper West Side
All day | 69th Street and Columbus Avenue
🧸 Kids, Crafts and Family Fun
The Sunshinery is taking over 69th Street for a full day of kids’ programming during Columbus Avenue Open Streets. Expect interactive story time with Nellie the Harp, family dance sessions with Four Corners Creative, princess-themed crafts with Let’s Dress Up, plus prizes, games and raffles throughout the day. Registration for specific sessions is available on The Sunshinery’s profile.

Lux Mea Spring Concert: Les Sirènes
Saturday, May 16 and Sunday, May 17
5:30-6:30 p.m. | Advent Lutheran Church, 2504 Broadway
🎶 Art and Culture
The Lux Mea Choir presents its sixth annual spring concert, Les Sirènes, with an evening of song to celebrate the culmination of its season. A lovely neighborhood plan for anyone craving live music, choral beauty and a little local spring enchantment.

Monday, May 18

UWS Chapter: Audiobooks and Crafts! Co-hosted by me!
7-9 p.m. | Hex & Company, 2911 Broadway
🎧 Art and Community
A welcoming Reading Rhythms NYC gathering for people who want to keep their hands busy while listening to their books. Bring headphones and your own craft, like knitting, crocheting, embroidery, origami, coloring, sketching or journal decorating, or use the supplies on hand for pressed flower bookmark making.

Tuesday, May 19

Speed Portrait Drawing
6-8 p.m. | Winnie Said, 1624 Amsterdam Ave.
🎨 Art and Community
A beginner-friendly portrait drawing night where everyone draws each other in a fun, low-pressure, speed-dating-without-the-dating format. Tickets are $50 and include all art materials, one drink and food, plus free ice cream from NunLeft, a woman-owned, Harlem-based small-batch ice cream company. Register here.

Sunday, May 31

Dogs Day on the Upper West Side
12-3 p.m. | Columbus Avenue Open Streets
🐶 Dogs, Community and Summer Street Fair Fun
A dog-friendly Upper West Side summer street fair with nine blocks of activities, shopping discounts for pet parents and plenty of neighborhood fun along Columbus Avenue Open Streets. The event is brought to you by the Columbus Avenue BID and Camp Canine, with participating businesses joining in and proceeds supporting Animal Lighthouse Rescue.

What did I miss? Let me know! I’ll update the list!

📖 Reading and Writing as Nourishment

I am currently reading Famesick by Lena and want to meet to talk about it sometime in May.

The other book I’m planning for May is Yesteryear .

I am still debating dates… Message me with what book and if you’re interested so we can find a time that works for the most amount of people! Let me know!

💛 Community as Nourishment

I keep thinking about how much easier everything feels when you don’t do it alone.

So this month, I want to create more spaces where:

• You can show up without needing to perform

• You can be quiet if you want

• You can talk if you feel like it

• You can leave feeling a little more like yourself

Expect more:

• Reading gatherings

• Beyond the Page book clubs

• Low-key park hangs

• Craft and conversation nights

• Moments that feel like being taken care of, even in a small way

Let me know if you’re interested in coming and/or co-hosting!

Leave a comment

☕ Food That Feels Like Care

This is the month I want to eat in a way that supports me.

I’ll be:

• Getting something simple and grounding from neighborhood spots and taking it outside

• Sitting down for meals instead of eating on the go

• Choosing places where I can linger, not rush

Still using Seated because I love saving money while doing all of this. (You can use my code “yekaterina4” if you want a little bonus while nourishing yourself too.)

More to come as May unfolds. I’ll keep adding events, gatherings, and things that feel genuinely nourishing.

If you see something that feels like care, like slowness, like something that feeds people in a real way, send it to me. Invite me. Invite us.

If you want to co-host something that feels like this, I would love that.

And if you come to something this month, tell me how it felt. Not just what you did, but whether it actually nourished you.

That’s the only metric that matters this month.

See you out there,

Katya 🌿

I’m back!!!

After a brief stint as an Upper East East East Outsider (yes, I went far… emotionally and geographically), I’ve returned home to the Upper West Side just in time for my birthday week 🥹🌷

I felt very enchanted while I was away, and now I am very jet lagged.
But I am jumping right back into hosting events, and I am excited. What better way to celebrate than doing what I have been loving most?

So come say hi, solo or with a friend, celebrate with me, and meet some wonderful neighbors along the way.

Wish me a Happy Birthday at these events:

Wednesday, April 22, Earth Day 🌍

Upper West Insider x Madewell Earth Day Shopping Party
5 to 9 p.m. | Madewell, Columbus Ave
🛍️ Community
Join The Upper West Insider (me!) for a special shopping night at Madewell centered on sustainability, style, and community. The store will be open from 5 to 7 p.m., with exclusive after-hours access just for us from 7 to 9 p.m. Spend the evening learning about how your clothes can have a second life, from resale to upcycling, while browsing, trying things on, and meeting neighbors. Bring in old jeans to participate in their recycling program and receive a $20 coupon. Think thoughtful shopping, small conversations, and the quiet magic of making better choices together. Come solo or with friends, and RSVP early as space is limited.

RSVP to Earth Day Madewell Party!

Thursday, April 23, World Book Day & my birthday party

Virtual Reading Party: World Book Day Edition (I’m hosting!)
7 to 9 p.m. | Zoom
📚 Art and Culture
A cozy, global reading night, hosted by me, in celebration of World Book Day. Bring whatever you’re currently reading and settle in for guided silent reading, small breakout conversations, and thoughtful reflections on the ideas unfolding in your book. Come as you are, from wherever you are, and let yourself be surprised by how connected a virtual room can feel.

RSVP to World Book Day! (virtual)

Katya’s Birthday Party with Live Band
9:30 p.m. to 12 a.m. | Prohibition
💃 Movement, Art and Community
A lively neighborhood night of music, dancing, and celebration. Come wish your Upper West Insider (me!) a happy birthday while dancing to a live cover band, requesting your favorite songs, and soaking in the energy of a full, joyful room. No cover or minimum. Come solo or with friends and join in however you like.

RSVP to dance to live music with me!

If you make it to any of these, come say hi. I would love to see you.

Depending on the weather, I will also be inviting you all to spontaneous garden hangs and picnics this week. Keep an eye out. It will be a fun week.

See you this week,
Your Upper West Insider, Katya