New York is, and has always been, a city full of movers and shakers. Isha Toor, a 25 year old Business Analyst and Sarah Reynolds, a 33 year-old freelance Photography Archivist/Artist’s Assistant & Turntablist, are now organizing the first Lunch Beat in Manhattan.
How did you first get to know about Lunch Beat?
Sarah – I had the idea to start a Lunch Beat after reading about it last May and thinking, “This needs to happen in New York. Wait…why don’t I make it happen?” By June, I had organized the first Lunch Beat New York (also the second Lunch Beat party in the US) in Long Island City, NYC with the help of many friends and collaborators.
Isha – I came across an article online about Lunch Beat during my personal search on Scandinavia in the summer of 2012; I believe I was on Slate magazine. I read the article and I wondered: ‘why hasn’t Lunch Beat happened in Manhattan yet? People have to experience this phenomenon!’ And that’s exactly what I decided to do.
You are launching Lunch Beat in Manhattan; what do you plan for the event?
The first Lunch Beat in Manhattan will happen at Slate, an upscale sports lounge, nightclub, and event space located at 54 W 21st Street (btwn 5th and 6th Avenues) in the Flatiron District. A delicious spread of vegetarian food will be provided by Slate’s in-house chef and we will also provide a bottle of water for each attendee.
Stephanie Neptune, aka Space Jam, will be on decks spinning boogie, house, bass and more. Live, keytar-triggered visuals will be created by the multifaceted video artist BAMiAM.tv. BAMiAM.tv, aka B.A. Miale.
Who do you hope will participate in, and appreciate, Lunch Beat in Manhattan?
Lunch Beat NYC is primarily for office workers and other working professionals on their lunch break, and anyone else needing a break from their workday stress. There is a huge workforce in this city and everything happens in a “New York minute”. People are working non-stop (even during lunch) and we want to provide New Yorkers a new perspective on theirlunch hour by offering them a dance club experience on their lunch break! We will provide a place where people can forget about their jobs and let loose for one hour of nonstop fun! And of course anyone is welcome at Lunch Beat, including artists, students, stay-at-home parents, and even tourists! In fact, we’ve already inspired one visitor from Honolulu who is planning to attend, to start her own Lunch Beat when she gets home to Hawaii!
Anything else you want to add about your plans, hopes or ideas for Lunch Beat in the future?
In addition to helping inspire more additions to the global Lunch Beat community, we hope to help Lunch Beat expand to other neighborhoods of NYC. Also, since summer is just around the corner, outdoor Lunch Beat NYC events are on our minds! We can’t wait for office workers to shake a leg in public parks like Bryant Park, Times Square, Madison Square Park, etc.
Lunch Beat NYC (Manhattan) is being held on April 24th at Slate, 54 W 21st Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues) in the Flatiron District.