New York Burlesque Festival Brings the Glitterati to Gotham

September 14, 2015
By Jimmy Berg

The glitterati is about to descend on the Big Apple in a flurry of sparkle, shimmies and smiles. The New York Burlesque Festival celebrates its 13^th anniversary, September 24 to 27 with a fabulous line up of legends, queens, kings, international talent and burlesque up-and-comers. Since 2003, the festival has boasted sold-out crowds and this year is shaping up to be another big one.

Founded by Jen Gapay of Thirsty Girl Productions and bonafide burlesque superstar Angie Pontani and featuring over 100 international burlesque and variety performers, it is one of the largest burlesque festivals in the world.

“The festival is an amazing and totally unique opportunity to see some of the best burlesque entertainers from around the world, right here in NYC.” says Angie Pontani. “Not only can audience members take in five amazing shows, they can shop, take classes and mingle with our amazing cast of stars. This festival gives a tantalizing taste of all the different styles and genres of performance within burlesque.”

All burlesque fans will love this luscious and star-studded line up: Dirty Martini, Midnite Martini who won Miss Exotic World 2014. Burlesque legend Judith Stein, boylesque legend Tigger!, founder of the legendary New York School of Burlesque, Jo “Boobs” Weldon, 2012’s Mr. Exotic World Russell Bruner, as well as Mr. Gorgeous, 2014 “Best Boylesque” winner at the Burlesque Hall of Fame. And this is just a tantalizing tidbit of what New York audiences will be treated to.

Brown Paper Tickets is proud to offer 4-day VIP passes for the festival. Get your tickets now.

PS. Event Industry Mixer + Burlesque Happy Hour

Brown Paper Tickets is hosting two free gatherings in New York at the same time as the festival and I’ll be at both. Come out Thursday, September 24 to meet our local NYC crew and soak up event ideas, suggestions, insights on how to best ticket and promote your events. It’s at Haylards in Brooklyn, just around the corner from the festival’s opening night venue. More details.

We would love to see our burlesque friends at Brown Paper Tickets burlesque happy hour (Sept. 27) at the Tippler during the New York Festival Burlesque Bazaar. Cocktails and conversation will be flowing. Mingle with burlesque performers, luminaries and event organizers. Enter our drawing for event tickets. RSVP now.

Arts >

130 Big Apple Kids Learn Urban Farming via $2500 Gift

July 23, 2014
By Amanda Halm

Thanks to City Growers, goodwill (and good food) is sprouting up on rooftops across the Big Apple. Since 2011, City Growers has brought more than 10,000 urban kids to rooftop farms for educational excursions and workshops. We love their mission to teach families nutrition and urban farming techniques.

Last Saturday, Brown Paper Tickets donated $2,500 to City Growers at their annual rooftop dinner benefit. The feast served fresh food from Brooklyn Grange, the popular rooftop farm and venue at which City Growers calls home. With these funds, 130 kids from low-income New York City communities will be able to attend a 6-week City Growers’ program.

From hens to honeybees, to compost and cultivation, learning opportunities abound at these amazing farms in the sky. Kids from all 5 boroughs gain a hands-on experience with nature that might otherwise be difficult given their city roots. Children, plants and nonprofits all enrich local communities. Brown Paper Tickets is honored to open our New York City office this summer in the same neighborhood as City Growers.

Want to support urban farming kids programs? City Growers launched a capital campaign to raise funds. You can help City Growers engage the communities that need them most. Your contribution could send a kid on a memorable field trip to the farm or build a bee hive (with bees). If you’re based in New York, consider volunteering or visit the farm for a workshop during free family farm days.

Good Causes >

Comedy Outliers: Would You Like Be On My Show?

January 16, 2014
By Comedy Outliers

Today we feature another guest post from Comedy Outliers. They offer great advice to comedians, or performers in general, on how to survive and thrive in today’s competitive artistic climate.

The Comedy Outliers have their annual holiday show coming up this Saturday, January 18th at Lilly O’Brien‘s in New York City. Their shows are free but we highly recommend you pick up tickets so you don’t show up to a full house.

If you’re in New York or headed that way, be sure to check out their show. It’s rare to see comedy of this calibre without a cover charge or drink minimum. That said, if you want them to continue bringing these great shows to the Big Apple, we highly encourage you to support their efforts by hitting the “Donate” button on their website.

“Yes, I’m available! Let’s do it!”

Those are words that a producer loves to hear when they are trying to book acts for their shows. Reaching out to talent to perform on your show can be quite intimidating and it is often accompanied with rejection or delayed responses that may not come until a week AFTER your event happened. Nonetheless, when you get the act that you feel will be a great fit for your show it is extremely rewarding.

There have been times when we reached out to a comedian about performing on our show only to have them respond that they were unavailable. Did we leave it at that? Of course not! We politely follow-up every month or so with the next date and to inquire about their availability to perform on our show. Sometimes this back and forth goes on for months and in some cases it has taken almost a year to book specific comics (cough) Hannibal Burress (cough)!

Remember when you are trying to book talent that you need to be professional, polite and understanding of their schedules. Creative people, especially comics are impulsive and at times unpredictable which causes challenges when booking them. There have been times when despite our efforts a comic will bail last minute because of a random paying gig that came up…not going to knock that because everyone’s gotta eat! Other times they double-booked themselves (step your Google calendar game up!) However, we never take these cancellations personally but we do try to build line-ups where the comics compliment each other so it may be quite some time before we reach out to that particular comic again if we find that they aren’t the best fit for next month’s show.

Booking a show that will have numerous acts can be stressful and overwhelming at times but this is what we deal with to create the best show possible right? When you get the talent you’re looking for, don’t forget to make sure they enjoy themselves and have a memorable experience so that they can pass the word and hopefully make it easier for you to book other talent through positive word of mouth!

Comedy >

Foodie Friday: Taking a Bite Out of the Big Apple!

July 12, 2013
By Patrick

Last weekend, a handful of us from Brown Paper Tickets got a chance to attend the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York City. Attending the largest specialty food event in North America was our chance to meet foodies from all over the world. Restaurateurs, chefs, bakers and vendors gathered over three days in the enormous Jacob Javits Convention Center to exchange ideas and sample each others wares.

The food industry is a particularly demanding field and requires a lot of creativity and hard work to stand out. Thousands of food samples of infinite variety were what caught our immediate attention, but the industriousness of the many food makers expressing their craft made the show what it was. As attendees, it was a great way to learn about the food industry’s latest achievements.
Read More…

Food & Drink >

New York: Have A Drink On Us!

January 3, 2012
By AJ Andrews

Now that the Holidays are over and the new year has begun, why not come out to Brooklyn & meet me, AJ Andrews, your local NYC Brown Paper Tickets representative? I’m hosting our next producer “Meet & Greet” in New York tomorrow at Brooklyn’s own Barcade.

Come have a drink on Brown Paper Tickets, meet other NYC producers and enjoy a little relaxation after the holidays! It’s a great forum to share ideas and create partnerships with other local NYC professionals in the entertainment industry. Ask questions, expand your creative reach and seek advice from others who have been successful! You can RSVP to this free event right over here.

I hope to host monthly events where various event producers can meet, mingle and develop partnerships in the greater New York area.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfcnoIkBdjc]

I hope to see you soon! -AJ

News >

AJ Reports from the Occupy Wall Street Protests in NYC.

October 18, 2011
By AJ Andrews

Hello there.

I’m AJ and I’m the East Coast Ambassador for Brown Paper Tickets. This new role has required that I relocate to the East Coast from Seattle. It’s a time of transition but this change has provided me the opportunity to follow my passions. I was raised in a home where active participation was encouraged and my family and I had regular conversations around the dinner table about public issues, politics, political leaders, history & democracy. While my parents taught us to think for ourselves, and to express our own opinions, we didn’t always agree. The most important lesson I learned from those dinners, was to find out the facts for myself. Which is exactly what I did once I got to New York City.

Upon my arrival in the Big Apple, I wanted to see what was happening at the Occupy Wall Street protests. So, one of the first things I did when I got into town was head down to Zuccotti Park where thousands of protesters has set up an encampment. After wandering around the park for a bit, looking for ways to help, I ended up volunteering for 10 hours preparing food for the protesters and for visitors to the park. The food was predominantly pizza deliveries, dishes cooked in various home kitchens and carried into the park by hand and salads made on site when other foods ran out. Unfortunately, this system doesn’t guarantee hot meals or a consistent, timely or nutritious diet but it succeeds in keeping the protesters and their supporters fed.
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News >

Jimmy’s No. 43 Brings Beer Love to the Big Apple

March 18, 2011
By Jimmy Berg

The good folks over at Jimmy’s No. 43 know their beer. Located in the East Village in New York City, Jimmy’s currently has 12 beers on tap and 23 bottled beers all ranging from local IPAs to German Kolsch to Belgian Tripels. They were awarded “Best Beer” by AOL Cityguide in 2008 and named Forbe’s Favorite New York Pub in 2009. Not only that, they host tastings with local brewers and even host a beer talk radio show called Beer Sessions.
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