UWS Weekend: Great Things to Do in (and Around) the Neighborhood

By Tracy Zwick

January 30th through February 1st 

Viollet-le-Duc “Drawing Worlds”: through May 24th at Bard Graduate Center Gallery, 16 West 86th Street, Thursday to Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; tickets start at $6, but free entry is offered on the first Friday of every month

This is the first major U.S. exhibition devoted to the 19th-century French architect, designer and theorist Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, and it couldn’t be more conveniently located for UWSers. Viollet-le-Duc may be best known to American viewers for his work restoring French Gothic landmarks like Notre Dame in Paris. But he was also a terrific draftsman. His creative practice wasn’t limited to architectural plans and renderings, like those comprising a good deal of this show. It included landscapes, examples of which are on the exhibition’s floor, most of which have never before been shown in the U.S. Don’t miss the virtual reality headsets on the exhibition’s 4th floor, which let you wander Viollet-le-Duc’s studio, and the cathedral itself in various eras. One ends with the viewer rising above Notre-Dame’s famous spire in a hot air balloon.

DJ Skate: Decades Night at Gottesman Rink: Friday, January 30th at 6 p.m. at the Davis Center at Harlem Meer; tickets $5 to $10 here

Some of us want to hunker down by the radiator or under blankets in the bitter cold, while others choose to embrace it and enjoy the natural beauty of winter’s wonderland. For the latter sort, this family-friendly night of nostalgia on the ice might be a great option. DJ Trauma (Jamal Reid) will be spinning his way through the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and 2000s while skaters glide and groove on the nearly brand-new ice of the Gottesman Rink in northern Central Park. Skates, locks and skate aids are available on-site (for a small fee), as are eats from Settepani on the Harlem Meer. The Davis Center’s indoor space will be open to the public and available to warm up, meet friends or enjoy the atmosphere – no ticket required.

Jerron Paxton and Dennis Lichtman: “Ragtime” at Symphony Space, Friday, January 30th at 7:30 p.m., 2537 Broadway at West 95th Street; tickets start at $25

This Friday, catch two masters of early American music who’ve been playing together since 2017, and who happened to be the 24/25 artists-in-residence at Symphony Space. They’ll be performing, playing instruments and singing, in the last of 3 shows they signed on to as part of their residency. Billed as “a foot-stomping, feel-good evening,” Paxton and Lichtman will be playing instruments including guitar, banjo, piano, fiddle, clarinet, bones and more.

Sports!

It may be an off week for the NFL as the Seahawks and Patriots prepare for the Super Bowl, but there’s still plenty of sports action to watch on TV and in-person. The Knicks are hosting the Trailblazers at MSG Friday night  (tickets at this link). For a less-expensive basketball option, the Columbia Lions have a men’s double-header, hosting University of Pennsylvania Friday night, and Princeton on Saturday (tickets start at $22). There’s Columbia women’s swimming Saturday at 11 a.m. versus Dartmouth, right on campus at 3030 Broadway, and women’s tennis Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Millstein Family Tennis Center on West 218th Street. Speaking of tennis, the final matches of the Australian Open, the first of the four annual grand slam tennis tournaments, will be televised this weekend on ESPN, albeit at 3:30 a.m. EST!

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