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A new beginning is just around the corner and our New Year, New You guide has everything you need to help you bring in a balanced, healthy and revived 2018. Mind/Spirit Mindful Harlem | Through mindfulness and meditation practices, this community hub creates joy and effective engagement by exploring the collective wisdom and resources of our diverse and colorful neighboorhood.  READ HERE I Have A Dream Workshop | Start the year off right with an intensive workshop designed to help you access your dreams. Led by DREAMLEAPERS founder and motivational coach Harriette Cole, you will participate in a meditation exercise followed by vision boarding.  READ HERE Harlem Churches | Nothing feels better than your spirit being renewed. Check out some uptown gospel as you start off 2018 centered on God.  READ HERE Body Harlem Chi Community Acupuncture | Aches and pains got you down? Need something more than a pill or a salve can handle? Take a holistic approach!  Harlem Chi uses Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine to address a variety of health and wellness concerns.  READ HERE Harlem Cycle| In Harlem’s 1st bicycling studio, they pay attention to all the details with a focus on one thing:  providing the best classes possible. Get your summer body in gear at Harlem Cycle!  READ HERE Cohen’s Fashion Optical | See and be seen in style! Featuring a large selection of designer eyewear, Cohen’s Fashion Optical comes correct with the latest styles for the whole family.  READ HERE Harlem Center for Aesthetic Dentistry | Bring in the new year with a brand new smile! Utilizing the latest innovations in braces for people of all ages. Dr. Robertson uses these technologies to shorten and perfect the orthodontic process.  READ HERE Harlem YMCA | Conveniently located in central Harlem, membership is affordable and programs are plenty for Harlemites seeking classes and workshops on social responsibility and healthy living.  READ HERE More health/fitness options: Download the Experience Harlem app for guides and promotions to help you live your best and healthiest life in Harlem! #Fitness #Harlem #Health #Yoga #NewYearsResolutions

World Premiere Play THE HOMECOMING QUEEN Written by NGOZI ANYANWU Directed by AWOYE TIMPO Atlantic Stage 2, 330 W 16th St A bestselling novelist returns to Nigeria to care for her ailing father, but before she can bury him, she must relearn the traditions she’s long forgotten. Having been absent for over a decade, she must collide with her culture, traumatic past, painful regrets, and the deep, deep love she thought she could never have. Atlantic is thrilled to welcome Ngozi Anyanwu (Good Grief) for her Off-Broadway debut! “Anyanwu offers distinctive but universal characters and a bleak yet comforting outlook on the human condition that hint at a long future!” – The Hollywood Reporter TICKETS ARE ON SALE!!! DISCOUNT CODE: HARLEM Please note that the codes are good for previews ONLY (1/10 – 1/21), based on availability.

By Miles Marshall Lewis ‘Black Panther’ GoFundMe Proves That Representation Matters Black Panther opens February 16, the latest link in the everlasting chain of superhero movies from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But this one’s a little different. With African-American director Ryan Coogler and a nearly all-black, all-star cast—including Chadwick Boseman, Angela Bassett, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Forest Whitaker and Sterling K. Brown—this Hollywood adventure of the African king T’Challa (a.k.a. Black Panther) battling the forces of evil is unprecedented. Advance ticket sales have already outpaced the pre-sales records of all previous Marvel movies, so a Star Wars-level fanatical frenzy seems imminent. Marketing professional Frederick Joseph decided to take matters into his own hands to make sure young black kids don’t miss out, with a superheroic act of his own. Last Friday, Joseph launched a crowdfunding initiative on GoFundMe in order to raise $10,000 for children from the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem to catch Black Panther on the silver screen. In six days, donations have totaled over $39,000. The astonishing buzz generated by Joseph’s crusade (see #BlackPantherChallenge across all social media) includes celebrities contributing their own dollars, among them director J.J. Abrams, Chelsea Clinton and ESPN anchor Jemele Hill. Under executive director Dominique Jones, the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem serves over 1,000 children between the ages of 6 and 18. Their overarching goals include instilling academic excellence, positive community involvement and personal health and wellness values in the youth. Through Joseph’s campaign, the Harlem branch of this national organization will send its youngsters to see reflections of themselves in next month’s highly anticipated winter blockbuster. “We’re committed to making sure that our kids see themselves in a positive light,” says Dominique Jones, “and see their future by exposing them to people that look like them who are doing amazing things. That’s all a part of our DNA as a Club. Frederick Joseph is just emblematic of that. It’s what we’re trying to show our kids every day: that it’s about service, community, building your skills and your confidence to be able to affect change. Those are the qualities that we wanna develop, but we also want our kids to feel powerful. And that’s what Black Panther is gonna be about.” Naturally, the Boys & Girls Club of Harlem has been blown away by Joseph’s campaign, and the generosity of over 1,100 donators. Black Panther represents the rare opportunity for black youth to be inspired and entertained by an African superhero, to directly relate to a major player in the Marvel superhero universe who looks just like them. Though the Falcon (Anthony Mackie) filled the sidekick role in the bygone sequels to Captain America, and War Machine (Don Cheadle) occupied a similar function in the Iron Man films, Black Panther is full-tilt black magic. Set in the Afrofuturistic wonderland of Wakanda (a fictional African nation), the film also serves as a corrective to all the twisted notions Hollywood has offered up of the Motherland over the years. The “Help Children See Black Panther” GoFundMe can be contributed to here.

Performance Marks the Second Time the Group Will Share the Stage with the Star, Following Recent Critically Acclaimed Performance with Her on Saturday Night Live When recording artist Sza, the most nominated female artist at this year’s Grammys, wanted to call on a background chorus for her upcoming Grammy performance, she looked no further than the talented young people of Vy Higginsen’s Sing Harlem Choir, directed by Ahmaya Knoelle Higginsen. The singing group performed with Sza last month on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and will make their first Grammy appearance when they join her again on stage for this heavily anticipated performance. The Grammy Awards will air live on Sunday, January 28 at 7:30 p.m. EST on CBS. Made up of New York City young adults and youths, the award winning performing group’s list of credits reads like a who’s who of the entertainment industry, having performed with A-list artists including Madonna, Chance the Rapper and Pharrell. They have also made appearances on national shows like The View, The Early Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show. “We are thrilled that our kids are in high demand to work with such incredible artists and have a chance to perform in front of the very best in the business, which is an experience they are sure not to forget,” said the group’s founder Vy Higginsen. “While singing and performing is central to what we do with Sing Harlem Choir, it’s our commitment to supporting and developing the whole person by providing access to the arts that drives our organization and informs our mission,” she added. Vy Higginsen’s Sing Harlem Choir was founded in 2006 by legendary radio personality and producer Vy Higginsen to be the break out Choir for the Mama Foundation for the Arts School. Over the years, under the direction of Ahmaya Knoelle Higginsen and Elijah Ahmad Lewis, the choir has grown to be a highly respected and influential force in the New York gospel scene, creating not only great vocalists, but top notch global citizens.

Harlem Candle Company Featured in Time Out, Essence, Architecture Digest, and the Huffington Post.   Meet founder, Teri Johnson. Fri., Feb. 9th 6PM Neighborly Paper! Meet Neighborly Paper co-founder, Robin Beck.  Sharing insight into how she and her partner Carmelle Kendall started in the greeting card business and their inspirations. Sat., Feb. 10th 12PM Rocks by Sekou Rocks by Sekou.  Hand made.  Learn Sekou;s amazing story how Rocks by Sekou emerged and having an impact on social justice. Sun., Feb., 11th 12PM  Maiko Suzuki Jewelry Maiko Suzuki’s original designs are hand-crafted and made in Harlem, New York. Mon., Feb., 12th 6PM On This Rock On This Rock designs jewelry with engraved messages of love and encouragement. Style that speaks volumes to the wearer and the admirer. Wed., Feb. 14th, 6PM Chocolate and Wine – Sol Cacao Sol Cacao founded right in Harlem.  Now featured in NiLu and Whole Foods.  Enjoy wine pairing with 70%+ cacao chocolate bars.