CONSULAR WOMEN S CLUB OF NEW YORK. President s Letter

Transcription

1 CONSULAR WOMEN S CLUB OF NEW YORK Neline Heindl-Koornneef President Brigitte Schaller Vice-President JUNE 2016 cwcnewyork@hotmail.com Dear Friends, President s Letter Walking home, after another great CWC event today (Van Dyck Exhibition at the Frick Collection), I feel happy and privileged: what a wonderful group of ladies (ànd men) I was able to spend this unique time with. In this city, which is as well inspiring as demanding, these are the moments that I will cherish. Now, we are approaching the end of the CWC year. On the following pages, you will find the events planned for you by the Committee for May and June, ending with the annual End of Year Lunch on June 9 th, in the Michelin Star Restaurant Wallsé. As the CWC year is coming to an end, so is my term as CWC President. I wish to thank you for all your support during this year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the CWC Committee members who worked tirelessly to research and organize events which made our year so special and interesting. I cannot thank each of the members on the Committee enough for their time and dedication. In particular I would like to thank Brigitte Schaller, CWC Vice-President, who bore with me for so long. 1

2 I am even more thankful to Brigitte that she was ready to assume the glorious burden and I hereby announce that Brigitte will be the new President (the 41 st) and congratulate her. I for my part will succeed her as Vice-President. Looking back at the last couple of months I realize how much we have been able to accomplish. Let me list our events in April and May. Professor Dr. Costas Panagopoulos gave us an outstanding overview of the state of the American Presidential Elections. It was a well attended event with lively discussion. The Walking Tour at West Broadway, by our regular tour guide James Nevius was fun and informative. One of the intriguing things James explained to us was how it was possible that one house has both the numbers 169 ànd 375. Quite something! Thank you, Nicola, for organizing the tour, including a relaxing lunch afterwards! We visited the Alpha Workshops and its Studio School in Midtown. At a guided tour we gained a good insight into the school, their products and services. ( Thank you, Brigitte! We enjoyed a wonderful day in New Jersey, visiting the Iris Gardens in Montclair, followed by a delicious and relaxed lunch at Ann Nicol s place. A memorable day thank you, dear Ann, for being such a gracious hostess! Miek provided us with the unique opportunity for a guided tour by the Co-Curator of the Van Dyck Exhibition in the Frick Collection. This was absolutely magnificent. Following the tour, Miek invited the participants for lunch to her lovely apartment. Thank you for this generous hospitality, Miek! 2

3 The Committee has arranged some exciting events for our remaining few weeks and I hope you will be able to join us! Thursday, June 2 nd, Miek is organizing a nature walk in Northern Central Park, where we will have a picnic together afterwards. Bring your brown bag and enjoy this beautiful spot in New York. A wine tasting event will take place in co-operation with our partner organization the Society of Foreign Consuls in New York. The event is kindly hosted by Hon. Martin Dvořák, Consul General of the Czech Republic in the beautiful Bohemian Hall. Please consider to present wine or any drinks of your country, just let the Secretary of SOFC know at nyconsuls@gmail.com. On Thursday, June 9 th, we ll celebrate the offical end of year of our Club and enjoy lunch with friends before we break for the summer. I hope to see you all! Warm regards, Neline Diary dates JUNE 2: Central Park Walking Tour JUNE 6: Society of Foreign Consuls drinks JUNE 9: End-of-year lunch at Wallsé SEPT 29: Welcome lunch 2016 OCT 13: Walking Tour with James Nevius 3

4 Thursday 2 June Nature Walk in Central Park Central Park is an oasis of nature, an escape from the hussle and bustle of the City, but do you also take the time to really look at all the different trees, flowers and bushes, do you listen to the birds in the northern part of the park? Please come and join Ken Chaya, a New York City artist, designer and urban naturalist. He spent over two and half years walking every acre of Central Park to map its many trails, highlight its stunning architecture and landscape features, and most importantly, locate and identify thousands of its magnificent trees. The result was Central Park Entire, a profusely illustrated map detailing the park s varied topography and featuring the location and identification of nearly 20,000 trees and shrubs. We will explore the Pool, the Loch, the Wildflower Meadow and adjoining areas before ending at the Conservatory Garden. Come prepared to walk and dressed comfortably for the weather. Do bring binoculars if you have them. We ll have a picnic in the Park if weather permits. Bring your brown bag for lunch or you can buy something in the nearby kiosk. Start Time: 10am 12 noon. Pls arrive at 9.45am Meet: at the West 103rd Street entrance to Central Park on Central Park West By Subway: B,C, to 103 st Cost: members $15; guests $20 Places: max 25 pax Sign up by: Friday 27 May

5 Monday 6 June Spring Drinks with Society of Foreign Consuls The Society of Foreign Consuls in New York, Inc. is delighted to invite you to a Spring Consular Gathering in New York City for Wine Tasting/National Drinks Monday, June 6 4:00pm 6:00pm at the Bohemian National Hall 321 E 73 rd street, New York RSVP by May 27, 2016 at nyconsuls@gmail.com 5

6 Thursday 9 June CWC End of Year Lunch at Wallsé Kurt Gutenbrunner, the Austrian chef/co-owner of the restaurants Wallsé, Cafe Sabarsky, Blaue Gans, and The Upholstery Store will prepare us a wonderful three-course luncheon menu with a Spring note. The Austrian Consul-General will offer us sparkling wine as an apéritif and will make sure that you will be able to accompany your luncheon with Austrian white and/or red wine. Chef Gutenbrunner arrived in New York 16 years ago and has made a great reputation for himself for his modern interpretation of Austrian cuisine and his seamless integration of food and art. Wallsé, Kurt's first restaurant in New York, mixes an early 20th century Austrian minimalist aesthetic with works by contemporary international artists, such as Julian Schnabel and Albert Oehlen. Gutenbrunner's innovative menu, which showcases modern takes on traditional Viennese cuisine, has earned a two-star rating from the New York Times and a coveted Michelin star rating. Please, have a look at the website: Payment in advance required by Monday, June 6th Please send a check made out to Consular Women s Club of New York, printing your name and event on the check. This is a prepaid event. Start Time: Noon Meet: Wallsé, 344 W 11 th Street Cost: $40 for members, $45 for guests Places: Maximum 40 Sign up by: Monday, June 6th 6

7 LEAVING NEW YORK? Let s stay in touch! We are sad to hear you are leaving, but would love to stay in touch. If you would like to continue receiving our CWC Newsletter via , please let us know when you leave. Remember, you will always be welcome to join us for future events when you are next visiting New York. We need your help! In order to maintain contact with your Consulate or other diplomatic affiliation, we would like to extend a warm welcome and forward our Newsletter to your successor. If you know your successor, we would appreciate your sending their details to our Membership Secretary. Alternatively, perhaps you could provide them with a copy of this Newsletter and suggest they contact us if they would like more information. Thank you! If you are saying goodbye to New York, we bid you a fond farewell and will miss you. We hope you have enjoyed some of our many events and take away some good memories. Au revoir! Clubs and Interest Groups BRIDGE CLUB For beginners, let us know if you are interested in learning how to play Bridge. One of our members kindly offers to teach once a week. The Bridge players will take turns to host the meeting. BOOK CLUB If you like to read, join our monthly Book Club. We meet every second Monday and we discuss a book chosen by our members. PHOTOGRAPHY CLUB If you are a photography enthusiast and would like to go for photo walks and share pictures, experiences and tips, join this friendly group. All skill levels and cameras are welcome! 7

8 LUNCH We all love food and often combine lunch with an event. Our organizers scout around the area and choose a reasonably priced cafe. Often we are a large group and have found that payment by splitting the bill is the best means. To allay any concern about cost we would like to assure our members that a light entree and soda/coffee is the usual cuisine. BOOKING Please reserve or cancel your place only with the contact person listed for the particular event. All events are reserved on a first call basis. Please confirm your attendance at least one week before the activity or event. Guests are placed on a waiting list and will be included on a first come, first served basis, subject to availability. CANCELLATION Persistent no shows - The club finds it very disappointing and embarrassing because other members are denied the chance to come. Please inform the contact person for the event at least two days in advance. If you are unable to do so and we cannot fill your space with someone on the waiting list, the fee will still apply. No Show If you do not attend an event and have not notified the contact person, the fee will still apply. Our events are so successful and we often have a long waiting list so please remember to contact us in plenty of time if you cannot attend so that we can attempt to fill your space. (Many events are paid for in advance and regardless of how many attend; the fee to the club is the same) GUESTS For all events, unless otherwise stated, guests are welcome at the invitation of a member (additional fee of $5 for guests). Nominated guests will be placed on a waiting list and be offered places on a first come-first served basis, subject to availability. We shall endeavour, wherever possible, to open the guest list 5-7 days before the event. When booking an event by telephone, please leave your name and telephone number please spell your name and give your telephone number slowly. 8

9 Consular Women s Club of New York Membership Application, Renewal Position of member s spouse or member (e.g. Australian Consulate, Swiss Mission, UN affiliation, Bank) Consulate/Mission/ Organization Country Title 2. Are you a renewing or new member? New Renewing 3. Contact information (Renewing members: if contact details remain the same, only complete Section 3: Name, Day & Month of Birthday, date/ sign application) & Section 6 FIRST NAME: LAST NAME: TITLE: ADDRESS: APT.# CITY: STATE: ZIP CODE: TELEPHONE: Home:( ) Other:( ) DAY & MONTH OF BIRTHDAY (eg. 4 th July): 4. More information about you NATIONALITY: PROFESSION: I SPEAK THE FOLLOWING LANGUAGES: MY HOBBIES/INTERESTS ARE: 5. Who introduced you to the Consular Women s Club? 6. I authorize the Consular Women s Club to publish my photograph on its website: YES / NO Date: SIGNATURE: Membership: US$50/year (October 2015 June 2016) Check or money order made payable to: CONSULAR WOMEN S CLUB OF NEW YORK The Consular Women s Club of New York is a not for profit / non-political club 9