{"id":21265,"date":"2021-05-05T13:17:34","date_gmt":"2021-05-05T17:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=21265"},"modified":"2021-05-05T13:17:34","modified_gmt":"2021-05-05T17:17:34","slug":"outabout-119","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=21265","title":{"rendered":"Out&About"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Paddy McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n

The Irish American Society of Nassau and Suffolk and Queens<\/strong> have a Spring Social on Saturday, May 15th from 7 pm to 10 pm. This is promising to be a night to remember as entertaining includes the great Joannie Madden<\/strong>, Mary Coogan<\/strong> and Bruce Foley<\/strong>; now where would yea get it. I am told there will be food available for purchase with some Irish sausages, fries and chicken… yum, yum!<\/p>\n

I wonder will Eileen Cronin<\/strong> have the tea as well? Now the good news is that the bar will also be open for my \u2026no, sorry, your pleasure. Masks must be worn and social distancing will be strictly enforced. Now I have been told because of the social distancing protocols, seating is limited, and reservations are required. To book your place you can contact the center at (516) 746-9392 and the address of the event is 297 Willis Avenue in Mineola. Now don\u2019t forget to call early.<\/p>\n

Now for a bit of gossip that came to my attention from The NYC Hospitality Alliance<\/strong>: Governor Cuomo<\/strong> has announced that the MTA<\/strong> will resume\u00a024\/7 subway service starting\u00a0Monday, May 17th, a change that the NYC Hospitality Alliance has advocated for, so employees and guests can travel to and from restaurants and bars, especially as the\u00a0midnight curfew is lifted\u00a0for these establishments on May 31st. This is great news, but we\u2019d like the curfew lifted sooner. <\/p>\n

The Governor also announced that on May 19th\u00a0capacity restrictions will be lifted for businesses, although, until the CDC lifts or modifies social distancing requirements, six feet of distance must be maintained between parties, or partitions must be used between them, making it highly unlikely restaurants and bars will utilize this extra capacity. <\/p>\n

While most industry capacity restrictions will be lifted, industry-specific requirements will remain in effect for a longer period of time, including state or local health authority event notification, health screening, contact information for tracing, enhanced air handling and building system standards, hand hygiene, and environmental cleaning and disinfection protocols. <\/p>\n

We know there are still questions such as \u201cWhen will customers be able to stand at a bar?\u201d, \u201cWhen can clubs and dancing resume?\u201d, \u201cCan I open my restaurant to 100% capacity without social distancing or partitions if customers show proof of vaccination or negative Covid-19 test?\u201d\u00a0The NYC Hospitality Alliance have said that they will continue to advocate for the hospitality industry and bring you answers and updates as they become available. I thought this might interest you all as we now have been in lockdown for over a year. As I said before, everyone\u2019s an expert and most of them don\u2019t know what their talking about, believe me.<\/p>\n

The New York Cider Association<\/strong> are thrilled to announce a new model for their annual Cider Week festivals as Cider Week New York 2021<\/strong> will, for the first time ever, host events across the entire state. The new expanded format will include two Cider Week festivals with the first held in the spring from May 15th\u00a0through the 31st\u00a0and the second held in the fall from October 2nd\u00a0through the 17th. <\/p>\n

As New York state begins to safely and thoughtfully re-open after the Covid-19 pandemic, Cider Week New York 2021 will include a hybrid mix of both virtual and socially distanced in-person events including special flights, virtual tastings, panels, local promotions and dinners. <\/p>\n

For more information, a full listing of the 37 cidery participants and events, and where to buy cider, cider lovers can visit\u00a0www.ciderweeknewyork.com<\/a>. Virtual Cider Week programming can also be viewed at\u00a0New York Cider Association TV Channel\u00a0on YouTube.<\/p>\n

Directly tied to New York\u2019s agricultural cash crop of apples, cider in New York has seen an unprecedented growth explosion of over 450% over the past ten years and now has a $1.6 billion economic impact to the NY state economy. <\/p>\n

With over 140 producers making over 5 million gallons of cider every year, New York continues to rank first in the country for the number of cider producers. \u201cAs we look to safely gather together again, we\u2019re excited to celebrate New York cider in an even broader way,\u201d says Scott Ramsey, Executive Director of the New York Cider Association<\/strong>. \u201cMoving our Cider Week festivals to a statewide celebration elevates the NY Cider story to a well-deserved level that reaches across all of New York State and beyond. <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a Presenting Sponsor, Glynnwood\u2019s Senior Director of Regional Food Programming, Megan Larmer<\/strong>, says, \u201cThe resilience of the New York cider community this past year has been beyond inspiring and shows the power of developing regional food systems. Glynnwood is proud to support this statewide celebration of the growers, makers, and beverage professionals who make New York the state of cider.” <\/p>\n

I like a good Apple cider every now and then myself as it goes down very well.<\/p>\n

A very good friend of The Irish Examiner USA, Shane Humphries<\/strong> sent me this and it\u2019s well worth a mention: The First Friday<\/strong> virtual event on May 7th from The Irish Consulate<\/strong> will welcome\u00a0Dave Byrne,\u00a0Global Head of Brand Safety & Industry Relations at\u00a0TikTok<\/strong>\u00a0and host of the\u00a0Digital Irish Podcast<\/strong>,\u00a0to their virtual\u00a0breakfast.\u00a0They are looking forward to seeing you\u00a0next Friday at 8 am EDT. Roll out of bed (depending on where you are, of course!), make the coffee or tea, throw on a few Irish sausages, if you are lucky enough to have them, and Zoom with them!<\/p>\n

You can register for the event at www.eventbrite.ie\/e\/may-virtual-first-friday-networking-breakfast-tickets-152419321293<\/a>.The Zoom meeting details will be sent to registered guests the evening before the event – please watch out for the email! <\/p>\n

My suggestion is give it a shot as it will be a nice way to catch up with people. I will try and tune in myself so don\u2019t forget to register.<\/p>\n

See you all again next week when I am out and about… <\/p>\n

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