Results tagged “minigolf”

The Rockaways are riled up about a... miniature golf course? Allegedly locals fear the fun would lead to parking problems, trash, overcrowding, light pollution and noise, especially during the summer season. (Perhaps the Parks Department should consider Far Rockaway.) The site would operate from March to November, and hours could be from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.

When it rains, it pours. Yet another mini golf course has popped up in New York. The NY Times reports on Rocket Park, located in Flushing Meadows. Part of the Hall of Science, it fittingly combines fun with learning, with a design that's meant to teach astrophysics. The paper describes the course, saying "you start your nine-hole mission by putting the ball through a 'launch window' and achieving the proper 'escape velocity.' Then you send the ball around a loop-de-loop and learn all about weightless astronauts, after which you learn about avoiding debris in space and finding the right angle for geosynchronous orbit." Yep, it's that easy...so long as the kids pay attention to more than just getting the ball in the hole. Maybe there should be a pop quiz after each round? For now, learn more about the course itself here.

Over the weekend the Figment Festival brought color, art, and even mini golf to Governors Island. This is the 3rd year folks have been invited to use their imagination, either as artists or spectators, and the three day event boasted around 400 interactive-art pieces. Last year founder David Koren explained where the name of the festival came from, saying Andy Warhol once commented that he wanted just the word “Figment” on his tombstone (sadly he ended up with a traditional grave marker).

The Putting Lot will be opening up in Bushwick the weekend of June 6th, bringing miniature golf to an otherwise vacant lot in Brooklyn. The team is still hard at work, and you can track their progress here. While the exact location is still under wraps, we recently got some answers out of one of the 30 organizers of the course, who told us more about how this whole thing came to be, and their overall vision of transforming the neighborhood's vacant spaces.

Back in March the South Street Seaport's Water Taxi Beach was just a mirage, but as of this weekend it's real.

The vacant lots of Bushwick are, according to Bushwick BK, both a scar from '70s and '80s as well as an opportunity for rebirth in the neighborhood. In an effort to give one of these lots a new lease on life, a mini-golf course called The Putting Lot will be sprouting up later this month.

The Figment festival is set to take over Governors Island for its 3rd consecutive year this coming June. Last year David Koren, the festival's organizer, had discussed with us the City of Dreams 9-hole minigolf course designed by a team of artists (photos of full course can be found here), and now the good word is that it will return! And the fest announced that this year they plan to double the fun by expanding the course to 18 holes. It will once again be free, and accessible to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays while the island is open from the end of May to early October. First things first, though, it still needs to be designed, and you can be a part of that. Head here for full details on the challenge to build the course, and maybe watch Overboard for some inspiration. In fact, maybe they ought to just recreate Dean Proffitt's Wonders of the World miniature golf course!

Coinciding with the opening of Governor's Island, the Emergence Art Show launched on May 31st; the exhibit is housed in a couple of the abandoned mansions on the island. The summer exhibition includes:

Experimental and participatory art involving more than 30 artists/collectives, with a strong emphasis on audience and artist interaction. Using the theme, "Creative Pioneers in Uncharted Territory," exhibitors will use the context, history, and recent steps towards revitalization, or "emergence," of Governors Island as the source of inspiration and departure for the creation of participatory art exploring the human condition.

The site-specific show will change throughout the season due to its interactive nature; see more of the installations here and head over yourself, the show is open Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Need more than one reason to make the journey to Governor's? Curator of the show, Johan Kritzinger, also has the Figment Festival coming up at the end of the month. Not enough? There's also a City of Dreams mini golf course set up for the season! Get over there before July 26th though, when the Emergence Art Show will cease to exist.