2011 Metro Anime Potluck Picnic & Barbeque

[See also 2007 Metro Anime Picnic]

2011 Picnic Facebook event page [expired]

By popular demand, the Quasi-Annual Metro Potluck Picnic is back! We haven’t had one since ’07, but that one was pretty cool, so we’re gonna try it again at lovely Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx. So that means barbecue!

If you’ve never been to one, the potluck picnic is a great chance to relax in the sunshine with other folks from the Metro list and meetings. Just bring food, drinks, lawn chairs or a blanket, music, or toys (frisbee!), and kick back on the grass, toss a frisbee around, or practice your kite-flying skills.

Pelham Bay is actually a huge sprawling place, including a wildlife preserve, beach, tennis courts, jogging track, horse/bike/hiking trails, stadium, etc.. It’s the largest park in the city, but we’ll be hanging in the little picnic-friendly tip just past the end of the 6 train. Although civilization is right outside the gate, the way the park’s built makes it seem like you’ve escaped into pastoral climes once you get a bit inside (past the birthday parties & family reunions, at least *grin*). It’s easy to get to from anywhere in/near the city, by subway, bus, or driving (free & paid parking lots), and well-maintained and patrolled by Parks staff & NYPD, so we can chill out and get our summertime geek on care-free.

Details

Date: Saturday, August 13, 2011
Time: 12 noon–7 pm
Place: Pelham Bay Park South Picnic Grounds, near Arnow Place & Bruckner Expy
How Much: $5

Our picnics used to be free, and the park itself is still free, but I’m adding a small cover charge this year to cover a lot of the base expenses that we just absorbed previously. To balance that out though, we’ll have the basics covered—burgers, dogs, sausages, ice, water, plates/napkins, a grill... The *Potluck* part is your chance to spice things up and add your contribution to the spread - salads (green, pasta, or potato!), kebabs, ribs, beans (bbq or “rice-and-”), Portabello “mushroom-burgers”, snacks, drinks—whatever “barbecue” evokes for you. Please let me know what you’re bringing, so I can keep a list running.

Be aware though, NYC Parks have a no-alcohol policy (although ppl do sneak in beers/Mike’s, you have to be discreet and dispose of your bottles responsibly). Also, they just implemented a no-smoking policy in the parks as well.

Of course, we’ll always need help doing supermarket runs (CVS and a grocery are across the street, and a large Key Food is about 3 blocks away from the park entrance) and setup/knock-down, so if you’re fleet of foot or live nearby and want to help out let us know!

They wouldn’t let us hang streamers from the trees last time, and it’s impossible to claim a specific spot in advance. So we may have to mark our picnic spot on GPS! We’ll figure it out by then, but for now, I recommend befriending another Metro picnic-goer and exchanging phone numbers—or better yet, folks can plan to ride-along together and make sure someone in the group has an early-arriver’s number.

Directions

I can give specific directions off-list if you want, but here’s the basics:

By Subway: Take the 6 Train to the last stop in the Bronx (Pelham Bay Park station). There’s an overpass from the train station to the Park, or the station has an escalator & elevator across the street. (about 30min from Midtown)

By Bus: The express bus BxM7A picks up at limited stops along Madison Ave and ends at the park (about 45min from Midtown, $5.50). The Bx12, Bx29, Bx5, Bx23/24 and Bee-Line 45 serve the park from the Bronx/Westchester. The Q50 (limited-stop?) comes in from Flushing (about 30min from Main St.).

By Car: I-95, aka the Bruckner Expy, runs past the front of the park, and although it’s pretty insane with weekend traffic, it’s a straight-shot. Local drivers often bypass the traffic by taking the Hutchinson River Pkwy and then the local streets, so if you’re handy with a GPS or Google Maps, go for it. I double-checked about parking, and the park’s nearby South lot is free, but tends to fill up pretty quickly. There’s also paid parking behind CVS and residential street-parking, if you’re lucky.

So save the date, get your summertime gear ready, and give a shout if you’re coming. If you want some ideas of what to bring, have questions, or you want to see some pics from previous picnics, drop a line here or on the Facebook group.

Ciao,
Mandisa

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