Smurfs love Le Bain. (Original photo by John Del Signore/Gothamist)
Next week has officially been declared Smurf Week in New York City, and the lovable blue Belgian-born creatures will be ubiquitous in all of the boroughs... except for Staten Island and Queens, the two boroughs the Smurfs have snubbed. (The former is a little upset.) The events range from gimmicky (a "blue-tique" at FAO Schwartz) to pretty cool (you can visit Gargamel's castle—aka Belvedere Castle in Central Park.) You'll also be able to create your own nature-inspired Smurf dwellings, and stop by Smurf Village in Columbus Circle. The map of events is here, but what if you want to celebrate without feeding the marketing beast? We're here to help:
- Channel Harmony Smurf and head over to The Blue Note.
- Take your blue beau for a romantic dinner at some of NYC's blue restaurants: Blue Hill, Blue Fin... the list goes on, we assume.
- Make a blueberry pie with some of blueberries from one of the city's many green markets, and eat it while watching old episodes of TV's Bluepers and Practical Jokes!
- Adopt a cat and call it Azrael.
- Get all NYPD Blue with a visit to the NYC Police Museum.
- On a budget?: Look at some bluebirds. They are like flying Smurfs.
- Rent Blue Velvet, mute the sound and play Miles Davis's Kind of Blue. It'll blow your mind how Bill Evans's piano riffs sync up with Dennis Hopper's amyl nitrite inhaling!
Remember, only three more shopping days left until Smurf Week!
