September 2022 Events for Myth Lovers
Simon de Myle’s Noah’s Ark on Mount Ararat is in the public domain.
Virtual Events
On September 5, learn about the most famous gods of Asgard, including Thor, Odin, Odin’s mighty horse Sleipnir, Midgardsormen -the world-circling serpent and the monstrous wolf Fenrisúlfr.
Starting Tuesday, September 6, you can take a course on Tuesdays until November 15 that gives an overview of ancient Greek and Roman mythology,
On September 7, the comic book writer Grant Morrison will have an event about their new novel Luda, in which a drag queen initiates her protégée into the magical arts.
On September 7, content creator content creator Neil McGinness and veteran comic book writer and former DC Comics publisher Dan DiDio will discuss Pulp Power: The Shadow, Doc Savage, and the Art of the Street & Smith Universe.
On Wednesday, September 7, begin a series of online classes about how to draw mythological creatures.
On September 10, learn how to slay your inner dragons by learning about myths such as Saint George, Theseus subduing the Minotaur, or Durga defeating Mahishasura.
On September 12, the creator of YouTube channel The Nerdwriter, Evan Puschak, will discuss his debut book Escape into Meaning: Essays on Superman, Public Benches, and Other Obsessions.
On September 19, attend a talk about a scene depicting the story of Pandora which is portrayed at the base of the statue of Athena inside the Parthenon.
Starting on September 27, take an 8 week course about Celtic mythology, ranging from the Druidic era of magic and human sacrifice to the legends of the fairies and seal people of the islands.
Whenever you want, listen to the free audiobook sample of The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne, a retelling of Rapunzel from the witch’s perspective which is scheduled for release in July.
Gustav Klimt’s painting The Kiss is in the public domain.
New York City Events
September 3, 5 and 10 you can chat with artists in Washington Square at the Washington Square Outdoor Art exhibit.
From September 6-25, you can get two for the price of one tickets for Broadway shows including Wicked, Aladdin, and Phantom of the Opera.
On Thursday September 8, listen to stories at Kew and Willow Books that will help you journey into your own personal mythologies.
September 15, October 7, October 22, and more days besides get wine and a movie outside on a green rooftop winery in Brooklyn. Movies coming up include Hocus Pocus, Adam’s Family Values, and The Conjuring.
On September 18, attend a discussion in Peekskill about Kali, the Hindu goddess of time, destruction and change, followed by all-level yoga flow and meditation to draw from her power.
On September 18, listen to a talk about In the Black Fantastic, in which Ekow Eshun assembles art and imagery from across the African diaspora. Embracing the mythic and the speculative, it recycles and reconfigures elements of fable, folklore, science fiction, spiritual traditions, ceremonial pageantry, and the legacies of Afrofuturism.
From September 15-25, the Italians will be celebrating their Saint Gennaro, who survived being thrown into a furnace unscathed, by eating. They will be eating a lot.
On September 23, Rockaway Film Festival will show short films that tell of “whispered mythologies and intracoastal histories.”
On September 24, the Superhero Festival takes place at Evergreen Park in Queens. Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Supergirl and more will be coming.
On different days between August 13 and October 8, you can take a trolley tour at Greenwood Cemetery that begins with the “Who’s Who of the Revolutionary War and the distillers who made their mark on the young Republic.” Afterward, taste old American style whiskey and barrel-aged maple syrup.
Free Shakespeare in the Park begins on June 17 this summer and will feature productions of Richard III and As You Like It.
On any day other than Monday or Tuesday, you can pretend to have a more interesting life by participating in an interactive experience that puts you in the center of a Stranger Things story.
You can go see The Fans Strike Back, an exhibition featuring more than 600 official items from the Star Wars Universe.
Explore the life and works of the surrealist artist Magritte in a new virtual reality exhibition.
On October 22, you can participate in an Escape Room type interactive experience in Central Park to save Alice in Wonderland.
Participate in the immersive theater experience Sleep No More, which portrays Shakespeare’s classic Scottish tragedy through the lens of suspenseful film noir. Tickets are available any night other than Tuesday.
Go to Gotham City, where top scientists are missing and Batman and Batgirl need new recruits. Gather intelligence, dodge lasers and communicate with some Gotham City characters in an interactive experience.
Any day you want you can go to Beetle House, a restaurant that takes inspiration from Tim Burton, Alfred Hitchcock, Bram Stoker, Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe and many more. The menu includes, Blood Bags, Hautned Lemonade, Bio-Exorcism’s, among other things. Dining in only, which adds a new COVID element to the scare show.
Check out the dragons, kings, pirate ships, Merlin’s flying machines and other spectacles at the new Legoland in Goshen, New York.
Get Butter Beer at the new Harry Potter-themed store and bar at 935 Broadway near the Flatiron Building.
Miss going to the movies? Watch a socially distanced one outside with your friends at Sidewalk Cinema on Thames Street in Brooklyn.
Check out the images of buddhas, bodhisattvas, tantric deities, protectors and more at the Rubin Museum’s Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room.
U.S. Events
"Myth.Slide1.16" by c.a.francese is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
From June 23 through January 8, there will be a multimedia art exhibit in Nashville that retells the story of The Odyssey..
From October 21-23, Harry Potter fans will hold a Wizard Retreat weekend in Chester, Connecticut, where (apparently) magic can happen.
World Events
On September 3 and 4, Film and Comic Con Birmingham will feature guests such as Jodi Whittaker from Dr. Who.
Recurring Virtual Events
Every year in the secret realm of Bunnyville, magical creatures from around the world gather for their annual summit. This is supposed to be a time to reconnect with old and new friends, but this year someone (or some creature!) has stolen the Easter Bunny’s magical golden egg! Kids and adults can both enjoy this enchanted game featuring creatures like fairies, dragons, mermaids, and of course the Easter Bunny!
If you would rather be in France right now, view a selection of thematically-themed works from the Louvre online, including the ones in the Sully Wing, which includes major works of Greek and Egyptian art such as the Venus de Milo.
Take an online course with Stanford research scholar Adrienne Mayor in which you will “uncover the natural origins of stories about dragons. . .; ponder whether the Amazon horsewomen-archers of myth existed; consider the dilemmas of using poison weapons in myth and ancient historical times; and marvel at robots and other science fiction tales from the time of Homer.” $120.
Take an online mini-course about Rome, seeing how it exists not only in brick and mortar, but also in the realm of ideas, and through the eyes of locals and visitors. Topics will include Rome’s urban and architectural development, as well as its representation in maps and artworks from across the city’s exceptionally long lifetime. $99.
The NY Mythology Group, which is associated with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, holds presentations and discussions about mythology related topics ranging from the Greek goddess Hecate to Carl Jung. Their events usually take place on Tuesday evenings at 8 pm EDT, and have been online since the pandemic started.
BSFW, or Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers, meetings take place mostly online currently, but pre-pandemic were in the homes of writers mostly in Brooklyn but also on occasion Manhattan or Queens. Check out their calendar on meetup to attend their numerous writing workshops, social gatherings, meetings with editors/agents/authors, book clubs, and more. The group includes many published writers and has its own audio fiction magazine, Kaleidocast. If you post about your fetish for Olympian gods on their Facebook group feed, they (probably) won’t judge.
EREWHON BOOKS, a publisher focusing on novel-length works of speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, and related genres, holds readings usually on the second Thursday each month virtually for now and in a pre-apocalypse world at its high ceilinged office of many windows in Manhattan.
Fantastic Fiction at KGB is a monthly speculative-fiction reading series held on the third Wednesday of every month virtually for now, and in a pre-apocalypse world at KGB Bar in Manhattan. Ellen Datlow and Matthew Kressel host the event. As one might expect from a communism-themed bar, admission is free.
The NYC Greek Myth & Classical Lit Meetup meets every third Thursday of the month at the Cloister Cafe in the East Village to discuss the work of mostly long dead authors (e.g. Aristophanes, Dante.) The group has existed for more than a decade, so the long-term participants have already earned their unofficial classics PhD’s, and we already know that anybody who would do this for fun is as hip as a person can get.
Marcantonio Raimondi’s “A Bacchanal”. CC01.0 Public domain.
