January 2023 Events for Myth Lovers
Arthur Thiele’s painting Skier is in the public domain.
Virtual Events
On January 7, 14, and 21, your kids or teenagers can learn latin for free through the New York Public Library.
On January 9, learn what made people remember Robin Hood, and whether he was a real human being.
On January 14, learn about Zeus.
On January 14 and 15, participate in an interactive virtual event and writing workshop in which you will look at the current state of the world through a historical lens of art and mythology
On January 15, listen to stories about monsters from mythology and folklore, from the British serpent-bird hybrid that is the cocatrice to the ancient Greek Minotaur.
On January 30, the New York Public Library’s science fiction and fantasy book club will discuss Rosewater, about an alien Wormwood that has created an impenetrable biodome in the town of Rosewater, Nigeria, granting some humans psychic powers in the process. Now something in the dome is killing those psychics .
On February 1, join an online discussion of Octavia Butler’s story “The Book of Martha,” in which God gives a woman named Martha the task of helping humans become less destructive.
On February 4, learn about artistic expressions of intimate life in Pompeii.
Anytime you like, get a virtual tarot and palm reading to find out (or at least be told…) what your future holds in 2023.
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.
Gustav Klimt’s painting The Kiss is in the public domain.
New York City Events
On January 1, the Poetry Project will be holding a New Year’s Day Marathon.
January 1 is your last chance to see the immersive exhibit in which you join King Tut for a voyage to the afterlife and beyond.
On January 4, Holly Black will have an event at Barnes Noble to celebrate her fantasy novel The Stolen Heir.
From now until January 8, you can watch a light show that includes magical creatures on Staten Island or the Queens County Farm.
On January 8, you can attend a Chinese New Year festival that includes lion dancing, storytelling, Chinese opera and more.
On January 9, Princeton will hold a lecture for the public about Greek mythology.
On January 12, listen to queer authors share select readings from their literary works or personal journeys at the Road to Freedom Literary Festival.
On different days from November 19 - Jan 16, go on a 1.5 mile walk through the New York Botanical Garden that will be lit with “whimsical” installations, including a Cathedral of Light tunnel, a Fire Garden on Lily Pool Terrace, and a Field of Light. Then watch carvers transform ice into sculptures.
On January 19, listen to ancient Indian music and poetry in a salt cave in Brooklyn.
On January 31, go to the Salmagundi club to learn about how in the 1800s a young engineer overcame serious obstacles (including a plague) to bring Paris an Egyptian obelisk.
Anytime you like other than a Monday or Tuesday, wander through two stories of luminous and immersive environments and a series of generative digital art at Inter_.
Anytime you like, go to Frieda Toranzo Jaeger’s exhibit Autonomous Drive at MoMA PS1, which “proposes a futurity of queer freedom, connection to nature, and the creation of new spaces of joy and pleasure” by examining traditional origin myths, such as that of Adam and Eve, and recasting them to envision new beginnings.
On January 6, 7 or 14, watch an immersive, theatrical experience highlighting the stories of each moon goddess through circus based acts and multisensory interactive installation.
On various dates throughout the month you can have an immersive experience based on Harry Potter in the magical forest of Westchester.
On various dates throughout the month you can watch Cocktail Magique by Company IV, a vaudeville-esque show that includes art forms ranging from burlesque to opera, magic acts involving drinks, and more. The show unfolds around the audience, who can take part in the culinary fun.
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.
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..
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.
