Welcome to the Sugary Scoop, my free biweekly newsletter where we help you see and experience the magic of NYC that I love so much through curated events, experiences, artists, and community stories.

Let’s get to this week’s Scoop!

Saturday 🍬 1.25

10:00 AM (Tribeca) - NYC Community Creator Mastermind - We have a few spots available for people who: 1) Run a community and host consistent IRL events, 2) Perform or collaborate at events as a creator, or 3) Thrive on building meaningful partnerships.

Join us for a full-day immersion from 10 AM to 4 PM, packed with transformative discussions, workshops, and networking. Enjoy a catered lunch, refreshments, and even update your personal brand with fresh video content for 2025. Dive into key topics like member engagement, brand partnerships, event curation, and growth hacks alongside notable communities like Othership.us, Fabrik, and more.

RSVP HERE

Note: Attendance is by application approval only. To secure your spot, you must apply. Application form provided in the RSVP link.

_{(Social Battery Level: High Ambivert - Crowd Size 40)}

Sunday 🍬 2.09

5:30 PM (Astor Place) - Sugary's Super Bowl LIX Watch Party - Why Host or Stay Home? Watch the Super Bowl with Us Instead!

Skip the hassle of hosting and avoid another boring Super Bowl at home—join us at Sugar Mouse for the ultimate Super Bowl watch party! For a fraction of what you'd pay anywhere else in NYC, you’ll get catered game-day eats, flowing beer and wine, desserts, fun betting games, and your own private section with massive screens to catch every play.

You’re not going to find Super Bowl tickets this low anywhere in the city. So stop stressing, start RSVPing, and let’s make this the most epic game night ever—no hosting, no cleanup, just all the fun. Grab your spot before it’s gone!

RSVP HERE (Limited to 50 tickets)

_{(Social Battery Level: High Ambivert - Crowd Size 50)}

Sunday 🍬 2.10

6:30 PM (Tribeca) - Unsent Letter Project Presents: The Write to Read Salon VII - Join us for our first Write to Read salon of the year! If you’ve never joined us before, come experience a salon that has caught the attention of Secret NYC and NBC Nightly News in recent times. Embrace the power of anonymous storytelling capped off with a signature musical performance from a local artist.

RSVP HERE

_{(Social Battery Level: Medium Ambivert - Crowd Size 30-40)}

NOTABLE NYC EVENTS FROM FRIENDS

Tuesday🍬 1.21

6:00 PM (Tribeca): Swing Set Institute Presents: Sensitive Silly Men UNO Tournament - Put on your headband and get ready for the “Sensitive Silly Men UNO Throwdown”—where card-slinging meets real talk about masculinity and sports, all in one night.

You’ll battle it out for a surprise ridiculous trophy, chow down on delectable food, and connect with guys who actually want to level up as humans.

RSVP HERE

6:00 PM (UES): The MET Presents: Designing Tomorrow’s MET - Be among the first to see the exciting plans for The Met’s new wing for modern and contemporary art! Join architect Frida Escobedo as she previews her bold vision for the Tang Wing. Set to open in 2030, the new wing will draw inspiration from The Met’s varied architectural styles, diverse art holdings, and setting within Central Park. Learn more about the project at this pivotal moment of development.

Note: Space is limited; first come, first served. Priority will be given to those who register.

RSVP HERE

Thursday 🍬 1.23

6:00pm (Tribeca): Joust Society & Zero Proof Present: (Dry) Game Night - Make enemies over your favorite games and craft mocktails at a swanky hotel in the heart of the city. ​Zero-Proof (@zeroproofny) is teaming up with Joust (@joustsociety) to host an upscale game night. ​Expect a line-up of:

• ​​Party/social games like Codenames, Wavelength and Taboo

• ​​Familiar favs like Uno, Monopoly Deal, and your favorite card games

• ​​A few classics like Catan, Clue and more

​​Joust is the play-first social club. From upscale game nights to immersive game shows to full-on retreats, we host all sorts of ways for fun-loving people to find their rivals. 

RSVP HERE  

7:00pm (Hunters Point): Moma PS/1 Presents: Winter Talks (Malcolm Harris) - Theorist and critic Malcolm Harris delivers a lecture on social movements necessary to avert climate disaster. Drawing on material put forth in his upcoming book What’s Left: Three Paths Through the Planetary Crisis, Harris navigates histories of capital within visual art, tech, and environmental discourse.

RSVP HERE  

Friday 🍬 1.24

6:00pm (Tribeca): Printed Matter Presents: 2024 Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards - Printed Matter is pleased to present an exhibition of shortlisted titles from the 2024 Paris Photo–Aperture PhotoBook Awards, an annual celebration of the photobook’s enduring role within the evolving narrative of photography.

NO RSVP NECESSARY  

Saturday 🍬 1.25

11:00am (Manhattan): Sincerely, NYC Presents: For LA - ​NYC comes together to show solidarity from afar. Every dollar raised will go directly toward relief efforts to rebuild LA’s communities and lives.

​​Our goal is simple, raise as much as possible. All proceeds from the event will be donated to World Central Kitchen and the California Community Foundation, while funds from the silent auction will directly support the “Help LA’s Artists & Art Workers” GoFundMe.

RSVP HERE  

Sunday 🍬 1.26

2:00pm (Gowanus): Field of Play Presents: Community Critique - Join us for our first iteration of Community Critique, an afternoon of rigorous public critique and conversation We invite our community to take part in individual critiques of three visual artists — Jess Willa Wheaton, Nikki Mehle, and Pablo Diaz, interspersed with a poetry reading by Adam Stoves and a sound performance by Daniel McKemie.

RSVP to: [email protected]  

Tuesday 🍬 1.28

6:30pm (Gramercy): Creator Economy Presents: NYC X Teachable Kickoff Mixer & Panel - Join us for Creator Economy NYC's first event of 2025 in partnership with Teachable!

​We're kicking off the year with an evening of connection and real talk about scaling a creator business and bringing big ideas to life in the new year.

​Our panel focused on "Built to Scale" brings together creators who've successfully turned their content and audience into thriving businesses — and they're sharing exactly how they did it (and how you can too).

RSVP HERE  

Your Event, Elevated:

So I’ve been waiting to share this with all of you for some time!

As you know, we believe that true community building starts with authentic connections, flourishes through inclusive belonging, grows through active contribution, and ultimately leads to personal and professional transformation. Our events aren't just gatherings – they're catalysts for growth.

Many of you have been reaching out for help with your own events, wanting to tap into our experience in creating these meaningful spaces where creativity, culture, and connection intersect.

So we're expanding what we offer to our community. 

Here's how we can help:

• Event Promotion: Getting your event featured in our newsletter (19K subscribers) to reach our engaged community

• Venue Access: Connections to unique spaces across the city, plus event equipment like sound systems and AV gear

• Community Connections: Direct access to our network of singing artists, musicians, wellness teachers, restaurant/bar owners, and industry leaders

• Event Design: One-on-one ideation and planning sessions with me to bring your vision to life

Whether you're planning an intimate gathering or a large-scale event, we’ll leverage our decades long experience to ensure every experience is memorable.

To make this easy, we've created a quick event assessment form. 

Fill it out, and within 48 hours, we'll send you a free customized checklist tailored to your event – drawing from our experience to make sure you have everything you need for success.

Ready to create something meaningful? 

Fill out our quick event assessment form here: [FORM LINK].

It’s gonna be a true joy to help community members in this way and so I look forward to helping some of you knock your next event out of the park!

THE SUGARY EFFECT

How to Work With Assholes (a definitive guide)

So it’s no real secret that none of my working days would be complete without DK yelling at me about this thing or that thing.  

What can I say, he’s an ultra no nonsense kinda guy always on the losing end of patience with a Prussian pragmatism and a tendency towards a short fuse…basically he can be a real asshole sometimes.

Then again…you’ve got me on the other end, I’m a floaty, idealistic…“SQUIRREL!!”…take the scenic route kinda guy.  

Not a day goes by without me mismanaging some aspect of my long to-do list, some aggravating resistance to new technology, or in general being a Dutch boy in a dam…happily plugging holes while new leaks spring up and unable to meet certain opportunities when they come…basically I can be a real asshole too…it seems.

This dynamic is jarring at times and I can’t say it makes either of us feel too good in the moment.

So why do we choose to make it work?  

You’d have to ask DK about his reasons though I suspect it surrounds themes around him enjoying the role of an operator and building things surrounding unique talent or concepts. 

I’ll tell you it’s been quite trippy to go from managing talent to being managed as a talent.

On my end,  I’ll quote Mel Robbins who once said, “you don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your system”.

Something needed to change for me to grow, and I’ve designated DK to be that agent for change.

So given that we have chosen each other for this maddening journey, how do we make it work?

Well on my side of things, these are are a few tips that have kept the train on the rails so to speak:

1. Monk It Out - DK has stated over and over again that he doesn’t believe I’ve ever gotten truly pissed off at him.  Untrue.  It’s just I don’t feel a need to express it in the way he does.  In his most heated moments, I recognize that it’s just that…a moment. And it too shall pass.  Hootin’ and hollerin’ is part of his “Whoo Sah” process and I’ve found that if I don’t match him with that equal energy, it tends to dissipate to a more manageable level in short order because there’s nothing to really fight.

2. Acknowledgement (a 3 course tasting menu) - Being able to see someone and recognize not only their intent but also the effort put in is extremely important. Validating their rationale, thanking them in public and holding space for their frustrations are essential building blocks to making sure that when you’re burning the candle on both ends to achieve a goal, that the heat to achieve light is real and you’re happy they’re willing to possibly get singed right along with you.

3. Man in the Mirror - At the end of the day I still have my own brand to build.  What am I gonna honestly spend my energy on? Fighting DK?…a person who is voluntarily on my team working towards the shared goal or do I instead focus on the things that I can do better personally?  The only person I can control is me.  And I guarantee you that if I improve my side of things, the overall experience will be better.

On DK’s end there are a few things that would likely work on people like me.

1. The Winding Way - Logic may tell you, even insist that the shortest route from point A to point B is a straight line, it’s just that sometimes the creative process is not looking for the shortest route, it never was. It’s looking for the most interesting things along the way and somewhere between A and B there’s a whole range of possibilities to meander towards and things to notice that most people just wouldn’t… there could even be the possibility of discovering a hidden route C somewhere that leads elsewhere entirely. Recognizing this is crucial to our understanding of how creatives can operate.  It can be maddening and nonsensical but sometimes it creates absolute magic as a by-product of the process.

2. I, (Not a) Robot - I know the goal is to always iterate towards efficiency. Makes sense…the more efficient you are, the more you can do.  However the process of it is not also so smooth when it comes to all things creative or habitual.  There is often an emotional toll involved that hangs heavy over the process and doesn’t make it as straightforward as it perhaps should be.  Some things will be easier than others, some things will seem downright impossible even if it is ultimately achievable. What’s important is to not mistake capacity for capability.

3. Scenery Matters - Staring through the window of possibility is far more inspiring than staring through the window of practicality.  1000% of the time. So how do you get practical things done in this situation? I have found that reframing practical goals through the lens of what is possible to be a useful trick to move the needle on this point.  Creatives are dreamweavers and so painting the picture of what could be instead of what is is almost always the better route.

Working with people that are fundamentally different from you can be a challenging prospect. However, it’s not merely about tolerating each other’s weaknesses, it’s also about celebrating the best aspects of each other, that which you yourself do not possess in terms of qualities and traits. 

If you can create this supportive dynamic despite the friction, that will only see you elevate your shared vision into a reality.

It’s hard but the juice is worth the squeeze.

Take it from two assholes…

Sugary and DK 🍬

PAST EVENTS

January 10th (Sugar Rush Event) Special Screening of “Minted” (official Tribeca Film Festival selection)- Our first Sugar Rush event of the year! It was hosted at Olya Schechter’s Xposed Gallery and it was a wonderfully intimate screening for the community. The film was capped off with a fireside chat between the film’s producer Nicholas Bruckman w/ NY Times culture writer Zachary Smalls who was featured in the film.

Attendees marveled at the inimate setting for such a screening and appreciated the insightful guide into the weird and crazy world of NFTs. The film has officially been picked up by both PBS and Netflix for release later this year.

January 15th Winter Wonderland…On Ice - A nice handful of you braved the cold to join us at Williamsburg’s best kept winter secret. The new skating rink at Domino Park sees much less traffic than its more famous counterparts (i.e Wolman Rink, Rockefeller Center) and thus mcuh smoother ice for longer. After our mini-escapade, we all settled at my friend Brian Evans's Sunday in Brooklyn where we were greeted as conquering heroes and enjoyed seasonal hot drinks and klight bites to warm our bones.

ARTIST SPOTLIGHT

Thelma and James

Jake Etheridge & Mackenzie Porter are a songwriting couple from Nashville that have had steady success as performing artists and songwriters.

The only thing is that Jake and Mackenzie have pursued completely separate artist careers, Jake, more along the lines of indie folk and Mackenzie Moore in the country vein of artistry.

Then one day, the two decided that maybe it might be a good idea after 10 years of marriage to just try and write something together, I mean, why not…they were married after all and living under the same roof and very successful artists in their own right.

Well, this bit of experimental alchemy resulted in a song about two former lovers that hurt each other and have to deal with the lasting effects of the trauma.

The duo posted the sketch of the uncompleted song on TikTok (fitting this is the last song I discovered on the platform before it went dark…for all of about 12 hours), and within mere hours were flooded with comments from people far and wide, as well as established musicians that told them how amazing the song was, and that they owed it to the world to finish the song and share it as soon as possible.

Well, they listened and as of January 10th, the song “Happy Ever After You” came out as their lead single for their forthcoming EP and has already racked up 1.5 million streams as of this article.

This song is a must listen. No if, ands or buts about it.

And if this is any harbinger of what is to come from this dynamic couple, I wanna be here for it all. It’s giving Civil Wars vibes but far less turbulent behind the scenes

The storytelling is so incredible and they seem to have the capability of encapsulating it all into unforgettable melodies and harmonies that will give you the shivers.

We’re really just at the beginning of this journey (Thus only 1 song to feature), but I think you should follow along because I certainly will.

Happy Ever After You (The ONE Song AND Most Recent Release)

Support for the Unsent Letter Project!

The Unsent Letter Mailbox is a grassroots storytelling movement creating anonymous spaces for vulnerability and radical honesty in New York City.

Over the past six months, we’ve hosted 18 park installations, 6 sold-out salons, we've seen countless people in public, and received over 700 unsent letters capturing the full spectrum of human emotion.

We’re thrilled to launch our pilot Curator Program, inviting like-minded folk to host anonymous gatherings in their communities. If you're keen, fill out this form!

Join The Unsent Letter Mailbox as a Social Media Intern!

We’re looking for a passionate Social Media Intern with a knack for visual storytelling to help us grow our community and bring our unsent letter archive to life. In this role, you’ll collaborate with Sofia to:

• Edit short-form videos using CapCut.

• Design compelling graphics with Canva.

• Manage and schedule 3 posts per week.

The ideal candidate loves storytelling, has a keen eye for visuals, and is excited to use social media to build meaningful connections.

Time Commitment: 3–4 hours weekly.

What You’ll Gain: Hands-on experience building a social media presence for a growing arts and storytelling platform, opportunities to refine your creative skills, and mentorship in crafting compelling narratives.

If this sounds like you, let’s create something impactful together! Reach out at [email protected] to apply.

Joust: The play-first social club.

From upscale game nights to immersive game shows to full-on retreats, we host all sorts of ways for fun-loving people to find their rivals. 

Start playing HERE

Connect IRL. Experience Fabrik.

Get in touch with NYC’s brightest communities and make new friends.

Fabrik is a home for communities and where everyone has a place to belong. With spaces designed to feel more like your living room than your office, Fabrik’s 'third spaces' are vibrant hubs where you can come together in real life, explore interests, forge meaningful connections, and enjoy a sense of community.

Sign-up here to experience a day pass at Fabrik.

Weekly events at Fabrik HERE

Othership offers immersive sauna and ice bath experiences that help human beings feel good now. A sanctuary for social self-care to move you from city buzz to inner calm.

Dive into the largest performance saunas in North America, experience otherworldly ice bath spaces and connect in an intimate amphitheater-style tea lounge surrounding a cozy fire place for socializing.

Expect towel-waving performances, aromatherapy, guided breathwork, visualizations, and somatic release to help you shift your state and regulate your emotions, in a world that can’t be regulated.

The founders of Othership have gifted us a New York 2 for 1 Deal. Get yours while they last!

EMPATHY PROJECT

Support the Empathy Project by purchasing any of the items from the collection. Be a part of a unique initiative that empowers seven diverse artists to create one-of-a-kind empathy-inspired t-shirts. These shirts serve as iconography tied to our identity, promoting compassion-driven societal impact. 

Each artist picked a 501(c)3 charity of their choice to donate a portion of the sales of their t-shirt design. Your purchase also empowers voices, amplifies the message of empathy, supports charities, and elevates storytelling within our communities, all while building a network for compassion-driven societal change. Join us in making a lasting impact through art and empathy.

You can check out and purchase the 7 different empathy tees HERE