Hi again, my lovely readers!

Welcome to all the new subscribers who found the newsletter this week. I’m so glad you’re here!

Our New Yorker of the Week today is Aiss. She’s 32, a Brooklyn native, and is looking for friendship. (And open to love.)

Interested? Reach out to [email protected]. And if you want to be super cool and get involved in the newsletter yourself, you can:

• Submit yourself to be a New Yorker of the Week

• Share events that you think should be featured 

• Purchase an ad to promote your business

Now, onto the goodness:

How would someone who loves you describe you?

Creative, kind, funny, lively, compassionate, incredibly beautiful

What sorts of things do you want to do with your friends?

Picnics, themed and costume parties, beach trips, game nights, craft nights, home cooked dinner parties, clothing swaps, nice PowerPoint presentation parties, emotional support group chats, karaoke nights, sports games

What's something that people might not guess about you?

I can hula hoop for 2 hours without dropping it

Are you looking for love? Tell me about the type of person you're looking for!

I’m open to love whenever and wherever it finds me but I am not searching for it. I am in a deeply committed loving relationship with myself at the moment. If that were to change, the type of man I’d be open to would be honest, loyal, funny, intelligent, creative, secure in himself and emotionally healed and available!

Anything else that the Joy List community can help you with?

I’m looking for job opportunities in any creative field. Jewelry, pottery, fashion, art, plants etc… I currently work as a bridal stylist, house plant sitter as well as a florist and floral artist!

Radical Parts Work - 12 week in person therapy group

Radical Parts Work is a 12-session long group therapy that uses tools from improv acting, drama therapy, and authentic relating to help build up spontaneity, tolerance with the uncomfortable, and expression of hidden parts of the persona. It’s a supportive group that focuses on intimacy and resilience in interpersonal conflict. We meet on Mon, Tues or Wed evenings in midtown Manhattan, Sept thru Nov. $60/session but I take most insurances.

Gatherings

Double check details before you go, and contact the organizers with questions! The Joy List does not run these events.

Monday, July 13: week nights' Connection Academy: Creating, Nurturing, and Sustaining Community

Want to create a space where people belong? Authentically, intentionally, and sustainably? week nights' Connection Academy is a three-workshop series that gives community builders the skills and tools for every stage of building social connection.

Free, 6:30–9pm, Antler Accelerator, 33 W. 17th Street, Floor 6 (Flatiron). Info here.

Tuesday, July 14: The Sensory Social

It's summer in New York City and the energy is electric; instead of rushing through it, let's feel it fully! The Sensory Social is an immersive wellness evening designed to help you reconnect with your body, awaken your senses, and leave feeling grounded, inspired, and present. Five intentional experiences led by five practitioners: olive oil tasting with The Full, acupuncture with Love on Health, astrology/oracle with The Art of Becoming, sensory journaling with Letters from the Table, and aromatherapy with Sensory Sensei + Co., alongside thoughtfully curated non-alcoholic drinks served by The Bar Nun Life featuring Curious Elixirs, Toma, and Atmosphere Brewery. See you there – use code JOY for a special discount!

$75 (link includes $25 discount with code JOY), 6-9pm, Fabrik DUMBO (20 Jay Street). Info here.

Tuesday, July 14: Somartica

Join us for this evening of embodied art making, nervous system relaxation, and joyful, communal creativity and play. Somartica blends embodiment with art making to help you get out of your head, into your body, and into presence - while making both art and friends along the way. No experience necessary - and all crayons are provided.

$30, 7-9 PM, 147 Metropolitan Avenue. Info here.

Tuesday, July 14: The Sing Easy™: Drop-In Singing Workshop

The Sing Easy is a drop-in singing workshop designed for voices with all levels of experience. Led by artist and voice coach Jess McAvoy, each session is a low-pressure, judgment-free space to explore what your voice can do and to connect with others along the way.

Donation-based, 7-8:30 PM, 66 Scott Avenue Brooklyn. Info here.

Wednesday, July 15: The 50 Rejections Challenge Midyear Meetup

The 50 Rejections Challenge is a quest to get rejected 50 times over the course of one year to build up our muscle for creative daring. The Midyear Meetup is an opportunity to set some fresh intentions for getting rejected in the second half of the year and connect with others who see this pursuit as valuable. Whether you've been working on getting rejections since January or this is the first you're hearing of it and you want to start now, join us!

$10 suggested donation, 6-8:30pm, 12-16 Vestry St., 4th Fl, Manhattan. Info here.

Thursday, July 16: Summer Slowdown

If you're a woman in your 20's seeking an evening of introspection, slowing down in the height of summer, and connection with others, this group would be a great fit! Hosted by Intuitive Healing Psychotherapy Practice, we offer a drop-in style women's group in a beautiful, calming space. We hope you'll join us!

$20, 6-8pm, 875 6th Avenue Suite 2300, NY NY. Info here.

Thursday, July 16: Contact Improvisation

Contact Improv is a fun non-gendered partner dance form. The technique focuses on giving and supporting weight, and coordinating with gravity and momentum, to create spontaneous relational dances that fly and fall through space. It is both a come-as-you-are practice (meaning anyone can join) and a skill-based practice (why people keep coming back and getting stronger). Come to improve your body awareness, learn to listen through the skin, and make new friends!

$20, 7-9 PM, 115 Wooster St, 2nd Floor, 10012. Info here.

Friday, July 17: Hunter S. Thompson Walking Tour through Greenwich Village

Join GonzoFest NYC for a free, guided Hunter S. Thompson walking tour through Greenwich Village, led by Margaret A. Harrell and Christopher Tidmore. The group gathers at Sheridan Square, then walks to 57 Perry Street and other places Hunter lived, worked, and haunted with stories from Margaret, Judy Clancy, and other people close to the history. It is part literary field trip, part group conversation, and a low-pressure way for HST readers, writers, and curious New Yorkers to meet each other before the festival day opens. The tour ends around noon with an optional lunch stop at McSorley's Tavern.

Free, 10 AM-noon, Gather at Sheridan Square by the Christopher Street-Stonewall subway station; ends near McSorley's Tavern. Info here.

Saturday, July 18: Death Cafe

Death Cafe - an open and respectful space to talk about end of life. This is not a grief support group or a lecture, just an open and compassionate discussion about how to live our finite lives to the fullest. No agenda. No ideology. Just honest conversation.

Free, 2 PM, Brooklyn Public Library. Info here.

Sunday, July 19: What Does This Taste Like? An Olive Oil Experience

Olive oil is the perfect symbol for devouring life, and "What Does This Taste Like?" is a two-hour experience built around exactly that philosophy. Guided by a trained olive oil sommelier, we'll taste exceptional oils together, then respond through paint, color, and words. It's an event that uses olive oil as a muse and portal back into your senses. Come ready to taste, create, and leave feeling more connected — to yourself and others.

$40, 3-5pm, HumorVille (164 Meserole St.). Info here.

Looking for a delicious meal delivery service?

Oh hey! It’s Jillian, The Joy List lady, yet again. I’m here to share that I have discovered a DELECTABLE meal delivery service, called CookUnity. I’ve tried others before: Factor, Daily Harvest, and Blue Apron to name a few. But they all made my tastebuds sad.

CookUnity is the one that I’ve actually stuck with for MONTHS. You get:

• Chef-cooked meals that you can heat up in minutes

• Options for dietary preferences, like low-calorie and high protein

• New meals every week, so you don’t get bored

Curious? Use my link for 50% off your first week, and 20% off the next 3!

Advertise in the next Joy List

Have a service, retreat, or training that you think a crew of curious New Yorkers would benefit from? Want your event to be advertised more than a week in advance?

Submit your ad here.

And if you’re not sure what to say, there’s an option for me to write your copy for you!

That's it for this edition. Sending hugs.

Stay cool,

Jillian