FINAL: Boston Introduces Two New Holiday Traditions

There are plenty of holiday events and decorations to experience around Boston, but this year the city debuted two new seasonal spectacles that are sure to become beloved traditions.

The first is Blink!, which premiered on Nov. 17. You can take a look at my experience at Blink! below:



The six-week light show, funded by the Faneuil Hall Merchant's Association, features over 350,000 LED lights that blink to the music of the Boston Holiday Pops Orchestra. Most of the trees throughout Faneuil Hall's property are decorated with white lights and the Christmas tree looks as impressive as ever as the star of the show.There are 12 shows per night lasting about five minutes each and every one is different.

Blink! is taking advantage of the popularity of social media and viewers are encouraged to share their experiences at Blink! online, especially on Twitter (#BostonBlinks) and Instagram.

If you’re in Downtown Boston to see Blink!, here are some other stops you should make while you’re in the area:

View Downtown Boston Holiday Attractions in a larger map

While most of the other decorations around Boston are large Christmas trees and twinkling lights, the Shops at the Prudential Center introduced Boston’s second new holiday display in a more understated way. 

The event is called 31 Nights of Light and it has been established as a way to bring awareness to Boston area organizations. Each night starting on Dec. 1, the Prudential Center Tower will be lit a different color representing that night’s organization. Throughout the month of December, 28 organizations will have the chance to get some valuable recognition during the holiday season.

Each night, there will be a “Flip the Switch” ceremony featuring a four-foot light switch that will light up the Tower. The events will also have performances and speakers corresponding to that night’s partner. Supporters of each night’s organization and members of the Boston community will be invited to the ceremonies. Some of the community organizations receiving attention this year include AIDS Action, the Boston Harbor Association, and the Boys & Girls Club of Newton.

If you’re looking to make a difference this holiday season, the Prudential Center is also host to other charitable events including a holiday toy drive to benefit the Home for Little Wanderers and a “Giving Tree” where participants can pick an ornament and fulfill a wish for someone.

While you’re in Back Bay to take advantage of the Prudential’s many holiday donation options, take a walk to Boston Common to see all of the festive decorations: 

View Back Bay Holiday Attractions in a larger map

While Blink! and 31 Nights of Light are holiday celebrations with different purposes, they do have one important similarity: LED lights. This year Boston is making the transition to LED lighting wherever it can. The Prudential installed these new energy efficient lights in the Tower and Blink! used them on all of the trees. In fact, throughout Blink!’s six-week run at Faneuil Hall, it will only use as much electricity as the average American household.

According to the City of Boston, Mayor Menino has been encouraging people to use LED lighting for their holiday decorations whenever possible. It’s a good move considering that they last longer, have better color, and save energy. So far, these lights have been used for the two new holiday traditions as well as the lights on Boston Common’s Christmas tree and the other decorations throughout the Common and the Public Garden.

The city also has plenty of other sights to take in that have been longstanding traditions: 

Whether you’re looking to enjoy Christmas lights, one of the world’s largest menorahs, or make a difference in someone’s life, Boston has plenty of options for you this holiday season.

NY Mag Tells New Yorkers Why They Should Love Their City

For my final blog post for JO 304, I'm going to take a look at New York Magazine's Reasons to Love New York 2012. 

The list gives 74 reasons why New York is great. The top part of the list features icons that link to  corresponding text. 

For example, New York Magazine thinks Times Square might be better than ever, which is one of the longest articles on the list. Many of the items are quick and funny excerpts like the fact that Eli Manning has won two Super Bowls and still looks like he's 12-years-old. 

New York Magazine also added a photo slideshow if readers needed even more reasons to love New York this year. 

Overall, the list is entertaining and there is a good mix of poignant articles about New York and what it's been through as well as the sarcastic humor that NY Mag is known for. 

I wish that every entry on the list had an icon to go with it, but overall the list is each to scroll through and none of the articles are too long so they keep readers' attention. It's a list that I would go through in it's entirety and it reminded me that even though I live in Boston now, I'll always have a special place in my heart for New York.

Interactive Mapping on NYMag.com

Last week, I was disappointed with New York Magazine's lack of multimedia usage in their holiday gift and event guides, but this week they have redeemed themselves.

Grub Street is NY Mag's food blog and they took full advantage of Google Maps to create the New and Notable Grub Map.

The map plots recently opened (green) and recently reviewed (orange) restaurants as well as restaurants that are coming soon (yellow). The map is regularly updated to include new openings and reviews. Each of the points features the name and address of the restaurant and a link to an article. I would have liked to see a photo of the restaurant for each point, but at least the link is helpful. 

The Magazine also takes advantage of its readers' social media use and provides links to share the map via Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. 

NYMag also tags its posts, giving it some SEO brownie points. This map is tagged under "grub map" and "openings." 

If readers click "openings," they can see  all of New York Magazine's posts that are tagged as "openings" even if they are not on the Grub Street Blog. 

I have been reading New York Magazine for years thanks to my parents (they're subscribers), but I was pleased to discover today that NY Mag expanded the Grub Street Blog to include other cities. Now I can get my food fix for Boston from my favorite New York publication!

Obviously, New York Magazine would not be able to do this with every blog or specific website, but the Grub Street Blog was the perfect section to expand across the country. So far, the blog has expanded to Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Philadelphia. 

Even though NY Mag is based out of New York City, there are no shortage of posts in every cities' blog. Most of the blogs are updated multiple times daily. 

The Grub Street Blogs are great (and interactive!) ways to keep up on food news and reviews in New York, and other major cities.