Tag: fun

creativity

Having fun protects our health

Christa Avampato

“The best thing you can do for your health? Hang onto your sense of fun, Christa. Especially in your work. It’s important.” This is what my wonderful general practitioner, Dr. Peter Lotfi, said to me at the end of my annual physical this week.

I’m feeling great though I still get some anxiety going to the doctor. I breathed a huge sigh of relief when all my bloodwork and tests came back with perfect results.

I’m always asking Dr. Lotfi what I can do to safeguard my health after going through active cancer treatment and now receiving maintenance treatment to prevent cancer recurrence. While we talked about diet, exercise, stress reduction, and the different medications I take, his biggest advice was to never lose my sense of fun.

We talked about how difficult the world is, especially in our country, with the current political climate. In the midst of all that, he doesn’t want me to lose my sense of joy, which is a way to preserve mental and physical health that doesn’t cost anything and has only good side effects.

In that spirit, last night one of my best friends, Ashley, and I got dressed up and went to a cocktail party on the 87th floor of a building on Wall Street. It was for Silhouette Eyewear, a sustainable eyewear brand that manufactures glasses from biowaste. I was invited because I write about sustainability and Ashley was happy to join me. The glasses are colorful, extremely lightweight, comfortable, flexible, and durable — all the benefits of plastic without using fossil fuel. (I’m sporting a cute pink pair that I love in the first photo.)

After the party, we wandered around the Financial District, reveling in all of the hidden art deco that people pass by every day. The fun door with mirrors in the photo below is an example. Ashley and I are tour guides, historians, and writers who love this beautiful town.

To end the night, we found a new favorite pizza place called Siena Pizza & Cannoli on Rector Street, named after that gorgeous Italian city in Tuscany.

Tucking into our delicious pizza slices, I said a silent thank you to Dr. Lotfi. A sense of fun in everything we do and everywhere we go really does make life better.

creativity

Campaign communications are bringing the fun and rallying voters

Christa Avampato
Image by Swifties4Kamala.com

Something fascinating and fantastic is happening with campaign communications in 2024 and it warms my story loving heart. In the past, voters have rallied around their political party, social issues, geography, and demographics such as age, race, religion, and ethnicity. This year we’re seeing people rally around their interests, passions, and affinities in support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. From comedy and food to pets and music, there is a group for all of us. These groups and their respective Zoom events are using trusted messengers — people with whom we share a common bond and who make us feel safe—to relate to voters on a personal level. 

This week I went to two online incredible online events: Swifties for Kamala organized by Taylor Swift fans and Cooking for Kamala organized by professional celebrity chefs. (They were both recorded so you can watch them at the links below.) Swifties raised over $144,000 and the chefs raised over $225,000 from event attendees. They got people registered to vote, helped people check their voter registration, talked about issues related to their interests (in these cases, corporate monopolies like Ticketmaster and food security, respectively), provided resources for people to volunteer on the campaign to knock on doors, send postcards, make phone calls, combat disinformation and misinformation, and most importantly activate their friends, family members, and communities to turn out the vote this November. 

Swifties for Kamala has a full website, social media accounts, merch for the cause, friendship bracelets (of course!) and a newsletter called Paint the Town Blue where they are continuing to activate their community after the event. What’s even more impressive about Swifties for Kamala is that it’s organized and run only by fans, not celebrities. Taylor herself is not involved, and they had Senator Elizabeth Warren and Carole King attend the event as special guests.

Collectively, all these affinity events and efforts are also doing the important work of reminding all of us that politics is about people and policies. It’s personal. It’s about who we are and who we want to be. It’s about how we live together in community, in harmony. It’s about the world we’re building for ourselves and future generations. While disagreements will inevitably happen, politics can only be effective if it’s about unity and open, clear communications. These affinity events are putting the heart back into government, and they’re giving us hope. 

Some media outlets have said joy is not a strategy. These events show joy is not only a strategy; it’s also a way of being and doing. And it’s working. 

Swifties for Kamala website, social media accounts, and event rewatch:
https://swifties4kamala.com/
https://linktr.ee/swifties4kamala
https://www.youtube.com/live/r9lQlWzQLPQ

Cooking for Kamala event rewatch:
https://pages.hovercast.live/cooking-for-kamala/live

creativity

Fun at the Jazz Age Lawn Party on NYC’s Governor’s Island

Christa Avampato

A banner adventure day in New York for me and one of my nearest and dearest friends at Governor’s Island’s Jazz Age Lawn Party. Long may the 1920s roar!

Everyone looked amazing and the music was stellar. I love how open, welcoming, and friendly everyone was. It was a gorgeous day with a joyful, relaxed, diverse crowd that reflected just what a fantastic city New York is. We danced, laughed, ate, chatted, and had so much fun in our period dresses. Ashley is a stellar dancer and used to do competitive swing dancing so she was absolutely in her element.

Next year is the 20th anniversary of the party, and we’re going to get a group together to go. We hope you’ll join us. And we’re already thinking about ways we might pitch a storytelling show to be part of the fun!🎶💃

creativity

Fun and play are a part of work

Christa Avampato
Photo by LI FEI on Unsplash

For my University of Cambridge dissertation, I’ve been thinking about ways to bring my passion for biomimicry into the research without causing my own scope creep. Now deep into my literature review reading, I found a way to not only avoid scope creep but to use biomimicry and my intense love for nature-based solutions as a way to focus my dissertation. I’m so firmly planted in my happy place now that the hours of work fly by until my sweet old dog toddles over to my desk to tell me it’s time to go out for a walk.

Charles Darwin, legendary naturalist and Cambridge alum, is one of my fun at work icons. He wrote tens of thousands of personal letters over the course of his lifetime. (A collection of the 15,000 that have been found to-date are accessible in the University of Cambridge’s collections). What those letters communicate that his formal academic writing does not show is that his work was so much fun for him that it felt more like play. If Darwin can have fun while doing his research, then I can, too.

So whatever you’re doing today from wherever you are in the world, I hope you’re having fun and that your work lights you up in a way that also lightens your spirit. It’s not too much to ask.

I’ve had moments in my career when my work felt like drudgery. I’m really glad and grateful that I made the changes to change that. It wasn’t easy but for me it was worth it.

creativity

For the love of pizza and fun

Christa Avampato

It’s almost the weekend so here’s something fun. I was interviewed for the They Had Fun podcast. Hear how my ability to wax poetic about New York City pizza in The New York Times sparked my friendship with the host, Rachel Josar, why my pandemic was a little extra, and the fun I had on The Drew Barrymore Show. It’s been a long 2 years for all of us. Let’s have more fun together!

Listen to the episode here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Debt Heads… with Rachel Webster and Jamie Feldman – They Had Fun: New York City Stories

On this week's episode, co-guests (!) and co-hosts of the podcast Debt Heads, Rachel Webster and Jamie Feldman, tell us about heading out for a night in 90s NYC with no plans, and winding up at a sold-out Moby show!Check out Rachel, Jamie, and Debt Heads on InstagramHave fun like RachelDonate to NYPLCheck out this week's Rachel's Recs on our Substack!What did you think of this week's episode?They Had Fun on Instagram, YouTube, and our website 🥳
  1. Debt Heads… with Rachel Webster and Jamie Feldman
  2. The Great American Challenge… with Matt Guidice
  3. Vomit Table… with Eliza Rothstein
  4. The Tooth Still Stands… with Lacie Porta
  5. Wedding Day Baby… with Jamie Zelermyer
creativity

A Year of Yes: Bringing back my monthly newsletter

Christa Avampato

My friend, Dan, recently asked me if I would bring back my monthly newsletter because his social media feeds are overwhelmed. And because I love Dan and because I have a lot of fun creative projects happening, I’m doing it! It’ll be filled with my fun shenanigans like my storytelling shows, my book and journalism work, my travels, podcast interviews I do, various creative projects like my museum work, and plenty of inspiration and resources to help you with your creative work! If you’d like to sign up, just like this post or drop me a line at christa.avampato@gmail.com. The newsletter will only be once a month (at about the 1st of the month) and this list will never be used for any other purposes so no spam worries.

 

creativity

A Year of Yes: Here’s a 15% discount code for all Untapped Cities Tours of secret New York City places

Christa Avampato

Untapped Cities offers a huge variety of tours about secret New York City history. Alexander Hamilton’s historic home, the abandoned Ellis Island Hospital, Grand Central Station, abandoned subway stations, the Woolworth Building, Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, Penn Station, the Members Only Players Club, and the list just. keeps. growing.

As a little gift to you, I wanted to share a special discount code that gets you 15% off of ALL of their tours – just type in CHRISTA at checkout. You can share this with friends and use it as many times as you want. And there’s no expiration date. Because I love you, and I want you to have nice things. And by nice things, I mean adventures.

creativity

Wonder: Let’s be United Outside with REI in D.C. this summer

Christa Avampato

Tired of the election season already? Me, too. To take my mind off of the chaos, I’m excited about REI’s summer of events in and around D.C. just announced on Unitedoutside.com. Want to join me on some of these adventures (and have some s’mores along the way)?

This campaign is heralding the arrival of REI’s flagship store 2 blocks from my apartment in Washington, D.C. To gear up and celebrate its impending arrival on October 21st, REI has put together an incredible slate of events that kick off this week. Most of them are free and all of them are fun. From trivia nights to how-to workshops to outdoor movie screenings, there is something for everyone. They’ve also put together a handful paid excursions to places like Great Falls, Virginia, a kayak tour of the D.C. monuments, and outings to local restaurants like Cappy’s and Birch & Barley.

Getting outside into nature is one of my promises to myself this year and I’m so excited to have REI to help me plan and take those adventures! Let me know if this interests you and we’ll link up!

creativity

This just in: It’s time to choose happiness

Christa Avampato

Choose happiness
Choose happiness

“Without play, there would be no Picasso. Without play, there is no experimentation. Experimentation is the quest for answers.” ~Paul Rand

My teacher, mentor, and friend, Ed, posted this photo yesterday and it made me think of this quote from Paul Rand. We don’t play enough. We don’t smile, laugh, or enjoy life to the extent that we should. We deserve to be in the front row of this photo in every way, every day. So choose it or lose it. Experiment. Make art. Sing out loud. Dance like a fool. Try something or create something just because you want to. Love big. Take a chance, hold on, and enjoy the ride no matter where it leads. Happiness and play are choices. Make them.