July 2023 Events for Myth Lovers
The Rape of Helen by Juan de la Corte is in the public domain.
Virtual Events
On July 6, take a free course in Norse mythology.
On July 6 and July 20, share what you are reading (mythology, of course!) with a group of book lovers.
On July 8, children 8 to 11 years old can take a myth-themed creative writing workshop.
July 10, 17, and 24, the Cleveland Museum of Art will discuss the theme of Gods and Heroes as depicted in the art of ancient civilizations in its collections.
On July 12, attend an online author talk with the comic book author and illustrator Will Morris.
On July 14, an archeologist will talk about how the Oracle of Delphi got involved in ancient greek politics.
On July 18, learn about Egyptomania, a brief period in the early 20th century when Americans and Europeans became obsessed with all things Egypt, which influenced almost every aspect of their societal life
On July 19, participate in a hybrid discussion of the graphic novel Ghost World.
On July 19, attend a New Moon in Cancer Manifestation Ceremony online, which will include meditation, oracle cards, a lesson on the moon, journaling, scripting your dream life, setting intentions, and a soundbath.
July 22, attend an online event from Luxor, Egypt hosted by a tour guide who will show you the tomb of Queen Nefertari and the Lost golden city of Luxor!
July 23, attend a webinar that explores the story of the Trojan war, the attempt at finding the site of ancient Troy, and what was found there.
July 25, attend an art/fashion/history presentation on the fascinating hairstyles, moustaches, and interesting coiffures of Ancient Egypt.
Gustav Klimt’s painting The Kiss is in the public domain.
New York City Events
On July 1, see Andrea Arroyo’s large scale art installation “Goddesses at the Palace.”
On July 1, play D&D at the Riverside Library. For people 16 to 24 years old.
On July 1, watch a free showing of Independence Day at the Woodstock library.
On July 8, take a mythology walk through the Naval Cemetery’s meadow in west Brooklyn and learn about the folklore connected to some of the plants there.
On July 9, take a workshop with queer artist + herbalist Fatima Touzarah in which you’ll explore the ways we can use plant medicine to enhance and support our sex lives.
On July 11 you can meet Philip Levine, whose work explores themes from Christian, pagan, and historical traditions. Biblical scenes are among depictions of Graeco-Roman mythology and events in human history, at his art gallery opening.
On Wednesday nights starting July 12, take a workshop at the Bronx Library on how to write a comic book.
On July 15, watch a free showing of King Kong at the library.
On July 31, project researcher Dr. Pádraig Fhia Ó Mathúna will give a talk about the Fionn Folklore database, which brings together some 3,500 tales and songs about the Gaelic world’s greatest heroes, and also offers other resources, including character lists, glossaries, an interactive digital map.
Anytime this month, check out “You are the myth,'“ an art exhibition by Watson Mere that combines biblical stories, Egyptian mythology, Yoruba Orisha legend, and other mythologies with modern black diasporic themes.
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.
Later in the season 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.
Events Outside NYC
"Myth.Slide1.16" by c.a.francese is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
From July 13-16, spec fic writers and editors will be hanging out at Readercon in Boston, where the guests of honor will include Jeff VanderMeer and Justina Ireland, and the memorial guest of honor will be L.A. Banks.
From July 20- 23, attend San Diego Comic-Con International if you want to dress up like a cartoon character and fawn over celebrities.
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.
