In the words of Mariah Carey: it's tiiiiime. Halloween is dead and gone, and now, it's finally an acceptable time for the Christmas countdown to get underway. Festive illuminations are already being turned on across London, Xmas markets are beginning to open and Yuletide tunes are starting to permeate every shop, cafe and bar. Of course, the city's annual Christmas makeover isn't complete without its trees - and one of its most beloved, the St Pancras Christmas tree, has just been unveiled.
When the National Astronomy Meeting, organized by the UK Royal Astronomical Society, descended on Durham University in July, Martina Veresvarska saw the gathering as an opportunity not just to talk shop, but also to indulge her baking hobby. The annual conference, usually held in the British Isles, is one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Veresvarska is a PhD candidate at the UK university's Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy and a co-founder of the astronomy department's charity bake-sale organization, Cakes for Good.
The bake sale gathers over 100 chefs and bakers - the biggest crew yet, she says. Originally launched in 2017 as a bake sale benefiting Planned Parenthood, Pickowicz has since built the effort into raising over $225,000, she says. This year's edition, presented with Care of Chan, Project Gather, and Lindsey Peckham, will direct all proceeds to Heart of Dinner, Make the Road New York, One Love Community Fridge, and the Teaching Kitchen at Lenox Hill Neighborhood House.
A new benefit compilation for charities supporting immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers has corralled new songs from Dirty Projectors, Oneohtrix Point Never's Daniel Lopatin, Tim Heidecker, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, William Tyler, Lambchop, Lonnie Holley, and many others. Passages: Artists in Solidarity with Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylum Seekers arrives December 5 via Western Vinyl. New songs from Alan Sparhawk and Benjamin Booker lead the record-listen to their contributions, "No More Darkness" and "A Place for Us," below.
Thousands of runners retraced a fallen New York City firefighter's desperate race to the twin towers Sunday to honor the victims of the 9/11 terror attacks - and raise over $1 million for survivors and their families. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation's 5K Run & Walk brought 30,000 runners to trace the footsteps of fallen FDNY hero Stephen Siller, who raced to the World Trade Center towers from Red Hook through the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel on Sept. 11, 2001.
"That is the fastest 'half' I've run this year, and I feel there's still a lot more in the body," said the 32-year-old Kilkee engineer, who now lives in Galway. "It's a big confidence boost heading into the Dublin Marathon next month."
Bay Area sporting goods retailer Sports Basement will kick off a weeklong celebration of its newest store opening in San Jose at Almaden Plaza next to CostCo, on Saturday, September 6, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., with vendor giveaways throughout the day, demos, food, and beer from local breweries as a part of Beer for Good from Lazy Dog, with all donation proceeds benefiting the Silicon Valley Pet Project.
Three Scottish brothers have set a new record for rowing nonstop across the world's largest ocean, arriving in Australia to the tune of bagpipes and a fresh pizza after 140 days at sea. Jamie, Ewan and Lachlan Maclean covered more than 14,000km from Peru to Cairns, where they became the first team to finish the full crossing just before midday on Saturday.
