Trip Report – Festival of Disruption May 2018 – Day 1

For the first time, the Festival of Disruption was being held in New York City on May 19-20, 2018. Since I missed attending the two previous events held in Los Angeles, California, I vowed not to make that mistake again. With tickets, hotel and airfare booked, I set off for Brooklyn, New York. Here is my trip recap from Day 1 of my visit.

FLYING TO NEW YORK CITY

Imagine my delight realizing that Twin Peaks The Return on Showtime was being shown on Delta. The flight from Orlando to New York was about two hours which gave me enough time to view Parts 1 and 2. Granted, these episodes were the edited versions with swearing eliminated and black bars placed over naughty parts. Still, I never thoughts I’d be watching Twin Peaks on a plane in 2018.

One thing I took away from this viewing – I adore the Chromatics’ performance at the Roadhouse. It’s true, James has always been cool.

I flew into John F. Kennedy airport. The last time I was in New York City was in January 2006. It was a quick 24-hour trip to visit the World of Disney Store on Fifth Avenue, back when Disney Parks was responsible for that store. I wasn’t able to explore much of New York during that trip, so I was excited to have a few extra days in the city.

VISITING DIANE’S APARTMENT

After dropping my bag at the hotel (the room wasn’t quite ready), I set out for my first destination – the exterior location for Diane Evans’ apartment seen in Twin Peaks Part 7 on Showtime.

The location was about three miles from my hotel. Rather than take a taxi (which would have significantly speeded up my trip), I walked the streets of Brooklyn. I could immediately feel the history in this city.

About an hour later, I was approaching the street where Diane Evans’ apartment exterior was located. I discovered this location following an approximate three-week search via Google Street View in summer 2017. You can read about that adventure in this story.

As I walked the streets toward Diane’s place , I noticed so many familiar buildings and landmarks. Spending three weeks searching every street in Brooklyn for this location left an impression on me.

This is it! The image is reversed, however, just like it was in Part 7.

Following my expedition to Diane Evans’ home, I rewarded myself with a cup of coffee and muffin from Konditori, a Swedish Espresso Bar that was established in Park Slope around 2010. They now have nine locations in New York. I recommend their Swedish espresso (black as midnight on a moonless night) and their cranberry muffin. Both items together – $4. I sat in the window and edited photos from my previous expedition to Diane’s place.

I set out for the hotel as my room was now ready. Brooklyn has a lot of graffiti and commissioned artwork on the sides of buildings. The “Meow Meow Meow” graffiti made me laugh (maybe the artist really loves cats).

VISITING BROOKLYN STEEL

My next stop was Brooklyn Steel, home to the Festival of Disruption. The location was about 1.5-miles from my place. While the event wasn’t starting until Saturday morning, this excursion gave me a good idea of what to expect.

While returning from Brooklyn Steel, I realized the wine shop where I ordered the wine seen in Twin Peaks Part 12 on Showtime was nearby. When I arrived at De Wine Spot, FedEx was picking up at least 20 boxes of wine being shipped to places all over the United States.

I told the staff about this wine being used in the series. One employee said she was from the Seattle area, so she was quite familiar with the Snoqualmie Falls and the original series.

Dinner time at Woodhul. This small corner wine bar offered a great view perfect for people watching.

I had a glass of red wine – “To The Bureau” – and ordered mixed Greek olives and their grilled cheese sandwich. The latter had Ohio mild cheddar, sliced pickles and tomato soup-dip. Being originally from Ohio, I had to try it. Delish! I finished the meal with a glass of Widow Jane Brooklyn whiskey neat. It was smoothy with a slight silky-oak texture and hints of caramel.

THE PINK ROOM BURLESQUE

Following a short nap, I set out for a midnight show of The Pink Room Burlesque at Joe’s Pub. I’d been following this Twin Peaks / David Lynch-themed burlesque show on Twitter for several years now. I never thought I’d get to see a performance. I was blown away!

The theme of this show was “No Hay Banda!” which was a reference to Club Silencio in Mulholland Drive.

“‘No hay banda. There is no band. It is an illusion.’ The Pink Room Burlesque is known for paying tribute to David Lynch’s lush and haunting visuals. Francine “The Lucid Dream” and the cast of The Pink Room will honor the sounds that make the works of David Lynch so unique and beautiful. No hay banda, but there will be music in the air. This special night at Joe’s Pub will feature some of New York City’s favorite cabaret singers as well as premiere Lynchian burlesque artistes.

The number of nods given to all of David Lynch’s works was outstanding (I laughed at so many moments). The production was completely captivating.  The best part was meeting up with Pieter Dom who runs WelcomeToTwinPeaks.com and Brittyn, a fellow X-Files and Twin Peaks fan. I’ve only seen them on Twitter so it was wonderful to meet in person and chat for the night.

Here are a few photos from that night. If you are a fan of Lynch’s works, I highly recommend seeing this show.

I KNOW CATHERINE, THE LOG LADY

One final note, Pieter gave me this flyer for a recently launched Kickstarter campaign. “I Know Catherine, The Log Lady,” will be a feature-length documentary film about TV icon Catherine Coulson, best known as the Log Lady in David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks. Check it out at IKnowCatherine.com.