Glocally Newark

Five days. That is how many days until I turn twenty one and I can’t wait. My hour of power will be filled with neon colored martinis, club hopping, and lots of out of tune singing. Although, what I am most excited about is that I will no longer have to go through the embarrassment of being carded or worst off having my fake ID scrutinized. In light of my approaching birthday I’ve made a list of a few Newark hot spots that have catered to my adolescent, teen, and “darn it I’m only twenty years old’ needs.

First up is Branch Brook – Many of my adolescent childhood memories involved me standing in welfare long lines, waiting and hoping to have the opportunity to skate the night away with my Spice Girls look-a-like friends.

While in high school – my checkered teenage years – I was too cool for family friendly Branch Brook Park so I started hanging out at restaurants, cafes, and other local spots where all the high school kids pretended to be college kids. Nevertheless, back in high school, DMS/Baltimore House parties at the Robert Treat Hotel was the place to be if you were barely legal. From 8pm to around 11pm (my curfew on the weekends) I would show off the moves I had choreographed with my friends the night before.

Then I graduated from high school and was stuck in the rut of been there done that. For a while I enjoyed going to college parties and playing a little beer pong here and there. But even that became mundane and it was time to move on. That is around the time that I found QXT, where on certain nights you only had to be 18 to party. And party is what I did!

Part of me will miss the excitement of plotting how to coerce my way into a party or a club because it was at those times when I was the most creative but I am over the moon excited about turning twenty one. So look out Newark because I have arrived! And the first of many spots that I have to go is Hell’s Kitchen on Lafayette because I have been dying to take a swing on their pole.