Week-Long Arts Festival Coming To UWS: Cabaret, Comedy, Film

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The inaugural Gold Standard Arts Festival is coming to the Upper West Side later this month to celebrate artists over the age of 50 with a week of comedy, cabaret, parties, panel discussions, short plays and films.

The festival will take place in a variety of venues on the west side of Manhattan, but it is made possible by the Goddard Riverside Community Arts Program. A portion of the proceeds from the festival will support programming for older adults.

The Gold Standard Arts Festival will run from April 24 to May 1.

The festival opening will kick off on April 24 with a jazz brunch, catered fittingly by Zabar's, at Stand-Up NY on the Upper West Side.

A couple days later, Stand-Up NY will also serve as the venue for a comedy show that includes comedians Judy Gold, Greer Barnes, Karen Bergreen, Eddie Brill, John Fugelsang, Gary Gulman and Liz Winstead.

Other Upper West Side venues for the festival include the Goddard Riverside Bernie Wohl Center and the New Plaza Cinema at the West End Theater.

“Goddard Riverside is exceptional at empowering New Yorkers, especially older adults. It is so important that the voices and stories of older New Yorkers are shared, and the Gold Standard Film Festival, elevating the work of filmmakers aged 50 and over, does just that," said UWS Council Member Gale A. Brewer, in a news release.

Brewer added that she hopes the festival becomes an annual tradition.

Broadway star, actor and Upper West Side resident Richard Kind shared his thoughts on the new festival as well.

“Do not let age stand in the way, and let’s support those who have something to say, or a way to say it, and create a way to say it: a creative way to stay young because if you are busy and your mind keeps working, you will remain young. So let’s create and let’s save lives," Kind said at a kickoff party for the festival.

Festival co-founders Caytha Jentis and Eileen Katz both live on the Upper West Side.

To learn more about the upcoming Gold Standard Arts Festival, to find times, and to purchase tickets, you can visit the festival's website.