This Sunday, The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine will be holding the annual Blessing of the Animals, to mark the Feast of St. Francis. Many churches celebrate St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and birds, either on his feast day (which was yesterday) or the first weekend near it. The animal blessing at St. John's will have a parade of animals at 12:30PM, with animals including a white reindeer, a......

This coming Sunday, at 11AM, The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine will have its annual Feast of St. Francis. St. Francis of Assissi is the patron saint of animals, so after the service, there is a pet blessing and an outdoor fair. While you may not be Christian or particularly religious, it's quite a spectacle to see the pets being blessed. In previous years, elephants, eagles, llamas, boas and camels have participated......

One probable cause of the creeping commercial and residential rents: The return of corporate executives and headquarters to NYC. Don't worry - there are still big offices outside of the city and there will always be coprorate parks with streets like "Corporate Drive." The NY Times many companies realize it's easier to meet with their various service providers (i-banks, advertising agencies, etc.) as well as be in a "global city" and take advantage of the......

BBQ: The BBQ season has officially begun. Luckily, there's always an option for the non-carnivores in town. Today that option is the Annual Summer Vegan BBQ Extravaganza run by Books Through Bars. This organization is a volunteer group that donates reading material to prisoners all over the country. Not an organization geared towards drinking and reading in bars. 4pm // ABC No Rio [156 Rivington St between Clinton and Suffolk] // $5 MUSIC: German death......

Here's a sad story about Morningside Heights' real estate, courtesy of the New York Times: A 20-story, 300-unit rental apartment building would rise on the southeast corner of the grounds of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine under a deal nearing completion between the cathedral's trustees and AvalonBay Communities Inc. The building, which would partly block views of the cathedral from the Manhattan Valley neighborhood below, is the first of two potential......

My family is going to be in NYC for Christmas, and I would like to take them to a church service on Christmas Eve, which is tradition in my family (we're Lutheran). Is it insane to try to go to St. Patricks? Any idea where I can find a schedule of Christmas Eve services? - Christina We must admit we're not churchgoers here at Ask Gothamist HQ, but Gothamist's Tien Mao informed us that you......