Some traditions feel normal only because we accept them, never pausing to peel back the layers and consider how strange they truly are. A great example is the Tooth Fairy, a character who magically appears in children’s bedrooms, removing recently lost baby teeth from under pillows, and leaving behind a modest sum of money.
Wait, what?
Lots of parents treat the Tooth Fairy, like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, as an innocent staple of youth. In this case, it’s a way to ease kids’ fears about losing their teeth—and perhaps preserve some of their early innocence. But a lot of people, both children and adults alike, still think it’s creepy. This debate ignited again after a recent Bluesky post, with a dad writing that both of his kids disapprove: "[M]y six year old lost a tooth and requested we place it on the counter downstairs because he doesn’t want the tooth fairy to enter his room, and my three year old outright told us to keep the tooth fairy away from her."
I don’t remember being frightened by the Tooth Fairy growing up—I think I figured out the ruse pretty quickly after noticing my mom’s awkward tip-toeing. (Plus, I wanted that sweet, sweet dollar.) But it’s easy to understand why someone with baby teeth might be alarmed by the idea of a winged stranger showing up in the dark at their bedside. For years, people have been talking online about this odd tradition: why it makes them or their kids uncomfortable, when they should tell their children the truth, what they should do with the teeth after retrieving them, and why the Tooth Fairy is so eager to drop all that cash in the first place.
In the r/Mommit Subreddit, one user shared all of their grievances in a thread titled "WTF came up with the tooth fairy?": "So 1st of all, who on Earth decided the best way to handle children losing a tooth was to have some creepy woman come in their room and take their teeth? 2nd of all, why is it that the tooth fairy pays for said tooth? And since they go to school and talk to their friends about it, now I have to explain why the tooth fairy gave some other kid in the class $20 FOR A TOOTH! HECK NO!!! Finally, what the heck am I supposed to do with this nasty tooth?"
Several people answered the latter question, but one response was particularly noteworthy: "My mom mailed me mine without warning. They came in an envelope without a message too. Cool. Thanks, mom!" (I have to agree with the person who called this image "terrifying.")
In another thread, someone shared that their son "refused to let Santa or the Easter Bunny or the tooth fairy in the house," becoming nervous and anxious at the idea. "Santa had to leave presents on the porch," they wrote. "Easter Bunny left the basket on the porch. Tooth Fairy left the money in the mailbox. I still have his little letters that said Dear Santa, I love you. Please don’t come in my house. LOL."
And another Redditor brought up an interesting point: that there’s a sliding scale of scariness related to fictional characters who break into your home and leave presents. "I always found Santa too creepy—I wanted his gifts but DID NOT want him in my room while I was sleeping," they wrote. "Our Santa sacks used to be at the end of our beds, but Mum ‘explained to Santa’ that he would have to leave gifts in the living room from now on instead and Santa didn’t mind this new arrangement. 😂 I didn’t care about the tooth fairy or Easter bunny, though—they were welcome to leave money or chocolate eggs in my room. Small magical beings weren’t a threat, I guess. 🤷 Kid logic."
The Rock National Tooth Fairy Day GIF by IMDbGiphy
The Western Tooth Fairy character may feel subtly sinister, but it’s nothing compared to the darker superstitions that once surrounded children’s teeth. A University of Florida deep-dive points to the Middle Ages: "Children were instructed to burn their baby teeth in order to save the child from hardship in the afterlife. Children who didn’t consign their baby teeth to the fire would spend eternity searching for them in the afterlife." Yikes! In medieval Europe, the paper states, "it was thought that if a witch were to get hold of one of your teeth, you could be in big trouble—possession of this part of your body might give them total power over you."
As for what the Tooth Fairy does with the teeth after paying all that money? Answers vary. In the r/Parenting Subreddit, someone wrote, "Tonight our daughter wrote a letter to the Tooth Fairy asking what she does with all the teeth. … My wife and I are laughing our asses off because literally every single response we can come up with is creepy. The possible answers fall into a few categories: Making something else with them, [t]urning them into fairy dust to help babies grow teeth, [g]rinding them up and putting the powder in something, [u]sing them to get into the house, [h]olding onto them for some undefined purpose." It's hard to find an option that doesn't feel...off.
In recent years, people have utilized this custom as a creative (and occasionally controversial) parenting tool. In 2024, a dad shared a letter he wrote on behalf of the Tooth Fairy, formally addressed to his 10-year-old daughter. The message: "In order to get your money, you need to clean your room first."
In a world that can often feel so deeply divided, one Alaskan mayor reached out to his Canadian friends and neighbors to express his loyalty and appreciation for their invaluably important ties. And the feeling was mutual.
We can't ignore that fires have been stoked recently between the United States and Canada. Tensions are certainly higher than usual over threats of raised tariffs, looming trade wars, and all-around blustering. But let's zoom in a little to find the wonderfully hopeful partnership, and really, the friendship that still exists. There’s so much history between not only the nearby towns, but the two countries who have been longtime allies.
Haines, Alaska | Andrei Taranchenko | Flickrwww.flickr.com
So, after the Haines Assembly agreed to construct a kind, old-fashioned letter, Tom Morphet, the mayor of Haines, Alaska, wrote it and sent it off to their neighbors in Haines Junction, Yukon, as well as to Whitehorse 100 miles to the east. The main crux of the note was to "reaffirm a relationship of friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance." Much of the letter's contents were provided to various outlets, including CBC News in a piece entitled, "Can we still be friends: Alaska town sends love letter to neighbours in Yukon."
Though complex for many reasons, Canada and the United States (who share the longest border of any two nations on Earth) have always—mostly—had a deep and respectful alliance.
Canadians and Americans have also historically put each other at the top of their "favorite nations" lists. They simply (usually) like each other. Not to mention their support for one another economically (NAFTA certainly helped with that) and how they often back one another militarily.
Mayor Morphet's letter continued, "We recognize that as northerners, we sometimes have as much in common with our Canadian neighbors as we do with our own countrymen in the southern latitudes."
The letter also expressed the U.S.'s gratitude toward its neighbor. "We are grateful for the many services and opportunities that our proximity to Canada affords us, including emergency hospital services, veterinary services, RCMP coverage, parks, shopping, and social events held in your city."
He gave CBC News a personal anecdote: "I've got good friends in Whitehorse and the Junction. Some places in the world, you know, Yanks aren't welcome, but we've always felt welcome going up to the Yukon. We'd just love that to continue."
The mayor of Whitehorse, Kirk Cameron, wrote back. Although he expressed concern over local business and the overall state of affairs, he cited the importance of how long the goodwill between the two communities has lasted. “We are not just business associates and colleagues; we are friends and family, bound by a common purpose and shared aspirations. We value these close ties and appreciate how they have enriched the lives of our residents."
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Unknown Artist, "The Days' Doings," New York, August 12, 1876
Living in Memphis, Tennessee and surviving the 1866 Memphis Massacre, Frances Thompson summoned the bravery, courage, and resolve that ultimately made her an important figure of trans history and American history.
According to MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, Thompson was “born into slavery around 1840,” and experienced mobile disability. When the family that owned her was killed in the Civil War fighting for the South, she became free. Working for herself, she took in laundry, worked as a seamstress, and occasionally worked as a servant.
Tennessee ratified their state amendment ending slavery in February 1865, almost a month after the federal government. Rampant racism far outlived the amendment’s ratification, however, and upon the ratification of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, Memphis was one of many cities where it turned even more dangerous.
Illustration of an attack on Black Memphians from Harper's Weekly, May 26, 1866.commons.wikimedia.org
What became known as the Memphis Massacre, “the first large-scale racial massacre to erupt in the post-Civil War South,” according to the University of Memphis, occurred on May 1, 1866 and targeted Black communities like “Hell’s Half-Acre,” where Thompson lived on Gayoso Street, as MLK50 reported. The riot lasted three days as white men, including police, violently attacked, murdered, and burned Union Army soldiers, Black residents, and their homes. Sadly, Frances Thompson and her housemate Lucy Smith were among them, raped, beaten, and robbed by police. They couldn’t believe they survived.
Frances was brought in to testify before Congress, and she has since become acknowledged as the first transgender woman to do so. Part of her testimony can be read here courtesy of the organization Speaking While Female, which chronicles speeches given by great women leaders. Hearing her terrifying accounts of the evening, along with that of Smith and the other women who came forth, it moved listeners to make change. It wouldn’t have been easy to give such a testimony anywhere, especially not here, because their audience was “‘congressional leaders who were not necessarily sympathetic,’” as CNN quoted historian Hannah Rosen. But the testimonies from Thompson and her fellow witnesses ultimately helped push forward the 1866 passage and 1868 ratification of the 14th Amendment.
Unknown Artist, "The Days' Doings," New York, August 12, 1876es.m.wikipedia.org
Thompson’s life didn’t get easier, unfortunately. Further federal amendments would not end the mistreatment of Black people in the South, Memphis included. Thompson’s life wound up entangled with the law as she was taken by police for “cross-dressing,” subjected to a doctor’s examination by force, and exposed as transgender. She was eventually sentenced to a male chain gang–“paraded through the city and humiliated,” CNN reported–and ultimately prison, where the negative attention continued. Some newspapers even tried to discredit her Congressional testimony, which had helped pass the 14th Amendment. Almost everything was taken from her home while she was imprisoned. Shortly after completing her sentence she passed away at approximately 36 years old.
Frances Thompson was remembered recently not just on CNN; but on the TransLash podcast, which includes a discussion with filmmaker Mickaela Bradford, who recently developed a short film about Thompson’s work entitled Under False Colors; a viral video on TikTok, where Kezia Williams, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Business Coach of business development initiative The Black upStart, discussed her history and honored her; and Harper’s Bazaar Italy, among others.
We’re living in a time where the federal government is attempting to erase transgender history from America’s present on an almost daily basis, which is not only vile, but has no basis in reality. Transgender people have always been part of America and American history–as Frances Thompson shows us. They built, fought, and died for this country, too, and far too often at its hands.
At 10 o’clock in the morning last month, Chef Daniel Garwood’s phone started ringing. Congratulations came through the other end of the line: he had just been named a James Beard Award Semifinalist for Emerging Chef for his work at ACRU in New York’s West Village, where he is Executive Chef. At just 30, Garwood moved to the U.S. under three years ago, having worked in high-end, award-winning kitchens around the world. ACRU’s inventive menu features Garwood’s influences from his native Australia as well as Korea, Scandinavia, Europe, and the U.S., all with a bent toward sustainability–it is, for example, one of the few places in the U.S. to use dairy cow meat, and a majority of menu ingredients are locally sourced.
Dishes at ACRULucia Bell-Epstein
Accolades like the Semifinalist designation from the James Beard Awards, among the most distinguished awards in the U.S. for culinary arts and media, are important to so many chefs. For Garwood it’s also important because of his dedication to mental health advocacy in the hospitality industry. “I thought if I move to the U.S. and I keep working hard, do get accolades and a bit of prestige, that maybe that could add to how I talk about mental health,” he said. “If you are respected and you do have prestige, I think it's quite easier to talk about these things, to hit a wider audience.”
As discussions about mental health expand across culture, the hospitality industry has become no exception, particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s an industry known for its long, sometimes uncertain hours, physically taxing work, and constant pressure. Garwood knows it all well. “A lot of the jobs I've worked at, especially early in my career, were about 110 hours a week, or something like, 16-18 hour days, and you're just tired,” he says. Leaving a job like that, even for a short while, can sometimes prove just as difficult. Working those hours and then stopping makes some people feel unbalanced. “When you're in such a high, intense environment, and then you come off, a lot of these guys end up turning to alcohol, drugs, or anything, just to calm them down or stop them or keep going,” he says. He’s witnessed it first hand, having lost friends in the industry to suicide.
One of the ways Garwood sought to bring awareness to mental health with food was through his pop-up dinner series Oralis. First created in Seoul, South Korea in February 2021, it also became the bookOralis: A Conversation on Food and Mental Health later that year, both created with his wife Sooky An. Having seen suicides double in Seoul while working there, Garwood created the series in partnership with suicide prevention service and crisis support network LifeLine Korea.
ACRU Executive Chef Daniel GarwoodLucia Bell-Epstein
Each course of the meal was prepared to reflect a different aspect of mental health. For example, a Camouflage Tart snack (“Crisps made from incredible Korean herbs and spices: dangui, nuruk powder, leek ash, and anise hyssop (Korean mint) hiding away in the moss encasing an emulsion from fermented pea paste, pickles from last season, and mackerel from Jeju,” as chronicled in Oralis) opened the dinner, to discuss presenting a persona that’s the opposite of one’s true feelings and thereby causing oneself pain. A dish called “Enter the Void,” followed. Served in a vertical dish, it featured squid, hot sauce, clams, and scallop custard and represented the need to engage with people on a deeper level.
The pop-up was received, by Garwood’s own description, as controversial and intense, but it didn’t stop him from wanting to blend food and mental health in the future. The accolades, he says, may help. Now, at ACRU, he does it on a person-to-person level with his staff and hopes to re-engage with it on a menu in the future. With ACRU General Manager Ambrose Chiang, who is also Australian, Garwood hopes to bring what he calls an Australian-inspired family culture to the restaurant. “Even if you've got your neighbor, he's your mate; if something's gonna happen, you’re gonna take care of him, you’re gonna help him out because he's your mate,” he says. “We're all essentially mates here. I think that builds a really strong culture, because then you always want to help each other work together. There's no difference between front of house and back of house because they're your mate.”
Place setting at ACRULucia Bell-Epstein
It’s important to Garwood to check in regularly with his staff, have conversations about goals and happiness. “I always ask them, pull them aside. Are you okay? Are you happy? It's totally fine not to be if someone says they're not. I’m gonna ask why. Just talk me through it. [I] try and keep it as casual as possible and not this really intense thing. As long as we keep doing that, that's something,” he says. He remembers the feeling of working in Denmark, where there’s a dedication to the concept of hygge, of feeling cozy and comfortable–it’s something he wants for his staff as well. “I think that's an important thing to translate here and into other workplaces…as long as people keep talking, I can get the information to see if they're okay, at least make sure they're all right.”
It’s also important to Garwood that the staff at ACRU have not just family meal together, but a communal experience. “A lot of restaurants will just set a buffet or set something like that. We kind of force a situation where we'll pull all the tables and everything together, and then we pull a lot of effort into making really nice meals, [nice] plates, and everything,” he says. They use the same dishes and cutlery the restaurant’s guests use. “Essentially, this is your home, this is our culture here. You want this to feel like you're at a mate’s place, or you have mates over at your place. I think it's really important to sit there, share and discuss and really relax.”
Garwood wants to show there’s another way hospitality can work and hopes other restaurants catch on. “I also pretty firmly believe in, just lead by example,” he says. “We'll just keep doing our thing here.”
ACRU General Manager Ambrose Chiang and Executive Chef Daniel GarwoodLucia Bell-Epstein
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Sometimes you need a movie to just chill and relax along with you.
Photo credit: A24/Studio Ghibli/Warner Bros. Pictures/Buena Vista Pictures/UGC Fox Distribution
There are days in which you need to just chill out after an aggravating day at work, hearing some stressful news, or just after a high-strung situation. You may want to just put on a movie to help take your mind off things, but something too high-octane, suspenseful, mysterious, or manic can be a little bit too much for your fried brain to handle. It may be time for a movie that can grab your attention but also lower your blood pressure. Maybe even relax you enough to get a welcomed nap afterward.
Here are some of the best movies to watch when you’re in the mood to just chill and enjoy or let wash over you.
Amélie
This 2001 French rom-com focuses on the main character creating very intricate schemes to bring more positivity and love to the people around her, ultimately ending in a happy ending for Amélie herself. It’s a great film to watch for the plot but also the striking yet not harsh color palette. Film critic Roger Ebert said that the film “takes so much confidence to dance on the tightrope of whimsy. Amélie takes those chances, and gets away with them.”
This Hayao Miyazaki anime classic is a great example of a chill hangout of a film. The plot focuses on two little girls adjusting to living in an old house by the forest, befriending the spirits around them, including the titular Totoro. While highly imaginative, the movie is a slow burn, not afraid to let the audience take in the ambience of the outdoors and enjoy the laughter of the child characters. The Guardian praises the film’s “simple hand-drawn design whose innocence only becomes more beguiling with repeated viewings, along with its bright, expansive, Gershwin-esque musical score.”
The first part of Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of the space opera isn’t without moments of tension and strife, however it is dominated by a soft faded color palette, slow hypnotic dialogue, and an enchanting score that brings quiet in your ears and body within the movie’s slow pace. The movie is 83% FRESH on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics and viewers alike praising its production design and score.
Did you know David Lynch made a G-rated Disney movie? The Straight Story follows an old man named Alan Straight who finds out that his estranged brother suffered a stroke. Since he cannot legally drive to visit his brother, Alan decides to make the 240-mile trek to his brother’s home on his riding lawnmower. The movie is meditative and quiet, a peaceful road trip that stops along the way for Alan to interact with the various strangers on his journey and enjoy the stars at night. The New York Times praised the film’s “wholesome radiance and soothing natural beauty.”
A 2021 stop-motion mockumentary, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a cute day-in-the-life of a googly-eyed seashell living in a house with his grandmother and a recently divorced filmmaker that moved in. The movie is quiet and cute, with good laughs and touching emotion as Marcel’s internet popularity grows to a point that he can hopefully find the rest of his family.
People online have shared recommendations for songs that helped them ease anxiety.
Main photo (Photo credit: Canva), Steve Roach album cover (Fortuna Records/Timeroom Editions via Amazon), Enigma album cover (Virgin/Charisma via Amazon), The Cure album cover (Fiction/Capitol via Amazon), Radiohead album cover (TBD/XL via Amazon), Marconi Union (Just Music via Amazon)
If you experience anxiety, you know it doesn't always strike in convenient places—especially if you plan to soothe your symptoms through music. You might not have access to a slick pair of headphones or your perfectly curated vinyl collection. But some argue that, if you’re able to utilize sound therapeutically, the right track could help.
Strangers on the Internet have shared some of their favorite songs to help soften a panic attack. And though these are the opinions of regular people, not medical professionals—and should be approached with that disclaimer in mind—they're interesting nonetheless.
Enigma - "Return to Innocence"
There are various Reddit threads about this subject, with some tailored to specific genres and others wide open stylistically. One OP sought suggestions to help with their "constant panic attacks," as they find it helpful to "sync [their] breathing" to the music. (They were aiming to avoid songs that are "too upbeat," as those would worsen their attack.) The top response was a vote for Enigma’s 1993 new-age hit "Return to Innocence," which weaves R&B-pop hooks with airy synth pads, booming drums, and Amis chants.
"Enigma has a few good tunes for feeling calm," one user wrote. "'Return to Innocence' is one." Someone replied, "Yess!! Enigma is a great anxiety relief tool."
In a different thread, The Cure earned a nod for their 2024 epic "Alone"—that is, "if you want to reach into the depths." This atmospheric epic has a slow tempo and patient build, stretching out across seven minutes of icy, dream-sequence keyboards and mutilated bass.
Similarly slow but perhaps even more soothing, there’s Radiohead’s "Give Up the Ghost," a flurry of fragile guitars and looped vocal harmonies. It’s a highlight from the band’s 2011 LP, The King of Limbs, and, I’d argue, one of the most beautiful moments in their discography. (I'm a Radiohead fan, so I don't make that claim lightly.)
Another compelling choice is "Structures From Silence," a meditative 29-minute piece by English ambience architect Steve Roach. One user took that recommendation and responded with gratitude: "This night has been really difficult, I can’t sleep and am feeling restless, panicky, etc.," they wrote. "This song is making me feel so at peace, thank you. Makes me feel so little and insignificant in the best way possible, that my judgements don’t matter and nothing does. I feel so peaceful. Thank you."
One song that pops up repeatedly on these threads—and with good reason—is "Weightless," the drowsy 2011 instrumental by English ambient group Marconi Union. Commissioned by Radox Spa and created "under guidance of professional sound practitioner Lyz Cooper," the song was created specifically to relax listeners and lower their heart rates.
Turns out they were very, very effective: Market research firm Mindlab International conducted a study where participants completed difficult puzzles while having their brain activity monitored. Music was played during the experiment, and "Weightless" resulted in a 65% stress reduction. (It’s now widely described as "the world’s most relaxing song.")
Again, it’s crucial to remember that Reddit is not a doctor’s office. It’s worth consulting WebMD’s article about "Ways to Stop a Panic Attack," which includes suggestions like getting your breathing under control, keeping your mind in the present, and practicing "progressive relaxation."
Childhood sweethearts finding their way back to each other after decades apart sounds like something out of a fairytale, but sometimes, real life has plans even more poetic. That seemed to be the case for Lauren and Brooks, who went their separate ways in February 2015. But during a flight to Oklahoma, Brooks felt a shift—he realized that Lauren was truly the love of his life and decided he was going to marry her.
And marry her he did. Recently, to mark their third wedding anniversary, Lauren shared a touching clip from their wedding ceremony on her Instagram page. In the video, Brooks tells her about the moment on that flight when he wrote a heartfelt love confession, acknowledging how much she meant to him. The video was taken during a beautifully orchestrated day that included a bachelorette party, a rehearsal dinner, and a garden pizza party, all leading up to the church ceremony where they exchanged vows. In her blog, Lauren shares that in that moment, surrounded by loved ones and the church’s priest, Brooks recalled how that flight had changed everything for him.
“So there I was, sitting at the airport, upset, fighting tears,” he said on the microphone. “But despite our current situation, I knew we would be together. Sitting there in that moment, on my plane ticket I wrote, I’m going to marry that woman.” The groom then slipped out the old ticket from his coat’s pocket and handed it to Lauren. The priest looked at the ticket and read the note for the guests, “On the ticket, it says, I am going to marry that woman with a little smiley face. There’s a little heart too.” Continuing his speech, Brooks said, “A few years, countless memories later, here we are.”
Calling her childhood sweetheart and husband “the most thoughtful human,” Lauren wrote in the post, “It’s the love in my life that keeps me going.” The video has been viewed by more than 9.7 million people ever since it was shared. “The kind of man every woman deserves,” @fabulousjudy_ commented on the wholesome clip, while @tmcconnell74 said, “I still believe in love because of you nice people sharing your stories.” Reflecting on the couple’s story, @realmeyure added, “When you genuinely want to work things with another person, you literally move mountains, aka you would literally do anything to be with that person.”
In the blog post, Lauren described that she and Brooks organized their wedding in the Southern California area where most of their guests lived. They opted for a sustainable wedding, to minimize the waste that is typically generated during weddings. They also skipped the traditional “save the date” invites and chose vintage postcards with QR codes printed on them for the guests. “A wedding is a time to publicly declare how much you love your partner, invite your beloved community into that experience, eat your favorite foods, drink your favorite drinks, dance your butt off, and have a blast,” Lauren wrote, describing how the couple marked everything off their checklist.
“We have no women bartenders, where are all the women?” Lynnette Marrero remembered.
The decorated bartender and mixologist worked a cocktail festival many years ago where some 30 women put it together behind the scenes. But when it came time for a film crew to record female bartenders, they were at a loss. She didn’t want it to happen again and neither did fellow renowned bartender Ivy Mix. “It was an a-ha moment, of what can we do to showcase these women?”
Their answer became Speed Rack, the world’s first and only all-female and femme speed bartending competition–a speed rack is also part of a bar to place liquor for quick handling. Now in its thirteenth year, Speed Rack, featuring “Women shaking up the cocktail world,” is part of a larger movement ensuring nobody else wonders where the female bartenders are: they’re right there behind the bar. Marrero and Mix had witnessed too many women and femme identified individuals not getting the credit they deserved or not being able to break through into craft cocktails. Speed Rack became a way to help change that. “It was just about creating a platform and a pedestal for these women to be seen doing what they do every day,” Marrero says. Plus, all proceeds from every Speed Rack event support charities dedicated to breast cancer research like The Pink Agenda. Since it began, Speed Rack has raised over two million dollars for these organizations.
Competitors Sam Smagala, of the bar Joyface, and Miranda Midler, Head Bartender of Dear Irving's Broadway location, shake it off before Round 1 begins. Elyssa Goodman
On February 17 2025, the eight top bartenders in New York’s regional Speed Rack competition arrived at Melrose Ballroom in Queens for the city’s regional finals. By that point, the field had already been narrowed from some 85 online applications with video submissions to a preliminary competition of 20-25 to tonight’s eight participants. They came from across the city’s cocktail bars–Mister Paradise, The Crane Club, The Portrait Bar, and others–and had to be working at least four shifts a week to qualify.
In a round-robin, bracket-style competition, participants will have to make four perfect cocktails in a matter of minutes–it’s a competition that’s ultimately about speed and accuracy. The drinks will then be delivered to the judges, who will deliberate and give feedback–errors will add time to a competitor’s score. The winner of each round proceeds until there are only two left and a winner is chosen.
The winner will proceed to the National Finals in July at the annual Tales of the Cocktail conference, this year in New Orleans. There, winners from events in Chicago, Denver, Portland, OR, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico will join her, as will winners from Fast Track competitions in Nashville, San Francisco, Houston, Louisville, and Orlando. By the time finalists get to Nationals, they’ll have been training for at least two months, selected for teams sponsored by some of the biggest alcohol brands in the world.
Competitor Hope Rice of The Crane Club finishes up the final cocktail of her round, an Old Cuban, with a pour of G.H.Mumm Champagne. The Old Cuban is a drink created by legendary bartender Audrey Saunders. Elyssa Goodman
At Nationals, between 16-18 people will compete for a scholarship to the Beverage Alcohol Resource’s 5-Day Program, featuring an opportunity for certification with the “Curriculum for the World’s Most Comprehensive Distilled Spirits & Mixology” held at once a year at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, not to mention countless brand and networking opportunities. Marrero says that Mix usually speaks to contestants beforehand and reminds them that “everyone knows you competed.This is a job interview, so go out there and network, do your best, because whether you're the winner or not, there's opportunities that come from this.” Later this year, Speed Rack will also return to Canada and Australia.
Speed Rack becomes not just a way to bring awareness to the gender gap in bartending and the beverage industry, it’s how the gap starts to close. Build a community, reward people for doing a good job, and give them the resources to continue pursuing their education in the field. So it’s fitting that even before the audience starts to arrive at Melrose Ballroom, there’s something electric happening. What’s at stake is not just about cocktails.The venue’s two floors will eventually fill up entirely, and over $14,000 will go to charity. The hot pink fireballs of Speed Rack’s logo and matching pink lights cast a glow across the venue, where sponsors of the event, including brands like Cointreau and Patron, among many others, have set up booths and started mixing cocktails of their own for guests. It’ll be a night full of industry folks, though anyone is welcome to attend.
Competitor Ileana Hernandez just before her round begins. Ileana works at Greenwich Village restaurant Llama San.Elyssa Goodman
Contestants start to mill about the space–they’ve dotted their faces with pink glitter, tied hot pink Speed Rack bandanas around their necks, spotted clothing with pink rhinestones, painted on thick cat eye liner, donned olive cocktail rings, and more. Hugs are thrown with abandon.
“We have so many fresh new faces, I just wanna let y’all know drinking culture in New York is in great hands,” Marrero says, to uproarious applause as she and Mix begin the event. With volunteer barbacks, the first contestants prepare their stations. Ice fills glassware, and sponsors’ bottles are lined up behind the bars for easy access. The host tonight is Vance Henderson, lauded National Brand Ambassador for Hendricks Gin, decked out in hot pink sunglasses and a matching feather boa. He introduces the judges, who are also deeply respected in the beverage industry: Ignacio “Nacho" Jimenez, Operating Partner of cocktail bar Superbueno; Iain Griffiths, co-founder of Bar Snack; Charlotte Voisey, Tales of the Cocktail’s Executive Director; and Amy Racine, Beverage Director and Partner of JF Restaurants.
Full of friends and industry professionals, the audience cheers for the annual New York Regional Speed Rack competition. Elyssa Goodman
I feel jitters just hearing their credentials, but it’s part of the bartenders’ presentation tonight to remain calm and poised. The event, Marrero says later, “showcases what happens on a Friday night, Saturday night, when you're in a craft cocktail bar and you're working service, and then four cocktail luminaries walk in and ask for a round, and you have to make that round perfectly, beautifully and fast, really fast.” The drinks must be “balanced, look beautiful and be made with grace behind the bars,” Speed Rack says in its competition notes. The event is intense–the opportunities it gives participants could really change their lives if they want it to–but the mood remains high: Henderson introduces each contestant not unlike fighters in a boxing match, and volunteer barbacks, also industry people, are personal hype folks throughout the night, waving fans and cheering on participants.
With each round, contestants will be given four classic cocktails to produce, one selected by each judge, and the round will be over in a matter of minutes–never longer than five, and even four would be pushing it. The bartenders become a choreography of shaking and stirring and pouring and tasting (and, at least once, egg separating) and when they’ve finished all four beverages, they slap a buzzer to stop their clock. Bensonhurst, Suffering Bastard, Whiskey Sour, Cosmopolitan, Nippon and other cocktails course over the bar through the evening, and soon the judges weigh in. Was it perfect? Too much tequila? Too herbaceous? Was the garnish placed appropriately? Did the drink need to be more diluted? While they wait for final scores, bartenders high five friends like they’re autographing headshots at a movie premiere, they pour shots into mouths, they can’t believe they did it again. With final scores, the winners advance.
As the night goes on, more and more people push toward the front. People cheer on their friends, bang on the stage, a flamboyant chorus of “WOOOOOOO” and “GIRLS! GIRLS! GIRLS!” and the girl next to me who looks a contestant dead in the eyes and says “Rachel, you’re a bad bitch. BAD. BITCHES. ONLY,” with a half-empty cocktail in her hand.
Competitor Rachel Prucha, of Mister Paradise and Hawksmoor, ready to take on her round.Elyssa Goodman
The music gets louder. In the last round, the finalists are indeed the aforementioned Rachel, Prucha of Mister Paradise and Hawksmoor, and Lana Epstein of The Portrait Bar. Taking their places behind the bar, all they have to do now is make four perfect cocktails while a few hundred of their closest friends and industry professionals scream and chant and applaud. It’s another dance, of whiskey and raspberries and straws and tonic and ice and god knows what else, into jiggers, into shakers, into mixing glasses, until that buzzer is banged for the last time and the cocktails are out, in front of the judges. The deliberation feels endless. It’s some four hours from when we started and nerves are askew. More shots! More cheering! Lana, Lana! Rachel, Rachel!
Lana wins, and then something amazing happens–a swirl of friends and bartenders who competed rush the stage to cheer her on, her name chanting from their lips as they embrace her in a giant hug and pink petals fall from the ceiling. People put her on their shoulders, they take pictures, they pour bubbly into her mouth like it’s the Super Bowl. The joy is genuine, and to me it’s the most moving part of the evening because it’s ultimately what Speed Rack is actually about: women supporting women.
Bartender Lana Epstein, of The Portrait Bar, wins Speed Rack's New York Regional competition. Friends and fellow competitors raise her up and offer bubbly to celebrate. Elyssa Goodman
“The community vibe of, ‘it's not just one of us, it's all of us,’ is really important,” Marrero says. She believes Speed Rack can keep regenerating itself because it really is an event for the community. There’s an understanding that the platform represents inclusivity, she continues, giving basic training to everyone and sharing foundational knowledge, and this helps people move up in the industry and continue sharing.
Marrero doesn’t remember a lot of men helping her with this when she started–it was women. She hopes in the future there will be even more women and femme identified individuals in ownership, partnership, and leadership positions throughout the beverage industry. While she says many people come to the industry for a flexible work life as they pursue an artistic endeavor, she already sees Speed Rack’s impact making space for the next generation. “The future is in, the more people that we continue to recruit to stay in the industry,” she says. “The rest of us can then go on to get funding, open places, and give those folks a spot to grow and and really, light the world on fire one cocktail at a time.”
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Competitors Sam Smagala, of the bar Joyface, and Miranda Midler, Head Bartender of Dear Irving's Broadway location, shake it off before Round 1 begins. Elyssa Goodman
Competitor Hope Rice of The Crane Club finishes up the final cocktail of her round, an Old Cuban, with a pour of G.H.Mumm Champagne. The Old Cuban is a drink created by legendary bartender Audrey Saunders. Elyssa Goodman
Competitor Ileana Hernandez just before her round begins. Ileana works at Greenwich Village restaurant Llama San.Elyssa Goodman
Full of friends and industry professionals, the audience cheers for the annual New York Regional Speed Rack competition. Elyssa Goodman
Competitor Rachel Prucha, of Mister Paradise and Hawksmoor, ready to take on her round.Elyssa Goodman
Bartender Lana Epstein, of The Portrait Bar, wins Speed Rack's New York Regional competition. Friends and fellow competitors raise her up and offer bubbly to celebrate. Elyssa Goodman
