The Westminster Dog Show NYC 2012

Early February in New York City means the arrival of the Westminster Kennel Club 136th Annual Dog Show at Madison Square Garden! The event is Today and Tuesday. Tickets start at a surprising $45, but all tickets allow you to see the benching area (Doggie backstage). It is a fun event to catch at least once. Much of the event is the judging of nearly 2,000 dogs who are all tying to usurp Hickory - the defending champ and a pretty dang gorgeous dog -for top honors. You can catch a lot of the show on TV on the USA Network as well.

We've already seen some truly beautiful dogs being walked around midtown in preparation for the event. All in all, the big dog show is just like the movie "Best in Show" but with 100% less Parker Posey and Jane Lynch. For the next few days, MSG will be the glorious home of The Knicks, Rangers and Dog poo!

Astonish your friends, amaze assorted dog owners and astound strangers with the following trivia regarding one of the premiere animal events in NYC. 

• The Westminster Kennel Club was established in 1877, making it America's oldest organization dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs. 
• First held in 1877, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is America's second-longest continuously held sporting event, behind only the Kentucky Derby.
•  The dog show has outlasted three previous versions of Madison Square Garden, and is currently being staged in MSG IV.
• The first telecast of Westminster was in 1948, three years before "I Love Lucy" premiered.
• A portion of the proceeds from Westminster's first show in 1877 was donated to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) to establish a home for stray and disabled animals.
• The Empire State Building first honored Westminster by lighting its tower in the Westminster colors of purple and gold in 2004 and 2011.
• There have been a total of 299,024 dogs entered in Westminster's 134 shows through 2010
• Through the 2010 show, there have been 1,673 judges who have officiated at least once at Westminster, some as many as 23 times, at Westminster.
• Two Best In Show winners, Norwich Terriers, had the same sire: 1994's Ch. Chidley's Willum the Conqueror and 1998's Ch. Fairewood Frolic were offspring (half brother/sister) of Ch. Royal Rock Don of Chidley. We don’t even know what any of that means.
• In 1884, The Westminster Kennel Club became the first member of the American Kennel Club. 

Professional Bull Riding Invitational returns to MSG this weekend

We know it sounds unlikely, but rounding up a bunch of friends and grabbing tickets to the Professional Bull Riders Invitational at Madison SquareGarden may be one of the most fun things you can do this weekend in NYC.

Speaking from experience, The Big Adventure can vouch for this surreal and extraordinaire experience. Which is only made better by the fact that you probably know nothing about Bull Riding. The PBR is the pinnacle of a paradox when you witness, smack-dab in the middle of NYC, men riding three ton bulls on the exact same floor on which the Knicks played 48 hours earlier. The crowds are lively and diverse ranging from irony-seeking local school kids to legit cowboys that moseyed down to MSG from…well…no one is sure where. And Flint theRodeo Clown (really) will keep you amused as you watch cowboys grib a saddle for deal life as angry bulls try to buck them to the hard dirt.

The best part is that tickets are cheap, the sport is inviting and they come back every January. We invite you watch 40 men try to tackle a bull for eight seconds on the "Toughest Sport on Dirt.” (Don’t make the mistake of confusing this event with a Rodeo) Did you know that even the animals can get penalties in this sport? It’s true. Flags are thrown. Lasers and Fireworks are deployed.

Events are this Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM, Sunday at 1:00 PM. Tickets start at $15 and there are discount tickets at Goldstar Right Here for “THREE SNOT-SPEWING, BONE-CRUSHING, ADRENALINE-SOAKED PERFORMANCES!” (Thanks MSG PR Machine for that nugget).

Hidden and Musical NYC Trivia - 6th and Final Round!

NYC Trivia - Questions about Big Apple's Hidden Musical Gems - Final installment-Part VI

On our recent New York City Hidden Germs Big Adventure, we took over the basement bar area of Puck Fair in SoHo, divided into teams and challenged our noggin with some quality trivia about all things hidden in NYC. We wanted to bring the quiz questions to the web and see how well you can handle these stumpers. The Big Adventure brings you five of our questions from our NYC Trivia dosed out in six easy installments. Once again, on this our final day, we're focusing on some great Musical Trivia. Scroll down for link to answers.

11. Who currently holds the all-time record for greatest number of appearances at Madison Square Garden with 62 shows (Hint: the 60th occurring on his 60th birthday, 2007)?

12.  New York natives Michael Diamond, Adam Yauch, and Adam Horowitz are members of what?

13. Finish this line from the song - From the famous 1949 musical “On The Town”: “New York, New York – it’s a helluva town….”

14. What groundbreaking jazz musician’s is the club Birdland named after?

15. Who has performed the most on Saturday Night Live with a total of 9 Musical Guest Appearances?

So, how did YOU do with all thirty questions on New York City trivia? Were you able to rise to the challenge and excel on all things related to the Big Apple? Well, at least we hope you learned an interesting thing or do. 

Think ya know Answers? Click here to find out! 

Miss a round? Start all over here