Things to Do in Harrison

Argentina–born soccer enthusiast Gustavo Szulansky opened Super Soccer Stars to provide the boroughs with a program that championed the personal development of youngsters rather than solely a skill-based focus. Since its debut in 2000, it's grown throughout the city, helping countless youngsters learn teamwork, boost confidence, and decrease arguments during home games played on the dining-room table. This rapid growth is due in part to the positive values Gustavo instilled from the first class. His coaches are carefully selected for their ability to cultivate a noncompetitive, sensitive approach to learning the game, and they dole out their knowledge in both classes and camps.

Super Soccer Star's Kick & Play program features family-friendly classes that help tots 12–24 months old develop pre-soccer skills and physical skill sets simultaneously. During classes, a team of talented and enthusiastic instructors and an athletic duo of puppet friends named Mimi and Pepe buoy budding soccer players with positive reinforcement, individual attention, and the merry clickety-clack of cleated tap dances. Designed with the help of early-childhood specialists, each age-specific class helps players build skills at their own pace with positive reinforcement, individual attention, and engaging original music.

Artist Peter McGouran opened his screenprinting studio and school to fulfill his passion for creating 2-D images layered with emotion, nuance, and color unattainable by computers. Featured on BushwickBK, the artist has worked with Alternative Apparel, American Apparel, Fruit of the Loom, and Hanes to emblazon fashion with artful images and exuberant hues. The pro teaches workshops for learners from beginner to advanced, infusing them with an enthusiasm for the eclectic art form via increasingly complex lessons, hands-on art projects, and freeze-frame group high-fives at the end of every class.

Most painters don't have a body count on their website. Danny Setiawan is the exception—he’s artfully slathering 292 people with paint in 2012. He's been painting traditionally since he was a child in Indonesia, but after graduating from Parsons The New School For Design in New York, he shifted his brush from synthetic to living canvases, layering participants’ skin with lush koi fish, patterns, and re-creations of famous masterpieces. As he told The Today Show, Setiawan became a body painter to imbue his artwork with more relevancy. "You cannot ignore a piece of art if it's painted on a human body," he said, echoing the sentiments Da Vinci expressed when Da Vinci added a miniature Mona Lisa to the forehead of the Mona Lisa.

Since he began filling his portfolio with body paintings, Setiawan's work has been far from ignored. In addition to visiting with Kathie Lee and Hoda, DenArt Studio has been recognized by Last Call with Carson Daly, as well as American Airlines, American Express, and Stoli. Many of his clients are not only attracted to the studio's colorful portfolio but also by its unique services. Guests can commission an artist to paint them clothed or unclothed as individuals or couples, expectant moms can opt for a maternity body-art session, and Halloween celebrants can enlist the studio's help bringing their costumes to life with body paint. At the onsite photo studio a photographer captures the resulting images in dramatic detail. Attendants can also paint each other at a casual Art on Live Canvas workshop, and ambitious artists looking to become the next Danny Setiawan can enroll in a body-painting or makeup course.

PishPoshPaints enlivens the walls of homes, restaurants, and hotels with hand-painted works executed by highly skilled, professional artists. Clients send in a picture of themselves, a family member, or a favorite landscape to a talented paintslinger who interprets the image through oil and canvas, leaving behind a one-of-a-kind piece suitable for hanging above a roaring fireplace or stuffing into a novelty-sized wallet. In addition to creating original masterpieces, PishPoshPaints' dedicated artists recreate public-domain works such as van Gogh and Monet landscapes, traditional Jewish artwork, and modern designs.

Founded by Queens native and the Late Late Show vet Steve Hofstetter, Laughing Devil Comedy Club lobbed its inaugural laughs in late 2011. Its debut on the city's comedy scene came after weeks of anticipation and attention in the New York Post, the Queens Courier, and Queens Tribune. Within its intimate, 70-seat venue, bartenders draw from a top-shelf drink menu to forge potions such as The Andy Kaufman's blend of St. Germain, Patrón tequila, and pineapple or pour drafts of Chimay Triple, brewed in the traditional manner by Belgian prop comics.

Busting a move you've never busted before—be it a contemporary ballet move, a jazzercise move, or a well-coordinated move to a nicer part of town and away from that mouthy opossum that keeps opening your mail—is a great way to get exercise, learn a new skill, and meet new and graceful friends. At Midtown Stomp, partners are encouraged to rotate, making the lessons as social as the open dance to help dancers learn new moves and catch the dance bug. Live music during the open dance will be provided by Phat Cat Swinger, a Hasselhoff-approved band that has toured the country and performed with Big Bad Voodoo Daddies, Royal Crown Revue, Cherry Poppin' Daddies, and The Coasters.