If we are not going to do a holiday theme (which I still believe is a great idea), I feel that we should focus on the foods of the various cultures that are present in New York. The reason why the holiday idea “failed” was because people lacked the interest and excitement towards attending the events and making a website about them; when it comes to food, EVERYONE has an interest for it. I believe that everyone would be more than willing to visit different restaurants and try all different cuisines as a way of researching for a final project. In our neighborhood visits, many groups already hinted towards their interest of trying new foods. Several groups went to restaurants to try dishes from other countries and some even brought food to class so we can try it. We all even went to have Chinese food after our MOCA visit! Everyone would be willing to this. We can all learn a lot from our experiences and have a great time doing so.
In terms of setting up the website, the food theme does make that a little complicated, but feasible nonetheless. Even though it would be nice, people who see the website do not necessarily have to taste the food that is being described. They can just use the website to learn what foods are available from other countries in New York and, from that, become more aware of the ethnic diversity that exists in the area. We can visit restaurants and take pictures of the dishes, write restaurant reviews, and maybe even make videos of how to cook certain foods in your own home.
Food has not been used as a topic in the past so it is definitely something different. And with the tools that we have, there are so many possibilities of making a fun, engaging, and educational website with this theme.