PRIDE PARADE

Today was the Pride Parade in New York City.

The start for the Parade was 36th Street and 5th Avenue.  The parade journeyed South down 5th Avenue passing 32nd Street and 29th Street.  It continued Southward until it turned right for its finish in Greenwich Village.

We live at 32nd Street and 6th Avenue and our church, Marble Collegiate, is at 29th Street and 5th Avenue.  Point being, we weren't able to attend church because of the parade so we attended the parade.

The parade kicked off at 12:00, noon.  A light rain started around 3:00 PM.  We can see the parade from our apartment and it's still going as we approach 5:00 PM.  It is huge!

The depth and breadth of participants was staggering.  There were America's biggest corporations, banks, consumer products, foods, etc. along with Elected Officials and hopeful Elected Officials, Governmental Agencies, Unions, Churches, and multiple community groups participating.

New York has parades such as the Puerto Rican Day and the Irish's St. Patrick's Day parades.  We've never seen crowds or longer parades than the Pride Parade today.

I've included quite a few videos and I've also left a whole lot out.  You are invited to view if you wish and get a flavor of New York City's Pride Parade 2013.

THEATER

The Joyce Theater
Savion Glover

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savion_Glover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpIu-R-1ej0

The Tap Dancing was wonderful!

As we walked our way home, this sight guided us to our apartment since the Empire State Building is just one block from where we live.

CENTRAL PARK

Amusement Park

A bonus shot from our apartment of a "Pot of Gold" at the End of the Rainbow.

THEATER & HOUSTON, TEXAS

City Center Stage I
The Explorer's Club

http://theexplorersclubplay.com/

Carolyn attended a performance of The Explore's Club in New York while I was on a 4 day trip to Houston, Texas to perform a survey for AAAHC.

CENTRAL PARK

Americas Society
R. Murray Schafer Celebration

Music for the Eyes and Oars

One Lake, 48 Rowboats, 144 Chorale Singers—What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

City Opera's general manager and artistic director, George Steel, at Central Park Lake, where he'll conduct a chorale performance on the water.

On Friday afternoon, the helicopters, birds, car horns and other ambient sounds swirling around the Central Park Lake will have some competition: 144 choral singers, many of them in rowboats.

As part of Make Music New York, the annual series that stages concerts in outdoor public spaces around the city, the singers will perform "Credo," a 46-minute choral work by the Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer, on and around the man-made 20-acre lake at 5 p.m. While mounting a large-scale work is never easy, this one has brought the producers at the Americas Society a unique set of logistical challenges, including: discovering whether singers can row and sing; dealing with the acoustic and visual aspects of a large outdoor space; and figuring out how long the singers can really be stuck in boats without a bathroom break.

I'm going to play the videos and let you sort this out for your self.

The first video was "just another park video" on the way to the concert.

Here we go!

LINCOLN CENTER

New York Philharmonic
Avery Fisher Hall

Haydn
Piano Concerto No. 11 in D major
Emanuel Ax

Wagner
Arr. Alan Gilbert, after Erich Leinsdorf

Rouse. Christopher
Symphony No. 3 (New York Premiere)

What a night!

For the Wagner, the entire stage was fully packed.  Example: there were 6 harps, 8 French Horns, etc.  A tour du force by the orchestra.

LINCOLN CENTER

Metropolitan Opera
American Ballet Theater

Swan Lake

Of all the great classics performed by ABT today, Swan Lake remains the quintessential ballet, the one that defines the standards of the Company, tests its dancers and ennobles the spirit of the audience. This romantic fable of ill-fated passion, dreamlike transformation and ultimate forgiveness is set to Tchaikovsky’s glorious score. With breathtaking choreography and visually magnificent sets evoking a Renaissance court, the fabled lake of the swans rises into view, inspiring awe for generations to come.

THEATER

Lunt-Fontanne Theater
MoTown

http://ppc.broadway.com/shows/motown/

THEATER

Gershwin Theater
Wicked

http://ppc.broadway.com/shows/wicked/

LINCOLN CENTER

Frederick P. Rose Hall
Swinging with the Big Bands

http://jazzatlincolncenter.org/about/press-room/general/398-jazz-at-lincoln-center-s-swinging-with-the-big-bands

http://jalc.org/events/event/t-297#.Ubm9IBbvy2w

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/14/arts/music/swinging-with-the-big-bands-is-a-distillation-of-democracy.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1371221169-GdQ1HfSCxkHpvypy5BR5Jw

World-class vocalist and pianist, Michael Feinstein, hosts these special Swinging With the Big Bands concerts in the iconic Allen Room and against a breathtaking view of the New York City skyline.   Wynton Marsalis and Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks   - who are regularly featured on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire  - will be joined by a collective of modern day vocalists including Nellie McKay, Connie Evingson and Sachal Vasandani to highlight the history and the music of one of the most exciting and crucial crossover movements in the mix of jazz and American popular song. 

What a spectacular setting with had with this performance tonight.

Wynton Marsalis is the trumpet player on the far right side of the back row.  He is amazing.

Wynton Marsalis is not just jazz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hb5MSJcBb9o

THEATER

Music Box Theater
Pippin

http://www.pippinthemusical.com

Great fun, great show, great talent.

MADISON SQUARE PARK AND BARBECUE IN THE MORNING

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART IN THE AFTERNOON

I'm throwing in this picture just to show how many accidents there are in NYC with the subway system.  There is just over one death per week!

We read that Madison Square Park was going to turn itself into Barbecue Heaven today.  A short 9 block walk and we were there!

http://bigapplebbq.org

We visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art to see the recently opened, refurbished European Section and the temporary exhibit of Civil War paintings.

The "new" European section is spectacular.  They've chosen to have all the rooms in various shades of gray.  And the Met's permanent collection is remarkable.

The Civil War paintings were beautiful, informative, and often dramatic.  Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures in the special exhibit.