The 29th CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival

It was created by College Media Journal (CMJ), the magazine that published the first record charts based on college radio airplay. Back when it started in 1980, the CMJ Music Marathon (the Film Festival was added in 1994) provided college radio staffs the opportunity to meet and hear music from new and emerging sources.

Over the years the CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival has grown and changed, but its primary focus has remained on music that appeals to college audiences.

This year’s Festival featured thousands of musicians at dozens of venues around the city and drew an estimated 120,000 fans, artists, filmmakers, and industry pros. To my surprise, someone gave me a pass to the event. Although I expected a “college music” festival to consist of endless loud party tunes for drunken frat boys (think MTV Spring Break), I was wrong.

In fact, I saw more acts than I could count (including old favorites and new discoveries), performing in a wide variety of genres. The panels, which I anticipated as dull, dry discussions of industry statistics and forecasts, turned out to be entertaining and enlightening. Not to mention the film. Or the parties.

I did remember to take my camera to a few of the events. And if anyone wants to give me a badge to new year’s Festival … I’d be more than happy to accept.

Badge

The Dizzy Gillespie All Stars

Jim Rado and Galt MacDermot

NOW Ensemble

JD Souther

Kimberley Locke

Diana DeGarmo

Mieka Pauley

Woody Harrelson

Jarrod Gorbel

Fred Mascherino

Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society

Jets Overhead

Emmanuel Jal

CMJ09 Music Marathon and Film Festival
Wikipedia: CMJ Music Marathon
CMJ Milestones
The Dizzy Gillespie All Stars
Emanuel and the Fear
JD Souther
Mieka Pauley
Jets Overhead
The Color Fred
Free Energy
Jarrod Gorbel of the Honorary Title
NOW Ensemble
Emmanuel Jal
Julia Wolfe
Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society
David Lang
Jessica Pomerantz
Guyora Kats
The Messenger
Arlene’s Grocery
Pianos
Kimmel Hall
Living Room
Blue Note
Le Poisson Rouge
Judson Memorial Church
Clearview Chelsea
Rockwood Music Hall
Norwood Club
Gawker: Norwood: A Club For The Artistic And Talented
MTV Spring Break

Father’s Kingdom Plates

These memorable dishes are for sale in a discount store on Harlem’s 125th Street. Only $9.99 for a set of four. According to the package, they are called Father’s Kingdom plates and they come complete with wall hooks.

No, I didn’t buy them.

Leaning right and left

Assorted designs

New Amsterdam Village

Why is a full sized windmill turning right in the middle of Broadway?

It is part of the celebration of the Dutch arriving in New York 400 years ago, New Amsterdam Village was temporarily constructed, just below Bowling Green Park, at Broadway and Beaver Streets. The village contains booths designed to resemble traditional Dutch canal houses. Some sell traditional foods and products, including cheese, herring, stroopwafels (sweet waffle cookies), flowers and wooden shoes – and yes, even a windmill.

In an open area, intended to represent the village square, a variety of musical acts performed for passersby. The highlights were the raucous numbers from Dynamo, a colorfully costumed youth marching / dancing / percussion / kazoo group, the unexpectedly diverse and humorous repertoire of Kleintje Pils, a brass band clad in traditional striped smocks and wooden shoes and Jan David performing “Miss Sunshine,” the song he composed in honor of NY400.

The windmill dwarfed by skyscrapers

Dynamp reaches skyward

Dynamp drummers

Trying to play the kazoo while giggling

Dynamp member dancing

Dynamp and the bandleader

Dynamp member performing

Dynamp member with triangle

Blue drumsticks and blue kazoo

The traditional method of making wooden shoes

Kleintje Pils
Jan David: Miss Sunshine
NY400 Week: New Amsterdam Village

Zoni Brothers Auto Repair

Although New York City has the lowest rate of car ownership in the US (42 percent of New Yorkers don’t have access to a car, versus the national average of eight percent), the city still contains a sizable population of motor vehicle owners.

For those who consider their cars and motorcycles more than just mere transportation, this colorful shop, covered inside and out with signs, flags and banners, is a mecca.  No ordinary neighborhood repair place, this is home of Zoni Brothers Auto Repair/Zoni Customs on 56th Street and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood. Zoni’s is so revered by car lovers that they even sell a line of t-shirts emblazoned with their skull and spade logo. And yes, the shirts are available online.

The view from 56th Street

The sign says “Autos” but there are more motorcycles than cars in sight

Zoni Brothers Auto Repair Inc.
New York Times: The Costs of Owning a Car
Berkeley University: Study explores metro car ownership

If You Are.

This sign is posted in the window of Sunset Tattoos in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Sunset Tattoos

Egg! Egg! Egg!

It was late afternoon and I was walking through Cadman Plaza Park, a small green spot near the steep stairway that leads to the Brooklyn Bridge. As I made my way across the lawn, my attention was drawn to a little girl who was shouting. It sounded as though she was yelling, “Egg! Egg! Egg!”

I walked closer and saw that the girl was pointing to a pigeon waddling in the shadows, between the fallen leaves, and yes, she was calling out about an egg. Just above the surface of the ground, a half-laid egg protruded from the bird’s belly.

I watched, waiting for the wobbly creature to sit down and complete the act of laying her egg. I hoped to see her perched securely above her sticky little white egg. But she took one rocking step after another without pause. Suddenly, there was a flurry of feathers as the pigeon — the egg still stuck between her legs — lifted her wings, flapped across the street, and disappeared into a small grove of trees on Cadman Plaza.

The bird wobbles between the fallen leaves

She’s having trouble walking

The egg is visible between her legs

A closer look at the egg

A tile with a smile

It was late, I was tired, and I couldn’t wait to get back to Brooklyn. The last thing I wanted to do was descend into the hot, stagnant air of the Chambers Street subway station, but down I went.

As I walked along the platform, waiting for a train, I saw something completely unexpected: a lopsided little smile, carved into a tile. Perhaps the smile was created by a mischievous worker, perhaps by a bored commuter, but either way, it brought a smile to my face and made the night a little bit brighter.

The tile

The smile

Subway.Org: Chambers Street (IRT West Side Line)

The Dudley Memorial Building

At first glance, the building at 110 Amity Street looks as though it might be a grand residence. But upon closer inspection, the brick and limestone structure reveals broken, boarded up windows, a slew of paper notices taped to the front door and a dusty-looking “for sale” sign.

Two names appear above the entrance: The Dudley Memorial, which is carved into the facade, and, painted directly below, The Long Island College Hospital Stanley S. Lamm Institute for Developmental Disabilities. So, what’s the story here?

This empty structure at the corner of Amity and Henry Streets was built in 1902 in memory of Dr. William Dudley, one of the founders of nearby Long Island College Hospital, which is now celebrating its 150th anniversary. Designed by Charles Hough, for five years it served as a private pavilion for the hospitals patients, then became a residence for its nurses.

Later, the building housed the Stanley S. Lamm Institute, a facility for the comprehensive care of the developmentally disabled. Several years ago the Lamm Institute’s programs were moved to other locations and the stately-looking building has been vacant ever since.

Most recently, a developer proposed a plan which included the construction of a rooftop bulkhead and six townhouses in the rear. A combination of community opposition and fallen real estate values has resulted in any plans being delayed indefinitely.

The view from Amity Street

At the corner of Amity and Henry Streets

The names above the door

For sale sign

Notices taped to the door

A broken window

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: LICH Consolidation and Buildings’ Fates
Opposition to 110 Amity Plans Grows
The Long Island College Hospital

Fixed? Did You Say Fixed?

Last night this notice was posted in phone booth at the corner of Brooklyn’s Court and Montague Streets.

OK, I understand the idea of naming a big, black Brooklyn cat after Biggie Smalls (aka The Notorious B.I.G.)., the famed Brooklyn-born rapper who was murdered in Los Angeles 12 years ago.

But “fixing” (neutering) Biggie Smalls, the namesake of a ladies’ man who referred to himself as “Big Poppa,” just seems wrong. No wonder the poor cat has gone missing.

Wikipedia: The Notorious B.I.G.

Arlo Sings in the Castle

One of America’s best-loved folk musicians, Brooklyn-born Arlo Guthrie is the son of legendary songwriter Woody Guthrie. Tonight he performed at Castle Clinton in Lower Manhattan, part of the tribute to the 40th anniversary to the Woodstock Festival.

Arlo’s humorous and heartfelt singing delighted the overflow crowd which he regaled with tales and tunes about the 50 or so years he has spent onstage. His stories that punctuated the evening touched on everything from his boyhood in Coney Island to appearing onstage at Woodstock to a brief gig acting on a television series called The Byrds of Paradise to his upcoming 40th wedding anniversary.

He played guitar, piano and harmonica and performed his own songs as well as those written by people he has known and loved: Pete Seeger, Leadbelly, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, and of course, his father. The highlight of the evening was the last scheduled number, when the assembled audience joined him in signing what is arguably Woody Guthrie’s best-known song, This Land is Your Land.

Arlo performed alone onstage

He played harmonica, guitar and piano

The songs included old favorites and rarities

The capacity crowd was standing-room-only

After the sun set, the audience sang along

Arlo Guthrie: Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys
River to River Festival: Arlo Guthrie
Rising Son Records
The Official Arlo Guthrie Web site

It’s a Family Affair

Tonight in Castle Clinton, all the way down at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra performed a tribute to the music of Sly and the Family Stone. The concert, part of the annual River-to-River Festival, was a dubbed “It’s A Family Affair” — the title of one of the biggest hits by Sly and the Family Stone (it reached #1 on both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts).

The musicians who crowded the stage included a lineup of seasoned performers, all of them clearly fans of the the legendary band described by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as “Rock’s first integrated, multi-gender band, funky Pied Pipers to the Woodstock Generation, synthesizing rock, soul, R&B, funk and psychedelia into danceable, message-laden, high-energy music.”

The members of the Millennial Territory Orchesta were accompanied by keyboardist Bernie Worrell from Funkadelic, guitar player Vernon Reid from Living Colour and vocalists Martha Wainwright, Sandra Saint Victor, Shilpa Ray and Dean Bowman, who joyously evoked the spirit of Woodstock as they took the audience “Higher and Higher.”

Sandra Saint Victor and Steve Bernstein

Shilpa Ray

Vernon Reid

Martha Wainwright

Bernie Worrell

Dean Bowman

Steven Bernstein

The Millennial Territory Orchestra
Sly and the Family Stone
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Sly and the Family Stone
Steven Bernstein
MySpace: Vernon Reid
Living Colour
Martha Wainwright
Bernie Worrell
Sandra Saint Victor
Shilpa Ray
MySpace: Dean Bowman
River to River Festival
Castle Clinton National Monument

Oooh, a movie star!

Movies and television shows are shot on the streets of New York City nearly every day and most residents take them in stride, barely giving the equipment and workers a second glance. Generally, New Yorkers’ attitude towards the actors and crews who live and work here is that they are simply part of the scenery. Many of those in the entertainment industry say that one of the things they enjoy about Brooklyn is our indifference (whether genuine or feigned) to the stars in our midst.

That’s why I suspect that most of the group that gathered outside the movie trailers parked near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge were from out of town. At least, I hope so. The overwhelmingly female crowd arrived on Cranberry Street armed with cameras, sunglasses and water bottles and stood for hours in the blazing sun, hoping to catch a glimpse of Robert Pattinson, one of the stars of the film being shot here today.

Some were, to put it mildly, obsessed with Pattinson, the actor who stars in the Twilight films.  One rather average-looking woman confessed to me that she travels the country and follows him around. Scary stuff, I think, but I guess it explains why the set was crawling with security agents and bodyguards. No one can predict when an adoring fan is going to turn into another Mark David Chapman.

Fortunately, despite the flurry of frenzy, the shoot was completed without incident. By the time the sun went down, the equipment was packed up, the actors were spirited away, the sunburnt crowd dispersed and Brooklyn Heights was restored to a quiet neighborhood of tidy brownstones.

Signs were posted to alert the neighborhood

Fans gathered at a trailer on Cranberry Street

They were all equipped with cameras

Some climbed light poles for a better view

They didn’t notice Roger Moore being filmed on the next block

The former 007 was able to work in peace

Robsessed
Twilight The Movie
Mark David Chapman

Bastille Day in Brooklyn

What started as a simple Brooklyn block party has grown into the biggest Bastille Day celebration in the U.S., featuring French food, drink, games and music. Today, several blocks of Smith Street were closed to traffic so South Brooklyn could again celebrate the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille.

Once traffic was stopped and vehicles moved, the street was filled with tons of sand. Wooden beams were arranged on the sand, dividing it into courts for the petanque (bowling) tournament. Banners were hung, music played, and bars, tables and chairs were set out for spectators. At the corner of Atlantic Avenue, platforms and ramps were erected for a skateboarding exhibition.

Local bars and restaurants erected tents where they could sell food and drink, corporate sponsors brought piles of pens, hats and sunglasses to give away, and a replica guillotine — including a bloody blade — was placed in the center of the street. The party began at 11:00 a.m. and officially ended at 10:00, although stragglers (and those who’d sampled a bit too much pastis) lingered far longer in the night while visions of Marseilles danced in their heads.

Vive la République! Vive la France!

Smith Street honored Bastille Day

There were ramps and platforms for the skateboard exhibition

Skateboarders showed their best moves

The street was covered in sand and divided into petanque courts

Eighty teams competed in the petanque tournament

Who doesn’t love a sport that can be played while smoking?

Local restaurants sold food under tents (this is Coco Roco)

A restaurant made pizza in the street

Outside bar at Bar Tabac

The replica guillotine featured a bloody blade

Brooklyn Eagle: Bastille Day Comes To Smith Street
Petanque
Ricard Pastis

Where Every Night is New Year’s Eve

While most of us have watched the Times Square New Year’s Eve celebrations on television, joining the festivities in person can be daunting. Those who manage to attend must pass through extensive security checkpoints, stand in the cold for hours, tolerate being crushed in an enormous crowd and having no access to public restrooms.

Fortunately, there is another way to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Times Square. In fact, you can join the festivities anytime, even in the middle of summer.

A series of mosaics entitled The Revelers was installed in the Times Square subway station in 2007. Created by Jane Dickson, the work is installed in several busy underground passages. It portrays 70 life-size partygoers boisterously welcoming in the New Year with hats, noisemakers and confetti.

They make it possible to join Times Square’s New Year’s Eve festivities every day — and night — of the year.

Celebrating with the kids

Laughing

Revelers meet in a corner

Kicking up their heels

Holding the baby aloft

Dressed in blue and red

A hug to bring in the year

With open arms

A kiss for luck

Tooting a horn

Arm in arm

In a green coat

Holding a hat and noisemaker

In a fancy hat and high heels

Blowing into a noisemaker

Holding a child’s hand

Dancing

In a red hat

Jumping for joy

In a miniskirt

With a real kid

On piggyback

Pace University: Professor Dickson’s ‘Revelers” Bring Party Underground
Harvard Magazine: Underground Party
Frequently Asked Questions about New Year’s Eve in Times Square

Dyke March NYC

Now in its 17th year, the Dyke March NYC is a protest, not a parade. The people who participate in this annual event are motivated by a desire to increase their visibility and make their voices heard.

Thousands of dykes take over the streets every year in celebration of lesbians and to protest against ongoing discrimination, harassment, and anti-lesbian violence in schools, on the job, in our families, and on the streets.

The march goes down Fifth Avenue from Bryant Park to Washington Square. While the organizers never obtain permits for the march, the NYPD takes a rather benevolent view. All along the route, police officers block traffic, pose for photos, wave and generally enjoy Dyke March duty.

Even though it rained during most of the march, one police officer remarked, “Watching these women is the highlight of my week.” I hope you agree.

Police cars lead the way

Police and marshalls stop traffic

Here come the marchers

Drummers keep the beat

The rain didn’t dampen spirits

Finally, the storm tapered off

Marchers were drenched but happy

Very happy

Some were silly, too

Kids also participated

NYPD posing and grinning

Spectators’ signs were wet but legible

Marchers carried signs, too

You don’t need a sign to carry a message

A marshall in her “uniform”

Dancing in the street

A couple with a message

Walking in the sunshine

Visibility was important

So was togetherness

Her shirt says “I love my two moms”

The march ended at Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village

These marchers were inspired by the Village People

The mood in the park was celebratory

And triumphant

Rainbows appeared everywhere

Even on flags

Veterans of past marches sat and sang together

Even visitors to the city showed their pride

Dyke March

The thrill is gone

Michael Joseph Jackson, the world’s most famous entertainer, has died at the age of 50. I’ve been a fan of his music just about forever; I remember a big family event I attended years ago where I sat around a table with my cousins, arguing about whether or not Thriller was the greatest album ever recorded. The very first song I loaded onto my very first iPod was Michael Jackson’s Ben, the greatest love song ever dedicated to a rat. 

A year ago I attended Thriller Night, a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the video for Thriller. The evening included an appearance by John Landis, director of the ground-breaking short, a stage filled with zombie dancers and two Michael Jackson imitators who showed up unannounced. After a few minutes of competing for the spotlight, they peacefully posed together for me.

You can read my account of Thriller Night is here and see the very shaky video I shot here.

Michael Jackson: Thriller, 25th Anniversary Recording Remastered
Michael Jackson: Video Greatest Hits – HIStory
Michael Jackson: Ben

Fannie’s book finds a new home

A few months ago I was walking past a thrift store when I noticed several cartons full of books piled on the sidewalk. The shop was emptying their shelves for a special event and giving away the items they deemed unsalable.

It was starting to rain, so I glanced through the books, selected three that appeared interesting, stuffed them into my bag, and hurried home. When I got inside I gave them a closer look. One of the books was about classical music (I gave it to a musician friend), another was about vitamins (it turned out to be too wet to save).

The third book, however, was something else entirely: dark, small and slim, in rather poor condition with the words “Album of Love” embossed on the cover. I picked it up, flipped it open, saw a name, Fannie C. Ashmore, written inside the cover and an illustration on the first page followed by quite a few blank pages.

I assumed that it was a fancy old blank notebook or an empty photo album, but when I looked further, I saw that some of the pages did have writing — spidery words formed with an old-fashioned fountain pen. The inscriptions (mostly poetry) were by several different hands, but all of the messages were addressed to Fannie, and I realized that it was some sort of autograph or friendship book.

A few items were tucked between the pages: a scrap of paper with Fannie’s name and town, Trenton, New Jersey, one of her calling cards, a bit of a dried fern and two newspaper clippings concerning the death of Alexander B. Green of the Fourteenth New Jersey Volunteers, who lived in Ewing and died in the battle of Monocacy Junction “in his youth, away from home … in the fierceness of battle.”

One of the inscriptions in the book was to Fannie from her “coz, Alex G,” and with a bit of online research I learned that Alexander B. Green of the Fourteenth New Jersey Volunteers died July 5, 1864 and is buried near Trenton at the Ewing Church Cemetery.

I couldn’t imagine how the book that was once so important to Fannie wound up in a thrift store, or why it was discarded, or even how it managed to make its way to this city, but I thought that the little Civil War era book would be of value to someone. Unfortunately, I don’t know who, or where, or how to find them.

Over the past few months, I’ve tried to locate an historical society, museum, or similar instituation where the book would be appreciated, but the places I contacted never seemed to be quite the right fit. A couple of people offered to “take it off my hands,” but I didn’t want the recipient to act as though they were doing me a big favor — I wanted it to go to someone who’d be happy to have it.

Finally, it occurred to me to offer the book to the library in Trenton, Fannie’s hometown. I had a long conversation with a librarian who told me that similar books were a fad among the girls who attended the Normal School (a teacher’s college) in Trenton around the time of the American Civil War. She was delighted to accept my offer and will be giving Fannie’s little book a safe and secure new home in the Research Department’s Trentoniana Collection. She also expressed her hope that somehow, someday, a descendant will walk into the library and ask to see Fannie’s little book.

Perhaps, someday, they will. Who knows? Stranger things have happened.

Front cover

Fannie C. Ashmore

Beauty

Album of Love

Autographs

To Fannie from “your affectionate cousin”

“The clear, cold question chills to frozen doubt …”

“Your sincere friend, Mary F. Sheppard”

The Mountain Sprite

Dried fern

To Fannie from J.J.S.

“To Fannie, Trenton, April 14th 1861″

Light of the Harem

“Ever your loving cousin, CMG”

“Remember me when far away …”

“A despatch, received from Alexander B. Green, of Ewing, by his wife, on Saturday night …”

From the State Gazette, lines of the death of Sergeant A.G.

“Still think of Alex G”

Fannie C. Ashmore, Trenton, New Jersey

Trenton Free Public Library
14th New Jersey Volunteer Regiment
New Jersey Civil War History Association: History of the 14th Regiment
National Park Service: Monocacy National Battlefield
Friends of the William Green Farmhouse: Alexander B. Green
Report of State Normal School, Trenton, 1864

The 31st Annual Museum Mile Festival

There are two things I dislike about the Museum Mile Festival:

1) It happens only once a year.
2) It lasts only three hours.

There simply isn’t enough time to take in everything that happens during this event which stretches along Fifth Avenue from 82nd Street to 105th Street — 23 blocks offering nine museums (all providing free admission) along with concerts, clowns, jugglers, face painters, and arts and crafts projects.

In past years I’ve started at the lower end, near the Metropolitan Museum of Art at 82nd Street, and attempted to work my way up but never made it past the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum at 91st Street. This time I decided to start at the northern end of the festival, heading down from El Museo del Barrio at 105th Street.

Unlike the rest of the institutions on museum mile, El Museo does not have its own building. Instead, it is one of variety of Latino arts organizations housed in the massive, block-filling, neo-Georgian Heckscher Building at 1230 Fifth Avenue (other tenants include the Raíces Latin Music Museum Collection of Harbor Conservatory and La Casa de la Herencia Cultural Puertorriqueña).

Although El Museo is currently closed for renovations, the Latin-flavored music issuing from their loudspeakers inspired passersby to dance in the street. Inside the Heckscher Building, through corridors of worn linoleum and flickering florescent lights, they offered a mask-making workshop, a salsa jam session, and promises that they will reopen in the fall.

The next stop was across the street to the Museum of the City of New York, which is charged with a “unique mandate: to explore the past, present, and future of this fascinating and particular place and to celebrate its heritage of diversity, opportunity, and perpetual transformation. A variety of exhibitions, public programs, and publications all investigate what gives New York City its singular character.”

The current programs are tied to NY400: Holland on the Hudson, a celebration of the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the Dutch. In 1609 the Half Moon, guided by Captain Henry Hudson, landed on the shores of what is now New York City. Hudson’s arrival led to the establishment of New Amsterdam and the New Netherland colony.

This was my first visit to the museum and, while I was eager to rejoin the celebrations outside, I couldn’t drag myself away from the programs including exhibits about Manhattan before Hudson’s arrival, the Dutch city, and the acapella concert by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus.

I kept checking my watch, thinking that I was missing the rest of the festival, but remaining unwilling to leave as I learned about the many Dutch influences that continue to touch our lives in New York City today. I lingered at a map that shows areas of the city with their original Dutch names: Breuckelen (Brooklyn), Vlackebos (Flatbush), Boswijck (Bushwick), Conijne Eylandt (Coney Island), Midwout (Midwood), Nieuw Utrecht (New Utrecht). I listened to recordings based on diaries and letters written by the Dutch colonists. I gazed at the rare artifacts, books, manuscripts, maps and globes.

I stayed until the museum was ready to lock its doors for the night. When I got back to the street, the festival was over. The street had reopened to traffic and a few stragglers were using discarded pieces of chalk to make their marks on the sidewalks and walls.

Perhaps next year I’ll take in more than one or two museums during the festival. Then again, perhaps not. Why rush to “get through” a good experience?

I once read a highly-recommended guide to Paris by Rick Steves which included instructions on how to see the Louvre Museum in less than an hour (maintain a brisk pace and glace at certain key works in case your friends back home ask what you thought of, say, the Mona Lisa). When I got to Paris I ditched the book and spent an entire day inside the Louvre, lingering after dark to watch the skateboarders clattering on the stairs and terraces above the Seine. The “in a hurry” crowd never knew what they missed.

Dancing in the middle of Fifth Avenue

Drawing in the street

Another little artist

Inside the Heckscher Building

Jam session in El Museo del Barrio

Viewing the NY400 exhibits

Photographs of Dutch citizens

Moving up and down the stairway

Exploring the galleries

A figure originally used to hold a compass on a ship

Looking at Dutch photographs of New Yorkers

A guide to Nieu-Nederlandt

Viewing a video about New York history

Map of New Amsterdam

Inside the galleries

The crowd straggles out of the Museum of the City of New York

Writing on the walls with chalk

Chalk message on a museum wall

Annual Museum Mile Festival
El Museo del Barrio
Museum of the City of New York
NY Times: Voyaging Up the Hudson to Rediscover the Dutch
NY400
New York City Gay Men’s Chorus

Greek Festival in Downtown Brooklyn

The metal signs were propped up on the sidewalk. The flags and banners were hung from the awning. The street was closed, the carnival attractions arrived and the tables and chairs were assembled outside the front door. Most importantly, the yayas (grandmothers) were cooking. And cooking. And cooking.

It was time once again for the festival run in Downtown Brooklyn by Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Now in its 32nd year, the annual week-long event is one of the biggest fund raisers for the church that has stood here since 1916.

The cathedral is more than just a place of worship; for nearly 100 years, it has served as the center of Greek life in Brooklyn. Many parishioners cheerfully put their business affairs aside for the week and devote their labors to ensure the festival’s success. The attractions include a “white elephant” sale and gift shop, music, kiddie rides and, of course, the food. The barbeques for gyros, souvlaki and grilled octopus were set up in the street, the trays filled with moussaka, pasticio, dolmades, spanakopita, keftedes and pastries — all based on old family recipes — were on the tables under the tent.

The music played, the kids giggled and ran, the younger people manned the grills, the yayas kept an eye on the money box while serving heaping helpings of everything and the men, just as they do in Greece, sat together swapping stories, making plans and watching the passing scene. Oopa!

A sign on Court Street

Tables set up on the asphalt

Cooking the meat for gyros

Grilled souvlaki

Assembling a gyro

Yayas inside the tent

A tray of desserts

The carnival attractions help raise money

The neighborhood kids love winning prizes

The Greek Orthodox of Cathedral of Sts. Constantine and Helen
Recipe: Moussaka
Recipe: Pasticio
Recipe: Dolmades
Recipe: Spanakopita
Recipe: Cat Cora’s Keftedes

Ecuafest!

It was an overcast day and I was heading home when a police officer mentioned that I should stick around because Ecuafest was about to start.

Ecuafest? Ecuawho? Ecuawhat?

The police couldn’t tell me much more, only that they had just been assigned to work at the Ecuadoran parade that would soon head down Central Park West. So I stayed and watched the event from beginning to end.

It was tiny, as parades in New York go: a single vendor selling souvenirs, a couple of dancing groups, a couple of beauty queens, some handful of politicians with sashes across their chests and a couple of vehicles decorated with flags and banners.

The biggest attraction was a man dressed in a summer white suit who was surrounded by bodyguards. His arrival created all the pandemonium the small group of spectators could create, as young and old scrambled to take his photo, obtain his autograph, pose beside him and shake his hand. I didn’t recognize him, but I realized that he was some sort of star. Later I learned that he was Alex Aguinaga, hailed as one of the best Ecuadorian footballers of all time.

The promoters of Ecuafest (I later found it advertised on Craigslist) promised that it would go for two and a half hours, but the entire parade lasted less than half an hour, colorful, peaceful, short and sweet.

Please join us as we celebrate Ecuafest 2009, the third annual observance of the Ecuadorian Independence in the city of New York. The National Ecuadorian Day Parade will initiate this year’s festivities on Sunday, May 17th. Showcasing the largest array of Ecuadorian traditions in the form of dances and colorful floats. It will move along Central Park West from 110th Street to its routes end at the corner of 96th Street from 12:30PM-3:00PM.

QUE VIVA EL ECUADOR!!!!!!!!!!

Selling souvenirs

Waiting for the parade to start

Alone but enthusiastic

Here come the sashes

A politician and a pretty girl

Álex Aguinaga and his bodyguards

Aguinaga and a fan

Dancing down the street

The dance group moves in step

Young dancers watch a more experienced group

Beauty queen in an open car

Skirts swirling in the air

Men wearing traditional costumes

A vehicle in the parade

Álex Aguinaga
Ecuafest Web site
Ecuafest on Craigslist