National Puerto Rican Day Parade 2009 on June 14, 2009

New York's Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade is fastly approaching. The event will take place June 14, 2009 at 11:00 am along 5th Ave. This event is known world wide & people come from many different countries & states to view the festivities. Many well known Peurto Rican stars join as well: including Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Fat Joe Etc.

The first New York Puerto Rican Day Parade was held in "El Barrio" in Manhattan. Amongst its founders were; José "Chuito" Caballero, Peter Ortiz, Luisa Quintero, Victor López, Luis Amando Feliciano, Vicente Hernández, Angel M. Arroyo, Atanacio Rivera Feliciano, y Amalio Maisanave Ríos. Its first President was Victor López and it was coordinated by José Caballero. The Grand Marshall was Oscar González Suarez, Esq. Prominent personalites from Puerto Rico headed by then Governor Don Luis Muñoz Marin, attended the initial parade. Several Mayors from Puerto Rico, led by the Mayor of the Municipality of Corozal, Hon. Leo Cabranes also participated. In 1995 we felt that it was time to expand this event to the national scene, reminding Puerto Ricans throughout the country of their heritage and fostering the positive image of our people. An example of the national interest in this expansion effort is the participation of delegations from thirty-one states, including Alaska and Hawaii in the 1999 Parade. The National Puerto Rican Day Parade is the successor to the New York Puerto Rican Day Parade, an event that operated for thirty-eight (38) consecutive years, enhancing the pride of the Puerto Rican people and promoting their contributions to the United States. The National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc., a nonprofit 501 ( c )(3) corporation founded in 1995, has been created to provide Puerto Ricans throughout the United States and all its possessions with a vehicle for the promotion of our people and their culture in a national setting. Its founding members were; Dr. Ramón S. Vélez, Ralph Morales, María Román and Madelyn Lugo. The National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc. was established to create a national awareness and appreciation of Puerto Rican culture and its contribution to the culture and society of the United States. In addition, it promotes the study, improvement, and/or advancement of Puerto Rican culture and the arts by encouraging, promoting, coordinating, developing, managing and participating in various cultural events, including musical productions, plays art exhibits, and the conduct of parades in the City of New York and throughout the United States. Our mission is to enhance the self-esteem of our people and use their pride to promoted economic development, education, cultural recognition, and advancement. We know that we must emphasize the achievements made by thousands of Puerto Ricans in business, government, and industry to encourage our youth to achieve their dreams and ambitions through education and hard work. The Parade, televised for three hours, achieves the highest Nielsen rating for stations in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area. More than 80,000 participants marched with delegations from the towns of Puerto Rico and various states across the nation. The Parade is attended by an average of more than 2 million people along its route making it one of the largest outdoor events in the United States. The Parade is shown on New York Metropolitan area Spanish television stations and via satellite, throughout the world, making it a truly international event. The Parade up Fifth Avenue, while certainly the most visible aspect of the celebration of the culture and heritage of the Puerto Rican People, is not the only event associated with The National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Inc.'s activities. More than 10,000 people each year attend a variety of Parade related award ceremonies, banquets and cultural events. At the same time, by educating our future Puerto Rican generations in the United States, about their history we will be promoting pride in our roots, culture, and traditions and further promote the empowerment in leadership and self-esteem.

This is information was taken from: http://www.nationalpuertoricandayparade.org/index.html
Also to get more information about event days & times please see the above site.

New York Photo Festival 2009- May 15-17, 2009- NYPH"09

Following up on its successful debut in May 2008, the New York Photo Festival is pleased to announce the exhibition dates for 2009 and its Festival Curators.

The inaugural event in May 2008 was a surprise hit, and it delivered on the promise of presenting the “Future of Contemporary Photography” through the efforts of world-class curators and selected artists. The NYPH08 Festival Curators, Kathy Ryan, Martin Parr, Lesley A. Martin and Tim Barber, delivered four stunning exhibitions dealing with everything from the ubiquity of imagery to typologies to artistic expression in photography. The New York Photo Festival has successfully filled the need for a large-scale, international cultural event in New York City dedicated to contemporary photography.

As part of its commitment to pushing the boundaries of contemporary photography, the festival organizers have selected the following Festival Curators for NYPH’09: William A. Ewing, Jody Quon, Chris Boot, and Jon Levy. These world-renowned curators all bring their personal visions of the newest and most important trends in contemporary photography to the main pavilions of the New York Photo Festival 2009. “The NYPH’09 Festival Curators were selected for their decisive and innovative approaches to curating, editing, sequencing, and showcasing the varied work of the medium in ways that continually surprise and inspire those of us in the photography industry and the creative cultural public at large,” say New York Photo Festival Founders and Co-Chairmen Frank Evers and Daniel Power.

Book Expo America in New York City May 28-31, 2009

The Authors. The Books. The Trends. The Buzz.
Join Us at BEA—Where the World of Publishing Comes Together.
Join us at the new and reformatted BEA—the premier event for the North American publishing industry. This year, you'll benefit from quality over quantity, seeing and learning exactly what you need to survive today's changing industry and challenging economy. Meet 500+ authors and discover hundreds of new titles on a Show floor bristling with 1,500 exhibitors (check out BEA Exhibitor Show Specials) and featuring the NEW Downtown Stage and Uptown Stage and the ever popular BEA Autographing Area. Learn the trends during 60+ focused sessions at the NEW "Big Ideas at BEA" Conference and don’t miss this year’s Global Market Forum: Books & Publishing in the Arab World. Experience the buzz of the book business at dynamic Special Events (buy your Special Events Tickets now). Conduct rights business at the largest North American International Rights Center . And enjoy NEW Show floor amenities such as more seating and places to eat. All of this, plus all of New York City —the publishing capital of the world and where BEA will be held until 2012.

For more information please see: http://www.bookexpoamerica.com/

Easter in New York City- Easter Parade and Eggstravaganza

Easter Parade, New York City

The Easter Parade along Fifth Avenue from 49th to 57th Streets is a wonderful celebration of strolling in Easter finery. Bonnets are taken to an extreme that only New Yorkers can reach; also expect to see live rabbits, pet snakes, flowers, clowns, and more. The street is closed to traffic for parade participants and people watchers from roughly 10am until 4pm.

Services nearby:

St. Patrick's Cathedral, 50th Street and 5th Avenue
Saint Thomas Church, 53rd Street and 5th Avenue8:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m.: Solemn

Eucharist2:30 p.m. Organ Recital by Judith Hancock and Thomas Bara3:00 p.m. Solemn Evensong with Britten's Rejoice in the Lamb, Op. 30

5th Avenue Presbyterian Church 55th Street and 5th Avenue8:00 a.m. Communion Service9:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Festival Services3:00 p.m. Concert in the Chapel

Easter Eggstravaganza in Central Park Saturday, March 30, 11:00am to 3:00pm
Takes place in the Lower 40 Acres, from Bethesda fountain south. Enter at 72nd street on either side of the park.

The 56th Easter Eggstravaganza, entirely free, is older than their parents are, and with each year the festivities breed and multiply. This year there'll be the city's largest egg hunt and an egg roll race — who can spoon their wooden egg across the lawn the fastest? Kids will build their own Easter baskets at the Jelly Belly Build Your Own Basket venue, and their parents can fill them with fresh produce from the greenmarket.

There'll be plenty of bunnies at the petting zoo and walkabout characters to be petted too. With so much ground to cover, families may want to borrow rollerblades for free. They can skate over to the puppet show and face painting, or check out performances at the bandshell by Broadway and children's theatre artists.

Information from: NY.com http://www.ny.com/holiday/easter/

Picture from: About.com http://z.about.com/d/gonyc/1/0/c/G/easter2006_0331.jpg

New York Yankees - The Bronx Bombers

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1901 as the Baltimore Orioles, and moved to New York City in 1903, becoming known as the New York Highlanders before being officially renamed the "Yankees" in 1913.[3] From 1923 to 2008, the Yankees' home was Yankee Stadium. In 2009, they are scheduled to move into a new stadium, also to be called "Yankee Stadium".[4]

The Yankees are one of the wealthiest and most successful professional sporting teams in the world.[5] The franchise leads Major League Baseball in both revenue and titles, with 26 World Series championships and 39 American League Pennants. They have more championships than any other North American franchise in professional sports history, passing the 24 Stanley Cup championships by the Montreal Canadiens in 1999.

Photo taken from http://flickr.com/photos/javierucles/177899448/
Info taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronx_Bombers

The Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the United States, stretches 5,989 feet (1825 m)[1] over the East River, connecting the New York City boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn (on Long Island). Upon completion, it was the longest suspension bridge in the world, the first steel-wire suspension bridge, and the first bridge to connect to Long Island. Originally referred to as the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, it was dubbed the Brooklyn Bridge in an 1867 letter to the editor of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle,[2] and formally so named by the city government in 1915. Since its opening, it has become an iconic part of the New York skyline. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964.

Info and Photo Taken From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_bridge