The Central Park Blog

Central Park Film Festival 2010

John Moore — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 05:49:00 PDT

Central Park Film Festival 2010

Okay, the 2010 Central Park Movie Schedule has finally been released for five nights, Aug. 24-28. All together an interesting line up adhering to the “Iconic New York” theme. I’m holding out hope that “King Kong” is the original and not the remake, which comes in at over three hours, although the most recent version does have a vey cute Central Park scene. Unfortunately two of the best movies are pitted against each other on the 28th, in my opinion both are vastly superior to the subway hijacking re-make.

Viewers’ Choice – Visit WABC-TV through August 15 to cast your vote for Serendipity or Manhattan. We’ll announce the winner here, as well as on the WABC-TV site.

The eighth annual festival will be held for the first time in the landscape north of Sheep Meadow, behind Mineral Springs (mid-Park at 69th Street). Enter the Park at 72nd Street.

All screenings begin at 8:00 pm, rain or shine. Gates open to the public at 6:30 pm. Bring a picnic!

Tuesday, August 24: Fame Wednesday, August 25: The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 Thursday, August 26: Saturday Night Fever Friday, August 27: King Kong Saturday, August 28: Viewers’ Choice

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Urban Parks Lecture At The Arsenal

John Moore — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:36:33 PDT

The Arsenal in Central Park

For many years, urban parks across the U.S. sank into decay and disuse. However, as cities have begun to rebound — and as evidence of the economic, cultural, and health benefits of parks grows — investment in these valuable facilities has swelled. Many new parks are being built in surprising places, like rooftops, old railyards, highway decks, covered reservoirs and widened stream valleys – and the leader in the movement is New York City. By serving duty as everything from community gardens to schoolyard parks to cemeteries-for-the-living to recreational retention ponds, the urban parks movement is transforming cities for residents, families, commuters and visitors alike.

Peter Harnik is director of the Center for City Park Excellence at the Trust for Public Land in Washington, D.C. He will read from and talk about his new book, Urban Green: Innovative Parks for Resurgent Cities, showing the newest ways that “all built out” cities can add much-needed parkland.

This lecture is being co-presented with the Department of Parks & Recreation’s Common Ground lecture series and will be followed by a reception in the Arsenal’s roof garden. Seating is limited, and RSVPs are required. Please email rsvp@parks.nyc.gov or call (212) 360-1324 to RSVP.

Canoe the Harlem Meer

John Moore — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:28:11 PDT

Canoe the Harlem Meer . . . → Read More: Canoe the Harlem Meer

Comedy Central at SummerStage

John Moore — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 20:24:07 PDT

Last Wednesday marked the 4th annual Comedy Central Festival at SummerStage in Central Park and, in my humble opinion, it was the best. Outside of having the illustrious host of the nightly fake news program, Jon Stewart, himself on hand the show included all of my favorite contributors to the Daily Show over the past year. . . . → Read More: Comedy Central at SummerStage

Jovanotti at SummerStage

John Moore — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:09:05 PDT

Jovanotti

While Italian hip-hop may initially seem as intuitive as Scottish opera, a quick check of YouTube reveals Jovanotti’s music as an infectiously unpretentious blend of pop and African beats that will have SummerStage rocking this Saturday night. The free show features a convergence of pop superstars from Italy, Venezuela and Mexico that represent the global connectivity and collective ability to merge musical genres of dance, elctro, hip-hop and pop. Can haggis-rock be far behind?

Italian superstar Jovanotti is perhaps the best known pop/hip-hop artist in Italy’s history, regularly performing to sold-out stadium crowds throughout his native land. Jovanotti has consistently explored and integrated other musical genres such as folk, rock and even classical into his vast repertoire. He has proven to be as comfortable appearing on record with Pavarotti as with Bono. In July 2009, Jovanotti took a break from the stadium lights to do a run of small, decidedly stripped-down acoustic performances at intimate NYC and this marks his return to the big stage audiences expect.

Los Amigos Invisibles, originally from Venezuela, can always get a party started with their dance-inducing fusion of funk, disco and acid jazz. The band made a name for themselves in 1995 with their debut album A Typical Autoctonal Venezuelan Dance Band, which they performed live in a series of underground dance parties in abandoned clubs throughout Caracas. In 2009, the band released their seventh studio album, Commercial, a critical success that garnered the band a Latin Grammy for Best Latin Alternative Album.

. . . → Read More: Jovanotti at SummerStage