Category: Family Friendly

March 02 2020

Celebrating Saint Patrick since 1762

Though Ireland’s patron saint never set foot in the Americas, the very first Saint Patrick’s Day Parade took place right here in New York City just over two-and-a-half centuries ago, when a band of Irish soldiers serving in the British Army decided to celebrate the Feast Day of Saint Patrick by marching through the streets. Since then, the New York celebration has grown to become one of the most impressive annual parades in the world, featuring around 150,000 marchers and … Read More

February 03 2020

Great American Firsts: The New York Philharmonic

One of the cultural capitals of the world, New York City is responsible for a great many American firsts. One of those firsts is the New York Philharmonic, the oldest of the “Big Five” orchestras in North America, which has now been delighting audiences for 178 years. Other firsts the Philharmonic has given us include the American premiere of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in 1846, the world premiere of Dvořák’s New World Symphony in 1893, the world premiere of Gershwin’s An … Read More

December 02 2019

The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center

When Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker debuted on a chilly December evening in 1892 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre of Saint Petersburg, critical and popular reception was, to put it kindly, tepid. The much shorter suite, however, comprising around 20 minutes of the total score, proved more popular and kept The Nutcracker from fading into oblivion in subsequent years. Then, over half a century later, in 1944, something remarkable happened. The San Francisco Ballet staged the full ballet for … Read More