Category: Holidays

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

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

November 08 2019

New York Celebrates the 93rd Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

When Macy’s department store hosted their first Thanksgiving parade in New York in 1924, no one was sure exactly how the public would respond. The parade, which consisted of whimsically costumed store employees, live musical entertainment, elaborate floats, and actual living animals (graciously lent by Central Park Zoo), was an enormous success, attracting 250,000 spectators to the parade route. Each year since then, except for a short stint during WWII, Macy’s has hosted its Thanksgiving Day Parade. Today, the parade … Read More