Park Avenue Shut Down Traffic Free Event

My New York City people get ready for three Saturdays( August 7 – August 21, 2010) this month. Park Avenue and connecting streets will be closed to traffic and open to the PUBLIC! From 7am to 1pm the public can do anything on the streets of Park Avenue, from bike riding to strolling to dancing.

BUT WAIT! Word is that you will also be able to swim. This year includes clean, unused shipping containers that have been transformed into three swimming pools, which will be located near Grand Central Terminal. The pool is free to the public as well, but admissions bracelets will be handed out on a first-come, first-served basis.

So, if you happen to be on Park Avenue and seem to hear less noise from the traffic....don't say I didn't warn you!

Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival

This past weekend it was a celebration of Hip-Hop in Brooklyn. The festivities and the culture of Hip Hop was all celebrated by many Hip-Hop lovers from all ages to all races. This happened to be the 6th annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, in which Brooklyn Bodega continues to bring to Dumbo, Brooklyn every year so far.

There were great performances from new artists like Curren$y and Fashawn, to performances from Hip Hop legends like Pete Rock and CL Smooth. While time had wined down, the crowd was ready to see the headliners of the show De La Soul who put on a GREAT PERFORMANCE!
Although, I worked with a friend Rhonesha (who you guys probably heard of by now) throughout the festival doing some press I enjoyed myself. I think this added to the experience because not only did I learn how work the camera, as if I was a NBC cameraman (haha), but I got a chance to interact and hear from Hip Hop fans, along with Hip Hop legends and upcoming artists. Oh yea, I have a bigger respect for journalist, as well as others who are part of the press because of this experience. If I told y'all what we went through to get some interviews or just to get backstage....you would too! I think our best achievement was finally getting backstage and getting Uncle Ralph off the stage for a interview, which had wrapped up our long day!Despite the rain and humidity throughout the day, the festival was great! I look forward to next year and the year after. This event is a classic event that screams Hip Hop, but shows the true Brooklyn beauty as it is held underneath the Brooklyn Bridge!
To see part of Rhonesha's project checkout: NBC Blog. I will keep you guys updated when the video is released.

Brooklyn's Wingate & Coney Island Free Summer Concerts

The summer is here and we know in Brooklyn that means FREE CONCERTS AT WINGATE PARK! It's the 28th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series performances, which are held Monday nights at 7:30 pm. For more information visit 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Concert Series. Here's the schedule of the artists that are planned to hit the stage:

July 12- George Clinton & Parliament/Funkadelic The Ohio Player
July 19- An Evening with Toni Braxton
July 26- Musiq Soulchild, Crisette Michele
August 2- Old School Night Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty By Nature, Slick Rick
August 9- An Evening with Aretha Franklin
August 16- Gospel Night Bebe & Cece Winans. Fred Hammond
August 23- Carribean Night Sean Paul, The Mighty Sparrow

For Coney Island 32nd Annual Seaside Summer Concert Series performances are held Thursday nights at 7:30 pm. As for additional information, visit 2010 Seaside Summer Concert Series. Here's a diverse set of artists that are planned to perform in the Coney Island area:

July 15- Neil Sedaka Brenda Lee
July 22- The Beach Boys The Happy Together Tour
July 29- George Thorogood & The Destroyers Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes
August 5- An Evening with John Legend
August 12- An Evening with Aretha Franklin
August 19 -TBA Belinda Carlisle
August 26- TBA Latino Music by the Sea

*Remember to arrive early especially if the artist is known for having a very large fan base.

Beginning with Children Foundation Gala Event

Summer time + heat + life= hard to update regularly. Please forgive me.

Anyways, last week I was invited to a gala to celebrate something that has influenced me to be the young woman I am today. The gala was for the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Beginning with Children Foundation and the founders, Joe and Carol Reich.

Joe and Carol Reich were two successful individuals who decided one day to make an investment in education. To do this they created a partnership with New York City Board of Education, the United Federation of Teachers, and Pfizer Inc, as well as received help from sponsors throughout the years. As the school continue to gr0w (might I add I was the third class to graduate and was the first biggest class to graduate, which was around 48 students), it was converted to a charter school requested by the Chancellor of the City of New York. This made Beginning with Children one of the first K-8 public charter schools in New York State.

Beginning with Children Charter School or B.W.C as many of the alumni and students would call it, played...well still plays an important role in my life. Yes, they used to spoiled us as children to parties at Pfizer, to having our own little private park in the middle of Bed-Stuy/Williamsburg area, to family picnics, to trips to Cornell University to Washington D.C., and I can go on but I'll leave it at etc. Although, I have become an alumni to B.W.C I am not forgotten and so are many other alumni because to this day they still spoil us with opportunities. Great opportunities like college preparation and tours, workshops, paid internships/jobs, and again I can go on.

I had a lovely time at the gala. I met some great important people and I seen some old teachers, along with seeing some great old friends. One of B.W.C. first graduates, Omar Lopez hosted the event. He's a Harvard graduate who is already on his road to success, but he has also shown a obvious love to giving back to his community and where he came from. Omar is currently teaching at a charter high school, but did announce he will be teaching next year at B.W.C new sister school Community Partnership Charter School.
Wow!!! Beginning with Children has come a long way, but I can't forget one of my mentors and the woman who helped kept the foundation of B.W.C together, Sonia Oritz-Gulardo. She has done so much for me and many of the students of B.W.C. She was my first principal who told me when I was wrong, but she was also one of the first individuals to see something in me. I remember I had a conflict that needed to be discussed in the principal's office, which was her office. I spoke and expressed myself so well about the situation, and I knew this because Ms. G (as we call her) expressed this to me. It was good hearing this from someone who knew me as a shy little girl who have watched me grow into a more outspoken young girl. Haha, now those who know me today know I am very outspoken!

Overall, this event brought back so many memories that I had to try my best to hold back so many tears, especially when Ms. G shed a few tears as she shared a wonderful speech about B.W.C with us.

Drake Free Performance

For those of you who are wondering about the details and the buzz about Drake performing tonight at the South Street Seaport here's the info: