Bronx Week 2010 kicked off yesterday, May 12, but fear not — all you’ve missed so far was a press conference.
This year’s festive celebration of the borough will include 22 events in only 12 days and culminate in a busy, exciting Grand Finale on Sunday, May 23.
“This time we have organized even more events, while keeping the traditional ones, to celebrate the beauty, culture, talent and development of our neighborhoods,” said Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. “No Bronxite should stay home during these many days full of activities.”
Doris Quiñones, executive director of the Bronx Tourism Council, said that this year, for the first time, Bronx Week has been moved up one month earlier.
“We moved it from June to May to make it easier for schools to participate,” she said. “Eighty schools are already scheduled to march in the parade on Sunday, May 23.”
That day is the Grand Finale, which is the big culmination of Bronx Week. In addition to the parade, which starts at noon on Mosholu Parkway, that night will be the famous Bronx Ball, at which the borough’s best and brightest show up in formal attire to dance the night away. This year the ball is under a huge tent at Orchard Beach at 6 p.m. and, as in the past, will have a red carpet, Bronx high school cheerleaders, and will kick off when Borough President Diaz honors a special few.
This year, the honorees are public service pioneer Herman Badillo, Essence Magazine founder and chairman Ed Lewis, beloved American singer Jerry Vale, and Joanie Madden and Cerish the Ladies, an all-female Celtic music group that performs internationally.
Of course, that’s the end of the week. Before Grand Finale Day will come a slew of events from parades to speeches, concerts to information fairs. One interesting new addition this year will be a Social Media Fair on Tuesday, May 18 at 8:30 a.m. at the Bronx Zoo’s Schiff Family Great Hall. Local businesspeople will learn more about how to use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to benefit their company.
This year’s two gold sponsors of Bronx Week are Montefiore Medical Center and Health Plus, which has influenced the schedule significantly and as a result, many events have some sort of health element. For example, on Arts and Culture Day (Wednesday, May 19) at noon on the steps of the Bronx County Building there will be a Zumba fitness demonstration. Montefiore will also offer Body Mass index tests and vision exams that day.
Other events in the week to come include: Homeowners Forum, at which Borough President Diaz and Senator Jeff Klein will help people manage their mortgages in a tough economy (6:30 ,p.m. Thursday, May 13 at Fordham University); Bronx Day at the New York Botanical Garden (all day Saturday, May 15); a tour of the borough’s many green roofs (10 a.m. Monday, May 17, meet at the Bronx County Building); premiere of the documentary film “Grandmother to Grandmother: New York to Tanzania” (9:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 19 at the Concourse Multiplex Cinemas); and Bike to Work, a ceremonial ride down Grand Concourse (meet 7 a.m., Friday, May 21, at Poe Cottage).
For a full schedule and event details visit IlovetheBronx.com and click on Bronx Week.
