Lincoln Square has officially kicked off the holidays in dazzling style! At last week’s Magical Lights Ceremony, the Lincoln Square BID was joined by hundreds of people to turn on the Magical Lights and celebrate with live music, festive performances, giveaways, and good vibes (see great photos here!).

As a crowd gathered in Dante Park for the start of the ceremony, people of all ages delighted in festive circus acts. It was a chilly evening, but the crowd was kept warm with free samples of Mexican hot chocolate and churros from Rosa Mexicano, cookies from Le Botaniste, and specially-branded Holidays in Lincoln Square knit hats from the Lincoln Square BID. The BID also gave out glowing necklaces to children to add to the fun.

Talented students from the Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School Chorus started the ceremony with a heartwarming a capella performance. LSBID President Monica Blum then introduced our speakers, including Dynishal Gross, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services; Tricia Shimamura, Manhattan Borough Parks Commissioner; and Inspector Candida Pun-Sullivan, Commanding Officer of the 20th Precinct. We were also pleased to be joined by New York City Council Member Gale Brewer; LSBID Board Member representing the Manhattan Borough President’s Office, Ashley Fischer; LSBID Treasurer, local resident, and EVP of Global Holdings Wendy Mosler; LSBID Board Member and Owner of Color Me Mine Claudia Martinez Azzara; and LSBID Board Members and local residents Suzanne Davis and Gerry Creamer.

Then came the moment we were all waiting for: With a final countdown led by Monica Blum and a blast of confetti, the BID turned on the Magical Lights! These colorful, twinkling lights react in sync to music and the sounds you make as they dangle from the trees in Dante and Richard Tucker Parks. The Saints of Swing, an energetic jazz band, carried us into an evening of live music, dancing, and fun.

While the Magical Lights Ceremony is over, Holidays in Lincoln Square is just beginning! The Magical Lights will illuminate Dante (Broadway and 64th Street) and Richard Tucker (Broadway and 65th Street) Parks throughout the season, with light and sound shows happening each night starting at 4:30pm. Don’t miss your chance to see how the lights respond to recordings from the Metropolitan Opera and Jazz at Lincoln Center in Dante Park. Holidays in Lincoln Square continues with caroling with the Fabulous Fezziwigs (December 10, 11, 15, 16, and 18) and the fourth annual WinteRamble procession (Wednesday, December 17). Be sure to sign up for the WinteRamble to be part of this fun, community-oriented tradition! You can also find out about holiday events from the neighborhood’s businesses and cultural organizations at HolidaysinLincolnSquare.nyc.

UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (WABC) — Officials in Lincoln Square unveiled their interactive holiday lights installation on Thursday evening.

Lincoln Square’s Dante Park Lighting Installation Ceremony & Celebration featured live performances and the turning on of the holiday lights for the season.

The Saints of Swing, Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School Chorus, holiday-inspired circus acts including stilt walkers and others performed.

The ceremony kicks off a series of free, festive events.

Magical Lights will illuminate nightly in Dante Park and Richard Tucker Park through the new year.

It will feature audio-reactive lighting that will move in sync to new recordings from the Metropolitan Opera, including newly added tracks from the Met’s annual holiday presentation of The Magic Flute.

Additionally, 34 trees wrapped entirely with lights will shine along the 10 Broadway Malls from West 60th to 70th streets.

Local businesses offered light refreshments, including Rosa Mexicana, which warmed up guests with hot chocolate, and Le Botaniste, which provided fresh cookies.

Throughout December, the Fabulous Fezziwigs will wear their festive Victorian costumes and bring joy to Lincoln Square with their spirited caroling of timeless classics and contemporary holiday favorites.

Link to Original Story

By Mike Mishkin, I Love the Upper West Side

Lincoln Square is getting ready for a full slate of holiday programming, with the Lincoln Square BID rolling out a series of events throughout December. The season officially begins with the Magical Lights Ceremony on Thursday, December 4, at 4:30 p.m. in Dante Park (Broadway and West 64th Street).

This year’s kickoff features circus performances — including Princess Schneeflocken, stilt walkers, and jugglers — along with music by students from Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School Chorus. The Saints of Swing, known for their classic and eclectic repertoire, will follow.

The ceremony also marks the return of the BID’s audio-reactive light and sound displays, which will illuminate Dante and Richard Tucker Parks. The installations respond to clapping, singing, and ambient city sound, and in Dante Park, the lights will sync with recordings from the Metropolitan Opera and Jazz at Lincoln Center. The nightly light-and-sound shows begin at 4:30 p.m. and will run throughout the season.

Additional lighting has also been added along the Broadway Malls from 60th to 70th Street, where trees will be wrapped from trunk to branch.

Beyond opening night, the BID’s Holidays in Lincoln Square lineup includes the return of the WinteRamble, an illuminated procession featuring Frost Giant puppets created by Processional Arts Workshop. That takes place on Wednesday, December 17, and advance sign-ups are available online.

Caroling will also pop up across the neighborhood, with the Fabulous Fezziwigs scheduled to perform at rotating locations from 5:30–7:00 p.m. on seven dates: December 5, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, and 18. Locations will be announced on the BID’s social channels.

More details about this year’s programs — along with event listings and promotions from Lincoln Square businesses — can be found at HolidaysinLincolnSquare.nyc. Information is also available at the BID’s three information carts at Dante Park, Richard Tucker Park, and Columbus Circle.

Holidays in Lincoln Square, the Lincoln Square BID’s series of fun, festive events for the holiday season, kicks off with live music, exciting performances, and interactive elements for everyone to enjoy!

Join the Lincoln Square BID and WABC-TV for the Magical Lights Ceremony as we turn on the lights and celebrate the holiday season on Thursday, December 4, at 4:30pm at Dante Park (Broadway and West 64th Street). The fun begins with a showcase of classic circus acts with the enchanting Princess Schneeflocken and a pair of stilt walkers and jugglers. There will also be live music by talented students from Kaufman Music Center‘s Special Music School Chorus, followed by the Saints of Swing, an extraordinary collective of musicians specializing in eclectic selections of foot-tapping swing classics.

The Magical Lights Ceremony will be your first chance to see the return of the BID’s dazzling, audio-reactive light and sound displays. The Magical Lights respond to clapping, singing, and the noises of the city as they dangle from the trees in Dante and Richard Tucker Parks. The lights in Dante Park will also twinkle in sync with recordings from the Metropolitan Opera and Jazz at Lincoln Center. You will be able to hear this music nightly, beginning at 4:30pm, at our light and sound shows all season long. The lights don’t end there—in the Broadway Malls from 60th to 70th Street, there will be enhanced lights wrapped from their trunks all the way into their branches.

Our Holidays in Lincoln Square programming also includes the WinteRamble—an illuminated neighborhood procession with Frost Giant puppets from Processional Arts Workshop—on Wednesday, December 17. You can read all about the WinteRamble here and sign up using the form at this link. Caroling with the Fabulous Fezziwigs will take place at strategic locations across Lincoln Square from 5:30pm to 7:00pm on seven dates: Friday, December 5; Tuesday, December 9; Wednesday, December 10; Thursday, December 11; Monday, December 15; Tuesday, December 16; and Thursday, December 18. To find out the location of the performances, follow us @LincolnSquareNY.

Visit HolidaysinLincolnSquare.nyc for details about our events and links to events and promotions from businesses across Lincoln Square. Information can also be found at our three Information Carts at Dante Park (Broadway and West 64th Street), Richard Tucker Park (Broadway and West 66th Street), and Columbus Circle (Broadway and West 59th Street). Contact us at 212.581.3774 or info@lincolnsquarebid.org if you have any questions or to receive copies of the rack card to display at your business or property.

Photo Credit: Filip Wolak

It’s time to mark your calendars for Holidays in Lincoln Square!

Our Magical Lights at Dante and Richard Tucker Parks are coming back! The kick-off event will take place on Thursday, December 4, at Dante Park when we will light up Lincoln Square. Also save Wednesday, December 17, for our 4th Annual WinteRamble—an illuminated community procession with the Frost Giant puppets (pictured) from Processional Arts Workshop. The BID will also turn on the enhanced holiday lights in our ten Broadway Malls from West 60th to 70th Street and will be organizing other festive activities for the holiday season. 

If you’re interested in volunteering at any of these events, please contact us at info@lincolnsquarebid.org. Stay tuned for more exciting updates, but save the dates now! 

By Rossilynne Skena Culgan, Time Out New York

The holiday magic is in full effect at Lincoln Square’s Magical Lights. Stroll along Broadway around 60th and 70th Street to explore this cool immersive audio and light installation. 

Strands of icicle lights decorate the trees inside Dante Park (at Broadway & 64th Street) and Richard Tucker Park (at Broadway & 65th Street). That’s beautiful enough to see but then the magic comes in. The trees change color and respond to singing, clapping, music, and even the NYC soundscape. They’ll glow in green, pink, purple, and golden hues for a dazzling interactive spectacle.  

Plus, given the parks’ location in a major cultural hub, The Magical Lights at Dante Park will also dance along to festive recordings from two of Lincoln Square’s iconic performing arts institutions: Jazz at Lincoln Center and The Metropolitan Opera.

In addition to the nightly light show, also expect free entertainment all season long, including: Giant puppets, icicle lanterns and carolers. Here’s the full schedule.

Photos and text by Daniel Krieger

As the holiday season gets underway, Christmas decorations are festooning the city. And on Tuesday evening, in front of Lincoln Center at Dante Park (West 63rd Street), the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District kicked off its Magical Lights programming.

This year, there’s an expanded array of attractions. Along with last year’s interactive sound-sensitive lights adorning the park’s London Plane trees, music will now be played nightly from speakers hidden in the trees — recordings of Jazz at Lincoln Center and the Met Opera – which the lights react to. These lights will also be on display at Richard Tucker Park on West 66th Street. And, from West 60th to 70th streets, 36 trees on the Broadway Mall will be illuminated.

As twilight approached, an eager crowd gathered. Locals came for the performers, to drink hot chocolate served by Rosa Mexicano, and to celebrate the turning on of the lights that officially marks the start of the holiday season. The jubilant spectators circled the stage area next to the Movado clock tower.

The festivities began with caroling by the Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School Chorus, which was accompanied by the antics of The Department of Spectacle, a playful circus group with jugglers, a unicyclist, and a mischievous stilt walker with large angelic wings.

Lots of local media showed up, including ABC Eyewitness News, and in the run-up to the lighting, Gale Brewer went up to a podium and wished everyone well along with other speakers, including Monica Blum, the president of the Lincoln Square BID, and Nina Pineda, a broadcast journalist with WABC-TV. 

Then came the moment everyone was waiting for – switching on the lights. As light snow momentarily began to fall, a group of two dozen children led the countdown from seven to one. Then the crowd erupted into boisterous midnight-on-New-Years-Eve style cheering as the lights went on, followed by a shower of confetti as the Saints of Swing launched into Christmas classics, like Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

For the rest of the month, and into January, every day at 4:30 p.m. the lights will go on and the music will play, explained Monica Blum, the BID’s president, who was orchestrating the holiday season kickoff.

“We want to bring people to Lincoln Square to create a sense of community here, which is really what we’re all about,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for 29 years and the whole idea is to bring the neighborhood together.” Surveying the large turnout and festive scene, she observed that they had once again achieved that goal. 

After the lighting, Kristy Ledley, a local mom who had come with her husband and toddler, expressed appreciation for the family-friendly event.

“I like that it’s not a typical Christmas tree lighting ceremony, which makes it stand out from the other tree lightings in the city,” she said as she looked up at the twinkling lights. “These lights add pizzazz to the trees and light up the square really well.”

On seven nights this month, the caroling group the Fabulous Fezziwigs will perform in various spots around the neighborhood donned in their signature Victorian costumes (December 4th, 5th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 17th, and 18th.) Check the Lincoln Square BID on Instagram for time and place updates. Also, the third annual WinteRamble Workshop and Procession will take place on December 18th. To register to take part in the WinteRamble Workshop and Procession, click here, and to learn more about Magical Lights events happening this month go here.

By Brandan Mohler, I Love the Upper West Side

Lincoln Square will be lit up for the holidays beginning next Tuesday, December 3, thanks to Lincoln Square BID’s Magical Lights program. The month-long celebration will kick off at 4:30 p.m. on December 3 in Dante Park, according to a press release.

The “festive celebration of light and sound” will feature a variety of installments including singing trees in Dante Park (the small, triangular park just across Columbus from Lincoln Center’s main steps) near West 64th Street. Dante Park’s London Plane trees will be decorated with audio-reactive lights designed by Limbic Media.

Just a few blocks north, Richard Tucker Park will also feature audio-reactive lighting that will “twinkle, move to the rhythms of the city, and brighten up [the park],” between West 65th and 66th streets along Broadway and Columbus.

The BID will also illuminate 36 trees throughout the Broadway Malls between West 60th and West 70th streets.

“Whether you’re on your way to a performance, dining and shopping in the neighborhood, or on your way home, we hope our light and sound installations will brighten up the holiday season for everyone,” Monica Blum, President of the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District, said in the release.

The December 3rd kick-off in Dante Park will include holiday-themed circus acts along with a free performance by the Kaufman Music Center’s Special Musical School Chorus. A swing band called “The Saints of Swing” will liven the environment with a special performance, as well.

Can’t make it on December 3? The festivities will continue throughout the holiday season, including performances on seven nights (12/4, 12/5, 12/11, 12/12, 12/13, 12/17, and 12/8) by the caroling group the Fabulous Fezziwigs. The WinteRamble Workshop and Procession – where locals can participate and volunteer in the parade – is scheduled for December 18.

For more information on all Magical Lights events or to register for the WinteRamble Workshop and Procession, visit the Magical Lights website here.

By Janis Sasso, Patch

Lincoln Square BID Announces Magical Lights & WinteRamble for 2024 with Nightly Sound and Light Shows, Free Entertainment around Lincoln Square & More

Magical Lights Kicks Off Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at 4:30 p.m. in Dante Park

Upper West Side, NY– Lincoln Square will shine brighter than ever this holiday season as the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID) unveils its Magical Lights program, a festive celebration of light and sound. The expanded 2024 holiday programming will transform the neighborhood into a vibrant wonderland with interactive light displays, enchanting sound installations, and beloved traditions.

The festivities kick off on Tuesday, December 3 with a celebration at 4:30 PM in Dante Park to officially turn on the holiday lights than are bigger, better, and brighter than ever before.

Expanded Features for 2024 Magical Lights include:

• Singing Trees in Dante Park: The iconic London Plane trees in Dante Park (Broadway & 64th Street) will feature a new sound installation, added to its audio-reactive lights, that will make the trees sing as the lights dance along in sync with festive holiday music.
• Interactive Lights expanding to Richard Tucker Park: A new audio-reactive light installation complementing Dante’s light show will twinkle, move to the rhythms of the city, and brighten up Richard Tucker Park (Broadway & 65th Street).
• Illuminated Broadway Malls: This year, 36 trees in the Broadway Malls from 60th to 70th Street will illuminate Broadway’s global corridor.

The audio reactive lighting system has been designed by Limbic Media, a trans-disciplinary team of artists and engineers transforming public spaces with high-tech interactive art and light installations that invite participation and bring communities together.

“This year, we are making Magical Lights even more magical for locals and visitors to enjoy in a celebration that captures the sights and sounds of the neighborhood and the opportunity to create magical memories right here,” said Monica Blum, President of the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District. “Whether you’re on your way to a performance, dining and shopping in the neighborhood, or on your way home, we hope our light and sound installations will brighten up the holiday season for everyone.”

Additional highlights and entertainment for the kickoff at Dante Park include:

• The Department of Spectacle will kick off this magical evening with holiday-inspired circus acts, including stilt walkers, jugglers, and the whimsical Princess Schneeflocken.
• Kaufman Music Center’s Special Music School Chorus will add to the holiday cheer with a free performance. The concert choir features high school vocal students from Kaufman’s K-12 public school that provides students with an intensive music education program with fully funded lessons, music classes and ensembles along with academics.
• The SAINTS of SWING, an extraordinary collective of some of the tri-state area’s finest performers specializing in eclectic and electric selections of foot-tappin’ Swing classics, will fill the air with lively music as visitors dance along under the twinkling lights. Vocalists Kati Mac and Jim Mola will lead the group. Kati Mac has six acclaimed albums focusing on fostering peace and connection through music. Songs of Revolution, Songs of Peace is her latest release. Jim Mola brings a robust vocal portfolio, with contributions to iconic shows and brands like Saturday Night Live, Family Guy, and even the voice of the Jolly Green Giant.

Additional holiday programming and entertainment include:

• Follow the Fabulous Fezziwigs December 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 17, and 18.
  • Throughout December, the Fabulous Fezziwigs will wear their festive Victorian costumes and bring joy to Lincoln Square with their spirited caroling of timeless classics and contemporary holiday favorites.
• Wednesday, December 18 – WinteRamble Workshop 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. & Procession, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Procession starts at 1886 Broadway (between 62nd & 63rd Streets)
  • The Lincoln Square BID invites the public to the third annual WinteRamble – an illuminated community procession of Frost Giant puppets and icicle lanterns led by Processional Arts Workshop. The procession begins at 5 p.m. from a central location and then meanders along the sidewalks of Lincoln Square. Visitors and residents can participate in the WinteRamble by volunteering to carry a crystalline icicle lantern, creating and carrying their own mini lantern, or joining J.C. King’s Kalimbascope, a rolling ensemble of acoustically-enhanced thumb pianos. Those interested in participating or attending are encouraged to sign up at MagicalLights.nyc.

By Anna Rahmanan, Time Out New York

Folks walking through Dante Park on Broadway and 64th Street on the Upper West Side will delight in a new immersive installation called “Magical Lights” as eight giant London Plane trees on premise have been adorned with hundreds of strands of resplendent hanging vines that react to the sounds and movements of the public.

When participating in one of the many scheduled singalongs, you’ll basically activate the decor, with light dances and changing colors taking over the space to create a pretty surreal sensory experience.

You can check out the full program list right here. 

The activation is presented by the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District as part of a slew of other holiday-related programs on site, including the annual WinteRamble on December 21. On that winter solstice, visitors will get to admire an illuminated community procession of Frost Giant puppets and icicle lanterns. 

If you’re searching for more public installations to gaze at this holiday season, look no further than our list of best outdoor public art currently on display in New York, including giant Ice Age glaciers smack dab in the middle of the Garment District, a massive sea serpent on the loose in the Rockaways with an uncanny resemblance to a subway train and a 12-foot tall, magenta-tinted sculpture by Brooklyn-born artist Fred Eversley currently set at the Doris C. Freedman Plaza at 60th Street and Fifth Avenue by Central Park.

Also noteworthy is another installation that is activated by the touch of visitors. 

Dubbed “Control No Control” and found at Flatiron Plaza at 23rd Street between Broadway and Fifth Avenue, the large-scale interactive piece consists of a huge LED cube that, according to an official press release, “reacts to everything that touches it and every movement performed on its surface.” Upon each interaction, a bunch of patterns and sounds emerge from the structure.

Art in New York seems to be getting more and more interactive.