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

On Wednesday, December 17, celebrate the upcoming winter solstice with the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District at the fourth annual WinteRamble—an illuminated neighborhood procession featuring the iconic Frost Giant puppets and icicle lanterns from Processional Arts Workshop. Make a mini-lantern at our free workshop, carry an icicle lantern, or walk with us on the sidewalks and be a part of our neighborhood’s festive holiday tradition.

The joyful procession starts at 5:00pm in front of 1886 Broadway (between 62nd Street and 63rd Street) and meanders through the Lincoln Square neighborhood to the ethereal sounds of J.C. King’s Kalimbascope (a rolling ensemble of acoustically-enhanced thumb pianos) until 6:00pm. Residents, neighbors, and visitors can join the procession from anywhere along the route. Before the procession starts, make your own mini-lantern at our free workshop between 3:00pm and 5:00pm at TD Bank (1873 Broadway at West 62nd Street). Teaching artists from Processional Arts Workshop will be on hand to help. Sign up via this form to participate in the workshop, carry an icicle lantern, join the Kalimbascope, or walk along with the group. Everyone is welcome to take part in this family-friendly event!

The WinteRamble is free, but we are encouraging everyone to join us in supporting our longtime local partners, the Lincoln Square Neighborhood Center and Goddard Riverside. Together, we can help our neighbors access the resources and services they need. Donations can be made at this link.

For more information about our holiday programming, including nightly light and sound shows and caroling with the Fabulous Fezziwigs, visit HolidaysinLincolnSquare.nyc. Rack cards about these events can 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: Carlos Alayo

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! 

Text and Photos By Daniel Krieger, West Side Rag

“Welcome to the annual WinteRamble!” a voice from a large crowd announced to loud cheers on Wednesday night at the kickoff of the third edition of this mobile festival that has become a neighborhood holiday tradition.

Organized by the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID), the procession commenced on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd streets, next to the ghost of Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, before slowly meandering its way around the area, twisting and turning and lumbering along for one hour before returning to its year-long slumber.

The procession was led by seven 14-foot-tall illuminated frost giant puppets provided by the Processional Arts Workshop. Its members also led a workshop prior to the event across the street at TD Bank, where 100 participants made their own mini lanterns to accompany the frost giants on the walk, which is one of the highlights of Lincoln Square BID’s Magical Lights holiday programming.

The procession set off amid the threat of imminent rain as well as the good fortune of mild temperatures. Heightening the strangeness and novelty of this spectacle was the sound of kalimbascopes [a western interpretation of African thumb pianos], which provided the soundtrack. As usual, passersby asked some variation of, “What is this?” And along the route, many stopped to take out their phones to document this dreamlike spectacle that was inexplicably in front of them.

Before the walk, Monica Blum, president of the Lincoln Square BID, estimated that if it didn’t rain, there could be at least 200 participants. But even if it did rain, she said, they would forge ahead, and since the frost giants are waterproof, they would be unaffected.

“The idea here is building a sense of community,” she said. “This is a large residential neighborhood, and I’d like to have people look out their window and see us walking by and come down and join us.”

Before the kickoff, you could see what a community event it was as a growing crowd of locals boisterously socialized while the frost giants practiced their moves as they geared up for the walk. Meanwhile, Ralph Memoli, one of the organizers, was handing out large crystalline lanterns mounted on a bamboo stick that were made by the Processional Arts Workshop.

Many parents with kids were present, such as Alicia, who had brought her three-year-old son and a friend. They had just come from the workshop and her child was sitting in his stroller, mini lantern in hand, ready to go.

“It’s a great way for kids to make arts and crafts and see how wonderful New York is,” she said of the workshop and the event itself. “My son is having fun, and it gets him out of the house.”

By Robert Beck, West Side Rag

It was cold last year, just above freezing and breezy. We came fifteen minutes early to Dante Park in case there were a lot of people. A lot MORE people, I should say, as Dante is in front of Lincoln Center, where there is already plenty of traffic without a procession of Frost Giants.

It turned out there was no huge crowd, and it looked so normal that those who came for the Solstice WinteRamble were asking each other if this was the right time and place. The notice said it was starting at an undisclosed location and would go around the Lincoln Square Neighborhood, which is pretty vague. If it was your first time (and it was), you didn’t know what to look for.

Like I said, it was cold. At twenty after the stated time, my wife went home. About ten minutes later, I heard the sound, and the first tall, buoyant puppet figure emerged from a side street south on Broadway. It headed north at a slow walk, accompanied by six others like it and a flock of ice lanterns surrounded by a fair-sized crowd of celebrants.

The audio accompaniment was an artistic recording of thumb pianos—the small plunky instruments with metal tabs you flick with your finger. It was played loudly to compete with the ambient New York cacophony, greater than the portable system could handle, and came across more as a distorted rhythmic roar than music. That seemed appropriate, however. These were Frost Giants, and the sound was very winter weather-ish.

Solstice is an astronomical event, but celebrations through history reflect ancient rituals and beliefs. Our ancestors were smart enough to notice what was happening but lacked the means to determine why, so they made up good stories. We know why now, but we don’t always know better. We still enjoy the mysticism and the party.

There is just enough human-like articulation to the Frost Giant figures to play with your head. The idea behind puppets is to have you forget that their life and spirit come from without, and the point of the Ramble was fun and diversion, and there was plenty of that. The participants had a good time snarling traffic on a clear December evening, and the Frost Giants were pretty nifty, if unspecific in their duties. The solstice may be a phenomenon of exacting times, measurements, and consequences spanning thousands of millennia, but it’s a niche celebration on Broadway. The change to longer days and our moment of maximum tilt away from the sun only means so much to Upper West Siders. The majority of Thursday evening New Yorkers pouring out of the Lincoln Center subway station merely glanced at the block-long-plus procession without breaking stride or interrupting their phone conversations. The cab drivers stuck on the cross streets just shook their heads at one more thing.

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.

Text and Photographs by Daniel Krieger, West Side Rag

On this year’s winter solstice, which fell on Thursday, December 21, as places all over the world held festivals to mark the beginning of winter, the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID) joined the fun with its second edition of the ‘WinteRamble.’ Like last year, the Processional Arts Workshop provided frost giant puppets and ice lanterns for the illuminated procession that wended its way around the Lincoln Square neighborhood, accompanied by the eerie strains of kalimbascopes played on speakers placed throughout.

Once the sun had set and the longest night of the year was underway, the procession set off to cheers on Broadway between 62nd and 63rd Street where the Lincoln Plaza Cinema used to be. Braving the bitter cold, it slowly snaked its way south as if it had just woken up from a long slumber, and then made a hairpin turn left onto Central Park West, heading north. 

What grabbed the attention and piqued the curiosity of passersby, besides a festive moving crowd of over 100 where you ordinarily wouldn’t see one, was the seven 14-foot-tall frost giants, each controlled by three operators who made it appear as if these enchanted creatures were casually striding down Broadway. 

Upon encountering this unlikely spectacle, people asked the participants or anyone listening some variation of the question: “What is this?” Many took out their phones to document it. One woman on Central Park West held up her phone, saying “look!” to whoever she was talking to. “I don’t know what it is,” she continued. “It’s weird.”

Monica Blum, the president of the Lincoln Square BID, explained before the event that although it took a lot of planning and legwork, she wanted it to be a “spontaneous community procession” for anyone from anywhere to join in.

This year, instead of a Christmas tree, they decorated eight giant London plane trees in Dante Park with sound-sensitive lights whose color and intensity change based on the sounds around them. And the route had to be tweaked to avoid low awnings and scaffolding and to steer the procession past the illuminated plane trees twice.

“Last year people were amazed!” she said. “It’s really to create a sense of amazement and celebration and joy,” she went on, adding: “And I’d like for people afterwards to eat in our restaurants and go shopping.”

Just before the procession began, Art Baer was standing among the throng with his two kids, each of the three holding a mini lantern they had just made in a workshop across the street. “We’re ready for the walk,” he said. “It’s a beautiful wintery night. Community events like this are wonderful to bring people together around the holidays.”

Photos and Text by Daniel Krieger, West Side Rag

Wednesday, December 21, was the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, during which the sun shone on New York City for only nine hours and fifteen minutes. To celebrate winter’s official arrival, the Lincoln Square BID hosted its first “WinteRamble,” a one-hour evening procession that meandered around the West 60s, featuring illuminated frost giant puppets and icicle lanterns as a highlight of its Lights Up on Lincoln Square holiday programming.

As the group of about 100 slowly made its way up and down Broadway, silently but for the strains of the accompanying kalimbascopes (African thumb pianos), the six humongous puppets were each controlled by three operators with poles who breathed life into their movements, creating the appearance that the puppets were out for a stroll. This moving spectacle, which looked like some ancient seasonal rite, was so striking that it stopped locals in their tracks, compelling onlookers to pull out their phones to capture it and ask questions.

“Who are you?” one woman asked, addressing the procession.

“Wow, look at that!” said a woman to her toddler in a stroller.

 “This is so cool!” said a teenage boy who posed the question on many people’s minds: “What is this?”

 Monica Blum, the president of Lincoln Square Bid, explained before the kickoff at 1886 Broadway that when BID leaders were discussing what to do for this year’s Lights Up holiday program, they reached out to the Processional Arts Workshop, which agreed to bring their giant puppets and also hosted a workshop before the procession for locals to make mini icicle lanterns at TD Bank across the street, attended by many families who later joined the procession.

 “Everything we do is to make this huge urban space in New York City feel like a small town,” she said. “The idea is that people will look out of their windows and say, “What’s happening?’”