Persian Pride

The 9th Annual Persian Parade was held along the 12 blocks of Madison Avenue yesterday, to showcase Persian culture. The colorful parade, with a large number of activities, music bands, dance ensembles, flags, floats, performers, marchers, and dignitaries, was an impressive display of Persian pride. The parade's route started at 38th Street and ended at 26th Street. The festivity continued at Madison Avenue Park till 4:00 PM.

Cherry Blossom Season at Brooklyn Botanic Garden

This time-lapse was created by Dave Allen, BBG's Web Manager, from over 3,000 digital photos, one taken every 3 minutes from April 18 to April 26, 2008, of Brooklyn Botanic Garden's famed Cherry Walk. The music is by Jon Solo, a Brooklyn-based musician and producer.

The Cherry Esplanade of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a broad green field bordered by two allées of cherry trees (Prunus'Kanzan). This year, the double-flowering cherries bloomed earlier than usual. The images were taken yesterday. The cherry blossoms are a centerpiece of the Garden’s annual cherry blossom festival to be held at the end of the month.

Yellow Tulips Enhance Rafael Barrios Sculptures on Park Avenue

Venezuelan artist Rafael Barrios' sculptures on the malls of Park Avenue now have some attention-grabbing company. The yellow tulips peeked a little early enhancing the beauty of the nine monumental sculptures. The yellow tulips are a Darwin hybrid and came from a nursery on Long Island. Barrios' sculptures appear to be three-dimensional at a distance, but are actually extremely thin, two-dimensional pieces of coated metal. As Barrios described, the sculptures are about “dislocating our perception in such a way that our mind’s eye will insist that you are seeing something that you are not.”

Stanley Cup Fountain, the National Hockey League Trophy Replica in Times Square

Coinciding with the start of the NHL postseason on Apr. 11, the NHL and NBC Sports Group installed a massive 21-foot-high, 6,600-pound Stanley Cup replica in Times Square. The replica doubles as a working water fountain, and visitors are able to drink from it. This promotional stunt takes inspiration from the hockey tradition of drinking from the Stanley cup, the trophy that's passed each year to the squad that wins the National Hockey League title. The Cup has a small bowl on top. After the Cup is presented to the winning team, they fill that bowl with champagne and pass it around so that all the players can celebrate their win with a "drink from the Cup."

The Stanley Cup Fountain features 12 industrial fountain pop jets in the upper bowl, shooting water six feet above the Cup. Visitors can drink NYC Water from specific spouts at the base of the fountain with reusable souvenir cups from NBC Sports/NHL and NYC Water. The fountain is accessible to the public from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. today and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow, when it will be disassembled.

PAMANA: A Three-Person Art Collective (Maria Pureza Escaño, Ronald Cortez and Bianca Marquez) Opens at the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue

L-R: Bianca Marquez, Maria Pureza (Puchette) Escaño, Consul General Mario Lopez de Leon and Ronald Cortez 

"Little Hero" by Maria Pureza Escaño

Maria Pureza (Puchette) Escaño

Three noted Filipino artists from Quezon province — Maria Pureza Escaño, Ronald Cortez and Bianca Marquez — are currently having an exhibit titled “Pamana” at the Philippine Center on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. Ronald Cortez’s “My Friend Rooster,” Bianca Marquez’s mosaic ouvre and Maria Pureza Escaño’s “Little Hero” are among the pieces on exhibit. The photos above were taken during the opening reception last night at the lobby of the Philippine Center. The exhibit is open to the public Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through April 20. Proceeds from this art show will benefit the Scholarship of Hope of the Bukas-Loob sa Diyos Foundation. For particulars, call 212.575.4774.

NFL Opens Its First-Ever NYC Pop-Up Store

The NFL recently opened a pop-up store in New York City to celebrate the launch of its new apparel partnerships and the 2012 NFL Draft.  The NFL SHOP AT DRAFT is located at 1095 Avenue of the Americas at 41st and 42nd Streets. The shop is open through April 30 from 11 am – 8 pm, seven days a week.

The first-ever pop-up shop in Manhattan carries merchandise from NFL licensees, including Nike, New Era, Under Armour, GIII, VF and Wilson.  The NFL Shop at Draft is the first place fans may see all 32 NFL teams’ New Era Draft Caps as well as all 32 new Nike jerseys. In addition, fans will have their choice of limited-time-only, unique product exclusive to the NFL Shop at Draft, such as Draft Day Gnomes by Forever Collectables, rhinestone NFL tees from Cuce Apparel and VF 2012 NFL Draft tees.

The NFL Shop at Draft will be ever-changing, with new merchandise and rotating elements on display throughout the month.  The Vince Lombardi Trophy is currently on display through April 14 and the championship rings from Super Bowl games I – XLV will be on display April 8 - 14.  Beginning April 19, fans may purchase commemorative Wilson game footballs and have customized on-site, including the first-ever team specific footballs.  This will be the first time Wilson will manufacture game footballs in Manhattan.