BRONX SCENE
Goya Foods presents Lehman Center’s Performing Arts Series
Los Van Nan will be performing at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, June
1. Photo courtesy of Lehman Center for the Performing Arts
Lehman Center for the Performing
Arts and Goya Foods will present the
return of Cuba’s legendary, Grammywinning
dance orchestra, Formell Y Los
Van Van, who bring direct from Cuba
their blend of Afro-Cuban, disco and
funk back to Lehman Center to celebrate
their 50th Anniversary on Saturday,
June 1, at 8 p.m.
Heralded as Cuba’s greatest dance
orchestra known worldwide for their
iconic live performances, Formell y
Los Van Van features three of the late
founder Juan Formell‘s children: leader
and drummer/timbalero Samuel Formell,
bassist Juan-Carlos Formell and the
family’s youngest daughter, lead vocalist
Vanessa Formell. For this special concert,
the orchestra will also be joined by
the legendary Los Van Van vocalists Mario
Rivera and Pedro Calvo.
Lehman Center for the Performing
Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/
CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard
West. Tickets for Los Van Van
on Saturday, June 1, at 8 p.m. are
$100*VIP, $75, $55, and $50, and can
be purchased by calling the Lehman
Center box offi ce at (718) 960-8833
(Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5
p.m., and beginning at 4 p.m. on the day
of the concert), or through online access
at www.LehmanCenter.org.
*VIP Reception: The Havana Café,
Goya Foods and Lehman Center special
VIP pre-concert wine and hors
d’oeuvres reception will start at 6:30
p.m. VIP tickets include the reception
and the best seats in the house. Sponsored
Friends of VCP and VCP Conservancy celebrate alliance
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, M 52 AY 31-JUNE 6, 2019 BTR
by Havana Café Restaurant and
Goya Foods.
Low-cost on-site parking available
for $5.
* * *
The Riverdale Choral Society invites
singers at all levels to participate
in a Summer Sing of favorite opera choruses
on Wednesday, June 19, at 7:30
p.m. Music director John Lettieri will
conduct the chorus. Admission is $15.
All are welcome.
The Summer Sing will take place at
the Christ Church Riverdale. All members
of the community are invited to
participate. They will be using the arrangements
of the choruses in the Oxford
Choral Classics Opera Choruses
edited by John Rutter. Music will be provided
if singers do not have the book.
The church is located at 5040 Henry
Hudson Parkway on the northbound
Henry Hudson Parkway service road at
252nd Street. Street parking is available.
For further information: visit www.riverdalechoral.
org or call (718) 543-2219.
* * *
The Equality Charter High School,
2141 Seward Avenue, will host their
Fifth Annual Family Carnival on Friday,
June 7, from 4 to 8 p.m.
This event is open to the public to
provide fun-fi lled family experiences.
The event will include face painting,
clowns, live DJ, jousting, infl atable
rides, foord and Zumba class.
For more information visit www.
equalitycharterschool.org/events
On the evening of Tuesday,
June 11, elected and city offi -
cials, together with friends,
supporters, board members
and community members will
gather at the New Beginnings
Picnic to celebrate the creation
of the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance,
formed by the merger
of the Friends of Van Cortlandt
Park and Van Cortlandt
Park Conservancy. These two
organizations share the goal
of creating a single, superior
stewardship organization that
will preserve, support and promote
the recreational, ecological
and historical value of Van
Cortlandt Park.
The Alliance will raise
funds for programming in the
park, the preservation of its
natural areas, the refurbishment
of its infrastructure, and
the execution of the 2034 Master
Plan.
The New Beginnings Picnic
will precede the annual concert
in Van Cortlandt Park by
the New York Philharmonic.
Nina Habib Spencer and
Carol J. Samol are the newly
elected co-chairs of the board
of the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance.
“With the creation of the
(l-r) Some of FVCP staff, board members and ex-offi cio members Sara Kempton, John Butler, Teresa Grant Stoeth,
Tom Carey, Marcia Allina, Councilman Andrew Cohen, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Christina Taylorat
a recent event. Photo courtesy of Friends of Van Cortlandt Park
Alliance, we hope to bring the
park – the crown jewel of the
Bronx - fi rmly into its next era
as a major destination for Bronx
residents and all New Yorkers
seeking nature, culture and
recreation,” said Spencer.
“The Alliance will improve
our ability to raise funds, provide
programming, and deliver
on the 2034 Master Plan, for the
park and the entire Bronx,”
said Samol.
“The creation of the Van
Cortlandt Park Alliance will
fortify the advocacy efforts
for this green space. This new
partnership will usher in new
programming and funding opportunities
to improve this
cherished community hub
for many years to come,” said
Bronx Parks Commissioner
Iris Rodriguez Rosa.
Councilman Andrew Cohen
said: “Congratulations to
every individual involved in
making this merger possible. I
am incredibly gratifi ed that the
hard work of these organizations
has culminated in a unifi
ed ‘Van Cortlandt Park Alliance.’
I believe that the synergy
of these organizations will be
a tremendous benefi t for the
park and all its visitors. I know
this association will be an even
greater administrative and
fundraising vehicle that will
elevate Van Cortlandt Park to
new heights.”
The merger of the Conservancy
and the Friends combines
the energy, creativity
and expertise of both boards
and their respective staffs,
and aligns them on a single, focused
mission to elevate Van
Cortlandt Park, which serves
2.5 million park goers a year.
The staffi ng and fl agship programs
of both the Conservancy
and the Friends – including the
Summer Tibbetts Brook Restoration
Crew program, Garden
2 Market Internship, Urban
Ecology Teen Internship,
water quality monitoring, the
Enslaved Africans Program,
Barefoot Dancing, Family Fun
@ 261st Street, the Van Cortlandt
Adventures program,
and volunteer programs – will
be maintained in the coming
season.
The formation of the Van
Cortlandt Park Alliance was
made possible through the generous
investment, support, and
leadership of several partners,
including the Altman Foundation,
Booth Ferris Foundation,
The New York Community
Trust and SeaChange Capital
Partners.
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