The Return of the Marco Polo Street Festival:
Last month, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council hosted its 14th Annual Marco Polo Festival. After a two-year hiatus, the Marco Polo Street Festival made its return to Grand Street, between Mulberry and Mott, attracting over 2,000 attendees to the streets of the Historic District of Chinatown & Little Italy. The festival commenced with the Marco Polo & Kublai Khan marionette pageant choreographed by our Youth Program Director & Basketball Coach, Anthony Yeung, and was performed by our Two Bridges Elites Boys and Girls Basketball Teams.
Following the pageant, Tevi Eber, our Two Bridges Arts Director, kicked off a full line up of cultural performances including: a cello performance from Jivan Ramesh, the Italian Fairy, ZERD, violinist Sofia Levchenko, Clarity Festival Brass, professional actor, singer, and Two Bridges Arts voice teacher Sydney Howard, Chen Hagen from the Chinese Ensemble of New York, and the New York Chinese Opera Society.
We are grateful to all the performers, youth volunteers, staff, and the NYPD for their efforts in ensuring a safe, vibrant afternoon celebrating the Historic District of Chinatown & Little Italy.
Celebrating Lower East Side Treasures at the Silk Road Ambassador Awards Dinner:
On Friday, October 15, 2022, Two Bridges Neighborhood Council hosted the 14th Annual Silk Road Ambassador Awards Dinner at the Golden Unicorn, honoring the Italian American Museum and the Museum of Chinese in America. Though Governor Hochul could not attend the event, the Office of the New York State Governor was represented by Elaine Fan (Director of Asian Affairs) and Sam Alberti (Digital Media Strategist) who helped present the evening’s 2022 Silk Road Ambassador Awards to the honorees.
On behalf of the Italian American Museum (IAM), Dr. Joseph Scelsa, IAM President, accepted the award and shared remarks highlighting the importance of Italian American history and the honor of being part of the Historic District of Chinatown & Little Italy. Following his remarks, to honor the Italian American Museum, Marta de Medici presented an elegant performance of “Era Di Maggio” (video shared by: Bill Russo, October 14, 2022).
Following the performance, Nancy Yao, President of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), accepted the award on behalf the museum and shared what a great honor it was for MOCA to be nominated. She described the importance of cultural exchange and how MOCA aimed to create cultural spaces for not just the Chinese American experience, but all immigrant experiences to educate and broaden the American narrative. Following her remarks, to honor the Museum of Chinese in America, Jivan Ramesh, former Two Bridges Arts student, presented an exquisite cello performance (which he composed at 8 years old!)
The Silk Road Ambassador Awards Dinner brought together a community of supporters, some new and some old, and included a diverse crowd, including our youth volunteers who dedicated long hours to all the Marco Polo Festival activities.
Special Thank You! to all our event sponsors and supporters that made this possible. Also thank you to all of our vendors: Golden Unicorn, Mambo Blue Band, and William Moy, staff and volunteers for all of their hard work.
Photo Credit: William Moy, info@wmoyphoto.com
