Empire State Building - Purple Green and Gold for Fat Tuesday / Mardi Gras 2009

Since January I've received two dozen inquiries about my campaign to color the Empire State Building in Purple, Green and Gold. I usually pitch the folks who manage lighting the ESB and emphasize that it's a

nod to the survivors and lives we lost when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. A silent acknowledgment that "we remember" and understand rebuilding is a slow, painful process.

Since we sucessfully pitched the ESB folks in 2006, requests [via forms, faxes, email, and voice mail] for the past two years to repeat the purple-green-gold lighting tribute led to a dead-end. I assume that the group who manages the ESB lighting is overwhelmed with daily requests and probably feels that New Orleans and the Gulf Coast had their acknowledgment in 2006 and Hurricane Katrina is just a memory.

The Meaning of Purple, Green, and Gold
In 1872 Rex chose PG&G as the official colors of Mardi Gras:
Purple = Justice
Green = Faith
Gold = Power

I'd like to see cities, large and small, who don't normally celebrate Fat Tuesday, take Purple Green and Gold, and in their own creative way decorate structures to send the "We Care!" message. Fat Tuesday is February 24, 2009: Lets use Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc) to spread the word. Reach out to the leaders in your home town.

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Big Apple Barbeque Block Party Madison Square Park (free!) with music too

The 6th Annual Big Apple Barbeque Block Party

This looks like a pretty tasty way to spend a day, or a weekend... BBQ and Mardi Gras Indians! It's almost like 2nd and Dryades is coming to New York. Almost.

June 7 and 8, 2008 in Madison Square Park
New York, NY
Noon to 6pm
http://www.bigapplebbq.org/

Admission is free!
MAP of Madison Square Park

Barbecue is $8 per plate, sides and desserts $4 per plate and drinks range $2-$6

Feed your belly with variations of bbq from some delicous bbq joints

New York: Blue Smoke; Hill Country; Dinosaur Bar-B-Que; Rack & Soul

Connecticut: Wilson’s Barbeque

California: Mr. Cecil’s

Texas: Baker’s Ribs; The Salt Lick BBQ

Virginia: Checkered Pig

Alabama: Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q

Illinois: 17th Street Bar & Grill

North Carolina: The Pit

Mississippi: Ubon’s “Champion’s Choice”

South Carolina: Black Jack BBQ

Feed your head with music**

Saturday, June 7

1:00PM – 2:15PM THE DEFIBULATORS

Combining strains of rockabilly, bluegrass, and classic country music with the quirky camaraderie of a vaudevillian jug band, The Defibulators are one of the most engaging live acts to have emerged from Brooklyn’s thriving roots music scene. Watch for the Defibulators’ first full-length album coming this summer!

2:45PM – 4:00PM THE SWEET DIVINES

Don’t call it nostalgia: The Sweet Divines are doing soul music the only way they know how—the old-school way. This four-woman vocal powerhouse and their hard-hitting Divine Soul Rhythm Band have been lighting up nightclub stages all over town with their nouveau-retro brand of girl-group soul.

4:30PM – 5:45PM THE WILD MAGNOLIAS

“Big Chief” Bo Dollis and his Wild Magnolias have been among New Orleans’ top-ranked Mardi Gras Indian tribes for four decades, playing pure New Orleans street funk. Their five career albums include the oft-sampled classic “They Call Us Wild” (1975) and “Life Is a Carnival” (1999).

Sunday, June 8

1:00PM – 2:15PM ALEX BATTLES & THE WHISKEY REBELLION

Brooklyn-based singer and songwriter Alex Battles leads The Whiskey Rebellion, a country band strongly influenced by the music of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, John Prine and Tom T. Hall. “Battles can wrap audiences around his knotty fingers.” (Nate Schweber, The Village Voice)

2:45PM – 4:00PM ELI “PAPER BOY” REED & THE TRUE LOVES

Roll With You, the new Q Division album from Boston-based soul band Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves, is a potent all-original set of sweaty, up-tempo numbers and aching, lovelorn ballads. “He combines the sob of Al Green with the beef of Otis Redding, and boasts a band, The True Loves.” (MOJO magazine)

4:30PM – 5:45PM THE SADIES

The Toronto quartet known as the Sadies combine the timeless sounds of Sixties/Seventies rock and country music with masterful songwriting and casually stunning harmonies from front men Dallas and Travis Good. On their latest album, “New Seasons” (Yep Roc), the Sadies “build fresh, bracing psychedelia.” (David Fricke, Rolling Stone

** Artists and Performance Times can change. Double Check with Venue

Get official updates from http://www.bigapplebbq.org/

The Big Apple BBQ supports Madison Square Park Conservancy, responsible for keeping historic Madison Square Park a bright, beautiful and active public park. The Conservancy’s dedication and consistent, loving attention keeps Madison Square Park a vibrant haven in the city for all to enjoy.

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no Mardi Gras for the Empire State Building

HAPPY MARDI GRAS!

Today is Fat Tuesday, February 20, 2007. I finally heard back at 1pm from the decision makers at Empire State Bldg regarding the lighting request. Unfortunately "Purple, Green and Gold"* will not be beaming over New York City. We received no specifics from ESBC but they communicated this:

"Many factors go into our decisions to light up for the great many events and
causes that reach out to us through out the year. We have decided the we are not
able to accomodate your request. "

A Post-Katrina New Orleans continues to be in the spotlight, and cities around the world* tip their hats to our Gulf Coast as a reminder rebuilding and recovering is ongoing! It is a long road to recovery. Send your request to ESB for Mardi Gras lighting in 2008, perhaps they'll be swayed.

And to people in the New York area, lets start a second line across 34th street tonight and encourage festive folks to join in. Below are some featured locations who are celebrating Fat Tuesday!

• The Big Easy 1768 2nd Ave, New York, NY Shake it on top of the bar at this year-round Mardi Gras dive, pouring $6 hurricanes and $4 jungle juice.
  
  Go to WebsiteGo to Website | Send 2 Phone
• Union Hall 702 Union St, Brooklyn, NY Not what we'd expect from a library-style Park Slope bar, but we'll take it: A New Orleans musicians benefit with five bands, Pontani Sisters burlesque, soul food and a live marching band ($12, 6pm).
• Bourbon Street 407 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY It's not live Bourbon Street, but this annual bash gets close enough--with drink deals and tons and tons of beads.
• TG Whitney's 244 E 53rd St, New York, NY In midtown? Like models? Meet the Corazon girls 7pm-8pm, with zydeco music afterward--not to mention free beads, cheap beer and hurricane specials all night.
• Fat Tuesday Celebration Feb 20, 2007 The Town Tavern Bound to get rowdy with a most-beads contest at midnight, bartop can can dancers, free jambalaya all night and happy hour specials from 6pm to 10pm.
  

Laissez Les Bon Temp Rouler!

*traditional colors of Mardi Gras are purple (symbolic of justice), green (symbolic of faith) and gold (symbolic of power).

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Empire State Building in Mardi Gras Colors for 2007

UPDATE on The Empire State in Mardi Gras colors...

We're talking with the Empire State Building (ESB) management to go Purple-Green-Gold again on Fat Tuesday! (working on making it an ANNUAL event too). It made national news last year :)

New Orleans and the entire Gulf Coast is still rebuilding and we suggest as
another symbolic gesture to light the ESB on February 20, 2007 in
Purple-Green-Gold.

We filled out the forms and have gone back and forth with emails to justify a purple/green/gold theme on Fat Tuesday.

ESB wants to know what promotional material we have, what sort of media outreach we've got planned, etc. I'm not sure but it sounds like a large budget is needed. Maybe St. Patrick can spare some resources from his March 17th publicity ESB in green campaign. ;)

ESB Wrote:
"Last year we received media attention for the special lights, mostly due to it
being the first Mardi Gras since Katrina.
Do you have samples of promotional
materials? What media outreach will be undertaken? What connections do you have
with New Orleans?"

If you've got a sec, tell the esb you'd like to see purple-green-gold on Fat Tuesday too. :)

I've got a buddy who is going to shoot some video of the Empire State Building in Mardi Gras Colors, check back on 2/20 to see if we get the green light from ESB lighting mgt (pun intended)

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Empire State Building in Purple Green and Gold

We Did It!

It was a spur of the moment thing, Daphne and I were talking about Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday last Sunday and thought about how the Empire State Building does theme colors, how it would be a nice gesture for displaced New Orleanians to show Mardi Gras colors on Tuesday.

A little research showed Feb 28th was the ESB 'default color' (white), so I wrote an email to the building management and suggested Purple Green and Gold, (my note and the reply is below). Evidently the building management receives a ton of lighting requests throughout the year for color themes but somehow our last minute request captured their attention.

It ain't Fat Tuesday everywhere... Evidently the further away your radius is from Louisiana, the more it is "just Tuesday". A lady came up to us while we snapped photos and said, "isn't it beautiful? I never get tired of it." She had no idea was Fat Tuesday was or what it ment, but thought it was pretty cool that we had the ESB lit it up for Katrina refugees in the New York metro area.

--we wrote to ESB: Fat Tuesday is February 28 and as a gesture to those from Louisiana, lighting the Empire State Building "PURPLE, GREEN and GOLD" would mean a lot to us refugees who are in the New York area. *Purple represents Justice; Green represents Faith; Gold represents Power.

--ESB replied: Excellent idea, we are doing the lights tonight!

Hey we fought the cold and went to 34th Street, took some close-ups too...

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