Fairfield University to march in New York City's St. Patrick's Day Parade

Fairfield University invites students, alumni, parents, faculty, staff and friends on Saturday, March 16, 2013, to march in the historic St. Patrick's Day Parade in New York City, New York. Fairfield University is a premium sponsor this year, and the Fairfield contingent will be televised marching up Fifth Avenue on New York's WNBC Channel 4 to over half a million households. Fairfield University President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J., will also be interviewed live on WNBC.

"The St. Patrick's Day Parade offers a wonderful opportunity for the Fairfield community to proudly share in an event that has become a part of the cultural fabric of New York City," said Maureen Errity Bujno '90, President of the Fairfield University Alumni Association. "We welcome all to join us on this festive occasion."

All those interested in marching must check in at Café Centro, located at 45th Street and Vanderbilt Avenue (near Grand Central Station), in Manhattan, prior to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 16, where official Fairfield parade sashes will be distributed. Participants and their families - including children of all ages - are also invited to a pre-parade breakfast at Café Centro from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Please register to march and/or attend breakfast by visiting www.fairfield.edu/stpatsparadenyc.

To abide by parade security regulations, those not checked-in at Café Centro by 11:30 a.m. will not be permitted to march with the group. The Fairfield group will travel together to the step-off location and be lined up to march by 12 noon. For a full list of parade rules and regulations, visit http://www.fairfield.edu/alumni/ar_stpatsparade.html

The New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade is one of the city's greatest traditions, marching for the first time on March 17, 1762. Today it is considered the largest parade in the world. Throughout its history, the Parade has been held in honor of the Patron Saint of Ireland and the Archdiocese of New York. The Parade is reviewed each year from the steps of Saint Patrick's Cathedral by the current Archbishop of New York in the same manner as in the early days of the Parade at the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. To this day, the St. Patrick's Day Parade remains true to its roots as a traditional marchers' parade by not allowing floats, automobiles and other commercial aspects to participate. The Parade starts at 44th Street and is held every March 17th, except, as in 2013, when March 17th falls on a Sunday. It is then celebrated the day before, March 16th, because of religious observances. The parade marches up Fifth Avenue past St. Patrick's Cathedral at 50th Street, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Irish Historical Society at 83rd Street to 86th Street, where the parade finishes, approximately 4:30 p.m. - 5:00 pm.

Every year, the St. Patrick's Day Parade Committee hosts 150,000 - 250,000 marchers in front of approximately two million spectators lining Fifth Avenue. The Parade is also televised for four hours on New York's WNBC Channel 4.

Media Contact: Mike Horyczun, (203) 254-4000 ext. 2647, mhoryczun@fairfield.edu

Posted on March 08, 2013

Vol. 45, No. 212

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Parade demonstrates lessons learned about Carnaval

Students taking part in a Winter Term course explore world traditions through art.

 ****
Students taking the Carnaval in the Black Atlantic course paraded across campus Thursday afternoon dressed in colorful garb fashioned from shredded T-shirts and other recycled materials.

They braved the wind and cold—temperatures dipped into the lower 30s—tossing strands of beads to passersby and stopping in several different locations along the parade route to perform a dance they choreographed themselves.

The Winter Term course, taught by Assistant Professor of Art History Courtnay Micots, explored the origins of festivals along the trans-Atlantic trade route and their evolution into a contemporary art form.

Students in the class discussed the political and social significance of these festivals in places such as the Caribbean, Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and New Orleans. Many appeared to be pure entertainment but were really developed out of a type of resistance.

“For those in the know who are part of it, it provides a sense of community. It provides a voice to air grievances,” Micots said. “Whether it’s grievances with local authorities, politics or religion, it’s a chance to express their ideas and their heritage. It’s an opportunity to free oneself of the everyday with this aversion to the rules.”

Micots didn’t just want her students to learn about the festivals, complete with parades, masquerade, lavish costumes, music and dance—she wanted them to experience them.

First, she asked them to write about the character they would perform in what she called the “Fancy Dress” parade and then they were charged with creating costumes, choreographing dances and arranging for musicians to accompany them.

“The papers give them the background but from a scholarly point of view,” Micots said. “The parade gives them a chance to be within it.”

They showed up with their makeshift costumes and handmade masks and even brought along fire dancer Jenny Milligan who twirled a flaming hoop, an addition that definitely surprised Micots.

“It’s kind of unexpected, but you never know how these things are going to turn out, which is part of the fun,” Micots said.

Taylor McLean ’14, a religious studies major, took on the role of Pierrot Grenade, a character who was born in France and moved to Trinidad.

“He yells at people and spells thing to prove his intelligence,” McLean said.

Writing about the character and then playing him during the parade, made Grenade come alive for McLean.

“It’s definitely more of a real-life approach to classroom studies,” she said. “I never would have expected to be parading through Elon. This is truly, to me, the Elon hands-on experience.”

Pitchy Patchy, Pierrot Grenade’s counterpart in Jamaica, was performed by Brittany Washington ’13. Pitchy Patchy is part of the Christmas festival called Jonkonnu.

Washington, a journalism major, cut colorful T-shirts and bandanas into strips and pinned them all over her clothes in an attempt to duplicate the character she wrote about. It helped her understand the time and effort spent to bring a festival to life.

“They used their own money to make their costumes, and they took a lot of time,” she said. “I can really appreciate their more elaborate costumes. They take some real time to make.”

Dressed in a bright blue dress with a pillow stuck under the back to accentuate her bottom, Emily Turner ’13, an art major, embraced her role as Dame Lorraine, a mockery of a French plantation owner’s wife. She wore a white straw hat and twirled a matching blue umbrella above her head.

“It’s a retaliation after the Trinidadian slaves were freed,” Turner said.

Hearing about the traditions and then researching and writing about the characters kept the information fresh in her mind.

“It’s helpful to act out what we’ve been learning,” she said.

Email Author Your Email *
Message *
by Roselee Papandrea Taylor, Staff Last Updated - 1/25/2013

View the original article here

Read More

Parade demonstrates lessons learned about Carnaval

Students taking part in a Winter Term course explore world traditions through art.

 ****
Students taking the Carnaval in the Black Atlantic course paraded across campus Thursday afternoon dressed in colorful garb fashioned from shredded T-shirts and other recycled materials.

They braved the wind and cold—temperatures dipped into the lower 30s—tossing strands of beads to passersby and stopping in several different locations along the parade route to perform a dance they choreographed themselves.

The Winter Term course, taught by Assistant Professor of Art History Courtnay Micots, explored the origins of festivals along the trans-Atlantic trade route and their evolution into a contemporary art form.

Students in the class discussed the political and social significance of these festivals in places such as the Caribbean, Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia and New Orleans. Many appeared to be pure entertainment but were really developed out of a type of resistance.

“For those in the know who are part of it, it provides a sense of community. It provides a voice to air grievances,” Micots said. “Whether it’s grievances with local authorities, politics or religion, it’s a chance to express their ideas and their heritage. It’s an opportunity to free oneself of the everyday with this aversion to the rules.”

Micots didn’t just want her students to learn about the festivals, complete with parades, masquerade, lavish costumes, music and dance—she wanted them to experience them.

First, she asked them to write about the character they would perform in what she called the “Fancy Dress” parade and then they were charged with creating costumes, choreographing dances and arranging for musicians to accompany them.

“The papers give them the background but from a scholarly point of view,” Micots said. “The parade gives them a chance to be within it.”

They showed up with their makeshift costumes and handmade masks and even brought along fire dancer Jenny Milligan who twirled a flaming hoop, an addition that definitely surprised Micots.

“It’s kind of unexpected, but you never know how these things are going to turn out, which is part of the fun,” Micots said.

Taylor McLean ’14, a religious studies major, took on the role of Pierrot Grenade, a character who was born in France and moved to Trinidad.

“He yells at people and spells thing to prove his intelligence,” McLean said.

Writing about the character and then playing him during the parade, made Grenade come alive for McLean.

“It’s definitely more of a real-life approach to classroom studies,” she said. “I never would have expected to be parading through Elon. This is truly, to me, the Elon hands-on experience.”

Pitchy Patchy, Pierrot Grenade’s counterpart in Jamaica, was performed by Brittany Washington ’13. Pitchy Patchy is part of the Christmas festival called Jonkonnu.

Washington, a journalism major, cut colorful T-shirts and bandanas into strips and pinned them all over her clothes in an attempt to duplicate the character she wrote about. It helped her understand the time and effort spent to bring a festival to life.

“They used their own money to make their costumes, and they took a lot of time,” she said. “I can really appreciate their more elaborate costumes. They take some real time to make.”

Dressed in a bright blue dress with a pillow stuck under the back to accentuate her bottom, Emily Turner ’13, an art major, embraced her role as Dame Lorraine, a mockery of a French plantation owner’s wife. She wore a white straw hat and twirled a matching blue umbrella above her head.

“It’s a retaliation after the Trinidadian slaves were freed,” Turner said.

Hearing about the traditions and then researching and writing about the characters kept the information fresh in her mind.

“It’s helpful to act out what we’ve been learning,” she said.

Email Author Your Email *
Message *
by Roselee Papandrea Taylor, Staff Last Updated - 1/25/2013

View the original article here

Read More