NEW YORK CITY
2022 STORYTELLING EVENTS
Saturday, September 24, 2022 |
Saturday, October 1, 2022 |
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 |
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The Sugar Hill Museum of Arts and Storytelling898 St Nicholas Ave, New York |
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Two shows: 11:00 am | 1:00 pm |
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Museum Hours: Open every Saturday. 10:00am - 3:00pm Closed Sunday - Friday |
Admission Prices: Children ages 0 to 8 FREE Members FREE Youth ages 9 to 17 $4 Seniors (65+) $4 Students (with ID) $4 Adults $7 |
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 |
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Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library901 G St NW, Washington, DC |
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Two shows: 11:00 am | 1:00 pm | Reserve tickets |
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The history of Hans Christian Andersen's Statue |
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More than sixty summers in New York City's Central Park |
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Fairy Tales From Around The World
On Saturdays all summer long since 1956, New York children have gathered around Hans Christian Andersen's statue at the Conservatory Pond in Central Park to hear his tales told by a fine ensemble of storytellers. Celebrity performers such as Victor Borge, Eva la Gallienne, Fanny Hurst and Celeste Holm have also visited, telling their favorite stories.
The idea for the statue originated with Baroness Alma Dahlerup, then president of the Danish-American Women's Association of New York, who had for years arranged for Andersen's stories to be read on the radio. Robert Moses, then New York City Parks Commissioner, secured the 'perfect' site and the City Department of Parks and Recreation and the Central Park Conservancy have given their active support ever since. A significant share of the funding for the statue came from donations made by school children both in Denmark and the United States. Danish-American sculptor George Lober created the larger-than-life bronze statue that was commissioned in 1954, in anticipation of marking the 150th anniversary of the author's birth. Hans Christian Andersens' well-rubbed knees are ample evidence of the fun children continue to have sitting on his lap.
The statue has become a symbol of the good relations between the United States and Denmark. Following a tradition established by her father and mother, her Majesty, Queen Margrethe II visited the statue in 1976 during her American Bicentennial trip. Other members of the Danish royal family continue to visit. In 1964, the City of Copenhagen contributed two 19th century street lamps that now stand on each side of the statue. In 1985, New York City Parks Commissioner Henry Stern, wishing to reciprocate, sent two New York City street lamps to Copenhagen, which can be seen standing in Dantes Plads. More historic information to be found in "From The Archives."
2022 & 2023 Seasons |
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UPDATE |
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Dear friends and supporters,
We are pleased to bring you the two live storytelling events described above at the Sugar Hill Museum of Storytelling in Harlem and at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library in Washington DC. We have been trying to get back to live performances in Central Park by the Hans Christian Andersen Statue, to continue our storytelling tradition of more than 65 years, but have been unable to do so during the 2022 season. Unfortunately the Central Parks Conservancy has decided no longer to support us with logistics, meaning they will no longer bring chairs and sound equipment, as they have for many years. We can probably find a solution for the sound equipment but obtaining outside services to bring chairs in and out for each performance has shown to be a big obstacle. For the 2023 season, we are considering asking our audience simply to bring their own blankets or cushions. The challenges with the rental chair service providers are that they tend to be expensive, they will have to park on the main road in Central Park and use dollies to bring chairs in and out (down and up the hill), and we have not found a service that will deliver and pick up again the same day, which is a Saturday, with a very short time frame (one hour before the performance and one hour afterwards). If you would be happy to bring a blanket or cushion for the regular Saturday sessions and still show up or if you know of any rental chair service providers who can meet our needs, please feel free to comment on our Facebook (e.g. under the two posts about our 2022 events) or to contact us directly at HCA1805Odense@gmail.com Most of our 2020 and 2021 seasons are still available online, and you can enjoy them any time you please at the below links.
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Fairy and Folk Tales From Around The World!
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the Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center, Inc.
in cooperation with the City of New York / Parks & Recreation and The Central Park Conservancy.
Storytelling Schedule | Directions
About Hans Christian Andersen| About The Center | Outreach | Meet Our Story Tellers | Friends & Sponsors | Support Us
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