What could be a more perfect way to spend your summer evenings than sitting on a blanket in one of New York’s beautiful parks, sharing a picnic with your family and friends under bright starry skies, while in the background one of the greatest philharmonic bands in the world serenades you with some of the most beautiful music ever written. If this is what your dreams are made of, don’t miss out on one of the highlights of New York’s summer calendar - the New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Park series.

For 43 years, New York City’s musical pride and joy has been offering locals and visitors alike a reason to stay in the city over the summer months. The audience - from the uninitiated to die-hard classical music lovers - experiences lovely music at a convenient location and, unbelievably, all for free! This year’s series of concerts will kick off on July 9^th in New Jersey. The following night at 8pm., the first New York concert will be held in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. The conductor Ludovic Marlot will lead the Philharmonic in a number of recitals, including Mendelssohn’s ??Violin Concerto’ and works by Tschaikovsky and Berlioz.

Throughout the summer, visitors can catch a number of wonderful concerts in parks scattered around the city, including Manhattan’s Central Park, Cunningham Park in Queens and the Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island. Concerts will also be held in the Bronx and Long Island.

The audience is advised to bring food and drinks (low key alcohol is generally tolerated), as well as candles, appropriate clothing and blankets to sit on. All concerts will end with a delightful display of fireworks. What better way to wrap up a magical, musical (and we’ll say it again - free!) evening!

Click for the official site of the New York Philharmonic.

If you thought that you’ve seen it all when it comes to fireworks displays, you haven’t yet experienced what Macy’s has to offer you. Using up to 55 times more fireworks than the average fireworks display in the United States, the New York department store, Macy’s, has continued to bring joy and celebration to the city with its exceptional fireworks display every Independence Day for the past thirty years. The Macy’s 4^th of July Fireworks Spectacular is one good reason to visit the city during the summer months and see how New Yorkers know how to celebrate!

During the glorious computer-controlled display, nearly 1000 shells are burst every minute, timed to explode to the beat of patriotic music, while 63,000 feet of pipe are used to launch the 30,000 shells from all around the world used during the display. Macy’s presents spectators with one of the most incredibly intricate, well-planned and synchronized shows in the world. The New York Pops provides the riveting background music in a piece that was created to celebrate the diversity of New York’s culture.

The fireworks show is launched from the store’s traditional East River firing location between 23^rd and 42^nd Street. This year, the show will be extended to South Street Seaport and Brooklyn Bridge. Visitors and locals who wish to find a good spot to watch this spectacle can try any point in Manhattan, Brooklyn or the Queens area that has unobstructed views of the skyline above the East River. Watercraft is also traditionally used to watch the show.

This year’s show promises to be more magical than ever before. A celebration of songs by Stephen Foster and a pirate battle scene made up of fireworks are just some of the exciting features that viewers have to look forward to in during the Macy’s 4^th of July Fireworks Spectacular.

Click for Macy’s 4^th of July Fireworks official page.

Although many people tend to avoid New York City in July because of the heat and for the infamous fact that it is the wettest month of the year, there are actually many good reasons to make it your destination for the summer. As long as you know what to expect and what to take along, New York City in July can be a pleasant surprise.

Firstly, remember that average highs are 29 degrees (85 C) and average lows dip to 21 degrees (70 F). Also, visitors should expect rain. With these facts in mind, you should pack for your visit accordingly. Lightweight cotton clothing, comfortable, closed walking shoes and an umbrella are definite essentials. You might also want to pack a light sweater to keep you warm in stores and museums where the air-conditioning might be turned on too high for your liking. Remember to drink a lot more water than you usually do, as you don’t want to dehydrate!

One of the reasons that people visit New York in July is because there is so much to do and see, and many of the events are absolutely free. Check out the schedules for the many outdoor festivals and concerts in the park such as the ??Met Opera in the Park’ and ??Shakespeare in the Park’. Don’t forget to pack a picnic blanket to make yourself comfortable on the grass while you watch. The 4^th of July is a great day to be in New York and enjoy the festivities, including the traditional Macy’s Fireworks Display. July is also a good month to get in some walking tours in the city such as the Greenwich Village Food and Culture Tour.

To get in a different city experience this summer, head to the Big Apple this July and feel like a true local! New York Journey features lots of interesting articles and information along with several hotel reviews.

Every year, New York wakes out of its sleepy summer slumber to the dancing feet of hundreds of people to celebrate the annual Midsummer Night Swing. The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is opening the 19^th annual Swing on June 19^th, 2007 and promises visitors to the event 25 nights of sizzling swinging dance action under New York’s summer stars. The event is hosted at Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza and is one of the city’s most popular summer celebrations.

This year’s Midsummer Night Swing will be launched with a Battle of the Bands opening night with David Berger and the Sultans of the Swing band pitted against George Gee and his Make Believe Ballroom Orchestra. The event continues through the rest of June and up till July 21^st and incorporates a diverse range of dance types, including hip-hop, Irish, tango, salsa and disco. Newcomers to any style can take advantage of dance lessons that begin at 6.30 every evening, before the main dance event. Dance lessons are included in the price of the admission ticket.

Other highlights of this year’s Midsummer Night Swing include a Midsummer Disco and Funk Party as part of the Gay Pride events, Saturday morning dance lessons for kids, as well as feature nights dedicated to music from around the world such as Brazilian Carnaval, Cuban Rumba and traditional Irish dance. Top bands, including Palladium Memories, Big Ranch Apple and Bill Haley’s Original Comets, will all perform at the Midsummer Night Swing, ensuring that it will be one of the city’s top cultural and entertainment events of the season.

Father’s Day has no religious connotations. In fact, it is a largely secular holiday that was created to complement the more traditional Mother’s Day celebrations that are so common worldwide. It was only in the early 20^th century that Father’s Day was introduced in order to honor fatherhood and the role and contribution of fathers within a family. It is also common to celebrate the memories of forefathers on this day.

Father’s Day was first celebrated in the United States in the first decade of the 1900s. The first commemoration was held in the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church in Fairmount, West Virginia in 1908 and its popularity soon spread among other small churches and communities. The first Father’s Day celebrated in the month of June was in 1910, in Spokane. Despite the efforts of numerous public officials and authorities (such as President Woodrow Wilson) to make Father’s Day a national holiday, it wasn’t until 1972 that President Richard Nixon recognized the day officially.

Today, Father’s Day is celebrated in most countries around the world on the third Sunday in June, although other countries choose other days in the calendar to honor their dads. Australia and New Zealand, for example, celebrate Father’s Day in September. Today’s celebrations focus on gift-buying and family-oriented activities. It has become a largely ??consumer’ holiday, with many retailers jumping on the bandwagon and promoting their wares for people to purchase the perfect gift for the favorite man in their lives.

In June 1969, gays and lesbians fought back against police harassment in an event that later became known as the Stonewall Riots. Since then, an annual Pride Week has been held in New York City to promote the civil rights achieved by the lesbian, gay and transsexual community and to publicize their successes over the years. There are a number of events that take place around the city throughout the week of June 17^th through June 24^th.

The annual Pride Rally will take place on the afternoon of June 17^th, starting from 2pm, at Bryant Park behind the New York City Public Library. This event officially kicks off the Lesbian and Gay Pride Week. An event that has become part of the activities of Pride Week is the AIDS Candlelight Vigil. This acts as a support march for those struggling with HIV/AIDS, as well as a memorial for those who have died of this disease. A procession of people carrying candles proceeds from Sheridan Square Park to the Hudson River waterfront, where a wreath is tossed into the river in memory of the victims.

At noon on June 24^th, the 38^th annual Pride March will take place at 5^th Avenue and 52^nd Street. Floats, vehicles and thousands of marchers all make up one of the most colorful processions in New York City, and is watched by thousands of others who line the streets of the town. Other Pride Week events include the Rapture on the River (June 23^rd, Hudson River Park) - a dance event for ladies only, as well as the Empire Auto Show that presents a classic car show.

Jazz lovers come together to enjoy one of the finest jazz festivals in the world, sponsored by JVC, in June 2007. The company started this sponsorship project over 20 years ago, beginning with events in European cities and slowly growing in popularity to cities in many major regions of the world. Nearly 50,000 individual performers have been presented in past festivals, including some of the biggest names in the music industry such as Sting, Diana Reeves and Ray Charles.

This year’s JVC Festival in New York will begin on June 17^th through to June 30^th. It will afford visitors the unique opportunity to enjoy a wide range of music genres over a period of two weeks, all in one geographical location. The festival will host musicians playing jazz, world, blues and salsa, among others. Over sixty different events are held at different locations around the city during this time period and everyone should find something suitable - from large concert hall performances to small, intimate clubs. Some of the events are offered for free.

The Jazz Festival will kick off with a Father’s Day special of the Sonny Fortune Quartet featuring Michael Cochrane, Chip Jackson and Steve Johns at the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture. Other specials include a Jimmy McPartland Centennial Celebration at the Kaye Theater, a musical salute to Ruby Braff and Cesaria Evoria’s ??The Bird and the Bee?? at Carnegie Hall. On Saturday, June 30^th, Bela Fleck and the Fleckstones and the Del McCoury Band will make a Carnegie Hall debut. This is an outstanding event that definitely caters to all tastes and musical preferences and should not be missed in New York in June.

Click for the JVC Jazz Festival official site.

New York Journey equips you with all of the information you need to know before you embark on a trip to the Big Apple.

Opera and music lovers will be delighted to experience Met in the Parks - a series of free concerts performed in Central Park and other locations in the region by the world famous Metropolitan Opera. Since 1967, the Opera has brought its finest singers to entertain New York’s residents and visitors to the Big Apple during the summer months. This year’s event - sponsored by the Bank of America for the sixth consecutive year - opens on June 12^th in Central Park and will include ten days of concerts in different boroughs around New York and New Jersey.

No tickets are required to enjoy this sensational event. Spectators get to enjoy some of the world’s finest music in an informal setting surrounded by the beauty of nature - all for free. Concerts start at 8.00 pm sharp and everyone is welcome, including families with children. The event is also particularly appealing to disabled spectators due to the easy accessibility of the locations.

This year’s Met Opera in the Parks will feature two popular concerts - La Boheme by Puccini and Faust by Gounod. La Boheme is a classic love story that relates the tale of two lovers living in Paris, while Faust presents a more philosophical perspective that deals with a pact made with the devil. The concerts will be performed in Central Park in Manhattan, Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx, Snug Harbor at Staten Island, Prospect Park in Brooklyn, Cunningham Park in Queens, Brookdale Park in Bloomfield/Montclair, New Jersey and Buccleuch Park, in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

For the past 28 years, culture lovers in the Big Apple wait for one single day in the month of June when nine of the city’s greatest museums open their doors to the general public for free. All these museums are located on the famous Fifth Avenue and visitors can spend three hours absorbing the wonders of these icons. 23 blocks in the city are closed off to traffic and visitors can wander around the area, enjoying live bands, art-in-the street and other entertainment geared for kids, as well as visiting the museums themselves. This year, the Museum Mile Festival will take place on June 12^th and will begin with an opening ceremony at the National Academy Museum’s building on Fifth Avenue at 5.45 pm.

The museums that are open to the public are: the Latino cultural institution, el Museo del Barrio; The Museum of the City of New York that celebrates the rich cultural diversity of the city and examines its past, present and future; The Jewish Museum, which illuminates the history and achievements of the Jewish experience; the Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, devoted to historic and contemporary design; the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts that provides fabulous exhibitions of art work; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, another institution dedicated to the presentation of art, architecture and visual culture; the Neue Galerie, the museum for German and Austrian art; the Goethe Institute (German Cultural Center) that promotes German cultural events; and, finally, Metropolitan Museum of Art that celebrates 5000 years of art from every corner of the globe under one roof.

Click for the official site of the Museum Mile Festival.

Since 1958, New York City has honored the millions of Puerto Ricans on the island and those who have made the U.S. mainland their home. This televised event attracts tens of thousands of people who march across Fifth Avenue on the second Sunday of every June. Last year’s event drew over 80,000 marchers and another 2 million spectators and this year’s parade - due to be held on June 10^th - will definitely not disappoint in numbers and content. The Puerto Rican Day Parade has the honor of being the largest parade in New York and one of the largest outdoor events in the entire United States. For other great attractions, go to New York Journey for a detailed listing and reviews.

This year’s parade will be led by the National Grand Marshal, Felix Juan Surreales Jr. The traditional ??king’ of the parade will be the popular singer, Ricky Martin. Other guest stars include El Grand Combo, Calle 13 and, directly from Puerto Rico, Daddy Yankee. The event always attracts politicians and celebrities - Puerto Rican and non-Puerto Rican alike, as well as contemporary hip-hop bands. In addition to the parade itself, which is broadcast to Spanish speaking countries all across the globe in a 3-hour television extravaganza, the parade also hosts several other events across the city on the same day. Cultural events, award ceremonies and banquets abound across the city in celebration of the cultural impact of this colorful, vibrant and significant community to the city of New York specifically, and to the country in general.

Click for the official site of the Puerto Rican Day Parade.