Sign up for our amNewYork email newsletter to get news, updates, and local insights delivered straight to your inbox!
Crystal Field, Theater for the New City’s executive and artistic director, belted out a holiday tune. Photos by Bob Krasner
It was a holiday weekend in the East Village, starting with Santacon. O.K., enough about Santacon. The annual tree lighting ceremony took place on Sun., Dec. 10, in Tompkins Square Park, drawing about 200 neighborhood participants. The Mandel / Lydon Trio provided musical backup for the singers from the Theater for the New City and the crowd, who happily sang along to Christmas carols and one Hanukkah tune. Veselka owner Tom Birchard was on hand to provide free hot chocolate and a birthday cake for Crystal Field, the executive artistic director for TNC, who has organized and sung at the holiday event since she started the whole shebang 26 years ago.
Gathered in front of the Tompkins tannenbaum at the lighting event were all the singers, plus the musicians — Michael Lydon, with guitar, Ellen Mandel next to him and Art Baron with the trombone — and local kids who attended. Period clothing was lent by the Public Theater. One costume was from the original production of “Hamilton.”Crystal Field, held a bouquet of flowers she was given at the tree lighting and caroling event, as Tom Birchard of Veselka came bearing cake and Albert Fabozzi, president of the Tompkins Square Park Neighborhood Coalition, looked on happily.East Village Renaissance arts woman Elizabeth Ruf-Maldonado and some of the other singers dressed in period garb.
