Lincoln Center Will Throw 60th Anniversary Block Party

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — One of New York City's leading arts institution's is turning 60 this year and celebrating with a free block party on the Upper West Side.

Lincoln Center will host its 60th anniversary celebration on May 4 in front of its campus on Columbus Avenue between West 62nd and 65th streets. The event will feature free activities such as community arts classes and performances.

"The spirit of community is central to Lincoln Center," said incoming President and CEO, Henry Timms, whose tenure begins on May 6. "As we mark this anniversary and look to the future, we are so proud to bring together our phenomenal constituent organizations and invite all New Yorkers to celebrate the power of the performing arts across our campus."

Activities will be led by several organizations affiliated with the performing arts center and musical director Sunny Jain will organize a series of free performances on the center's plaza.

The block party will celebrate the May 14, 1959 groundbreaking of Lincoln Center's Upper West Side campus. President Dwight D. Eisenhower himself presided over the event, saying "Here will occur a true interchange of the fruits of national cultures. From this will develop a growth that will spread to the corners of the Earth, bringing with it the kind of human message that only individuals—not governments—can transmit."

The free block party isn't Lincoln Center's only plan to celebrate its anniversary. On May 5 the organization will hold a Diamond Jubilee Gala fundraiser that will honor some of Lincoln Center's largest donors.