Wales Week USA is an annual event that takes place around March 1 – St. David’s Day. Wales Week
is co-ordinated by the Welsh Assembly Government in New York in
partnership with a wide variety of organisations, artists, writers and
performers in both Wales and the USA. For more information, visit their site hereVenue: British Memorial Garden, Hanover Square, New York
Date: February 27 until end of March
Who should attend: Open to the public
A rare chance to have your photo taken with the world’s longest train sign! Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyllllandysiliogogogoch is a tiny place on the island of Anglesey in Wales. It is thought to be the longest place name in the world. A replica of the sign that stands in the village train station will be on display at the British Memorial Garden in Hanover Square New York on February 27 until the end of March. Check out the British Memorial Garden Website www.britishmemorialgarden.org for more information.
Welsh signature dishes served exclusively at Counter Organic Restaurant
Venue: Counter Organic Wine and Martini Bar Vegetarian Bistro, 105 First Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets
Dates: From Feb 27 until March 6 inclusive
Time: Restaurant Hours: Mondays through Thursdays: 5.00 p.m.-12.00 a.m. Fridays: 5.00 p.m. – 1.00 a.m. Saturday: 11.00 a.m. – 1.00 a.m. Sundays: 11.00 a.m. – 12.00 a.m.
Reservations: For bookings Tel: 212- 982-5970 or Email: reservations@counternyc.com
New York Restaurant review: “Counter, a sophisticated organic wine/martini bar and vegetarian bistro, pleases the small realm of the senses even as it sustains the larger world of the global environment, with a twist. Namely, Counter pours 300 earth-friendly wines and funky martinis made with herb-infused vodkas from a semi-circular oak bar tiled in beige marble, with seating at luncheonette-style swivel stools. Soft lighting and beige walls set a mellow mood in the dining room; subtle green and burgundy banquettes get a welcome mid-century jolt from orange wall hangings and an orange wine "tree" rack near the door. The kitchen takes fine advantage of seasonal produce grown in owner Deborah Gavito's rooftop garden, and delights in artfully reconstructing meatless versions of classic dishes.”
Counter organic restaurant will present the following 3 special Welsh recipes ‘tappas’ style:
• Crispy wontons with laver, leek and sesame.
• Glamorgan sausages with a dipping sauce.
• Little pots of Halen Mon Spiced vegetables
Signature Welsh Dessert:
• Chocolate fondue laced with vanilla
At the bar:
• Penderyn single malt Welsh whisky
• Black Mountain Heather cocktail
Tom Jones Live in New Jersey
Venue: Paramount Theatre, 1300 Ocean Avenue, Asbury Park, New Jersey
Date: February 27, 2009
Time: Doors open at 7.00pm show starts at 8.00pm
Who should attend: Open to the public
Reservations: Various online booking services
Admission: Tickets will be priced between $54.50 and $100
Welsh music icon Sir Tom Jones performs live. The Grammy winner‘s signature voice and world famous hits such as "It's Not Unusual" and "Delilah" make his live shows an amazing not to be missed experience.
France v Wales Rugby Game, live in a bar near you
Venue: Bars across the USA
Dates: February 27, 2009
Time: 3:00pm EST
Who should attend: Open to the public
Rugby is a national passion in Wales. The RBS 6 Nations is a competition between Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Italy. For the last five years the championship has been divided between Wales and France, with Wales being the current Champions who won the Grand Slam in 2008 Wales also won the Grand Slam in 2005, but in between, France have won the championship twice and they also were Grand Slam winners in 2004. This should be a very exciting match! The match can be watched across the US. The game will be played in the Stade de France in Paris and kick off is at 3.00 pm EST on Friday February 27.
For a quick guide to the rules of Rugby please visit: www.ombac.org/ombac_rugby/rulesofrugby.htm
St. David’s Society of the State of New York 174th Annual Dinner Dance
Venue: Yale Club, 50 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York
Date: February 27, 2009
Time: Cocktails in the Library at 6.30pm. Dinner in the Grand Ballroom at 7.45pm
Reservations: RSVP by 25 February 2006.Tel: 212.422.5456 telephone, Fax: 212.422.5480 or email: jwthomas@amergeog.org
Admissions: $150 per ticket.
The St. David's Day Society of the State of New York presents their 174th annual St David’s Day Dinner Dance. The 2009 William R Hopkins Bronze Medal will be awarded to Lord Brian Griffiths, Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs International. Black Tie suggested.
Animated Tales of the World: Merlin and the Dragons
Venue: Brooklyn Children’s Museum
Dates: Feb 28, 2009 and March 1, 2009
Times: 2:30pm
Who should attend: Open to the public
For further information please visit www.brooklynkids.org
The Animated Tales of the World is a series of animated tales featuring the stories and legends of over 39 countries in the world. Merlin and the Dragons is one of the stories in the series and is based on an ancient Welsh myth about the wizard Merlin (from the Welsh Myrddin) and the origin of the red dragon on the Welsh flag.
Magic of the Blues, Beer and Spirit
Venue: The Artisanal Premium Cheese Center,500 West 37th Street, New York
Date: February 28, 2009
Time: 3.00 – 5.00 pm
Cost: $85 per person. Discounts available: If you sign up more than one person tickets are $75, if you sign up for more than eight tickets are $69.
Reservations: http://www.artisanalcheese.com/
This class, led by Waldemar Albrecht, explores the renowned combination of blue cheeses beautifully paired to Rogue spirits and beers presented by Sebbie Buhler and with a taste of rare Penderyn single malt whisky from Wales – in celebration of Wales Week in New York.
Gorwydd Caerphilly Cheese from Wales (supplied by The Artisanal Pemium Cheese Center) can also be tasted at two fine New York restaurants:
* Artisanal,2 Park Avenue Tel 212 725 8585 (http://www.artisanalbistro.com/)
* Picholine, 35 West 64th Street Tel: 212.724.8585 (http://www.picholinenyc.com/).
Trinity College performs Lonesome Valley
Venue: Producers Club, 358 West 44th Street, New York
Date: February 28, 2009
Times: Matinee 3.00pm and evening 8.00pm
Who should attend: Open to the public
Reservations: Call Smarttix 212/868-4444, Online: www.smarttix.com or payable on the door
Admission: $20
Exclusively for 2009, Trinity CollegePerformers present Lonesome Valley to celebrate Wales Week in New York. When D. Brooks Jones, noted producer, director, and arts consultant passed away in July of 2008, he left behind a series of short stories which were titled Lonesome Valley. These stories were a carefully crafted collection of memories of his early years in his home town of Jackson, Ohio, in the 1940’s and his subsequent travels around the world. The son of a prominent Welsh family in a community with a significant Welsh heritage, Brooks captures the spirited humour and cultural uniqueness of the diverse characters found in the small town located in the foothills of Appalachia as it adjusted to life after World War II. This loving and poignant reflection of the place that shaped his perspective on life is both entertaining and enriching. These stories remind us that we all come from someplace special. Students from Trinity College University are working to bring these stories to life in a theatrical narrative form.
Trinity College performs CLYMAU – a new musical
Venue: Producers Club, 358 West 44th Street, New York
Dates & Times: Sunday March 1st, 2009 at 3pm and Monday March 2nd, 2009 at 8pm
Who should attend: Open to the public
Reservations: Call Smarttix 212/868-4444, Online: www.smarttix.com or payable on the door
Admission: $20
Exclusively for 2009, Trinity CollegePerformers present CLYMAU to Celebrate Wales Week in New York. CLYMAU is the story of Siwan, the illegitimate daughter of King John of England, who was given as a teenage bride to the ageing Welsh prince Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great). Her adulterous affair with Gwilym Brewys (William de Braose) had dramatic consequences. In this new and original musical retelling of the story, not only do we witness the predicaments of the royals and the nobility but also a sharper focus is cast on the court of Llywelyn - in particular the trials and tribulations of the lives of the servants in his court. Theirs is a story of desperation, a story of hope, a story of love.
Green 15 Evening
Venue: Rubin Museum, 150 West 17th Street, New York
Date: March 3, 2009
Time: 6.00pm – 8.00pm
By invitation only
Fifteen organizations promise to give you a fun and informative evening at the Rubin Museum with organic food and drink tastings, movies, lectures, music, gifts and prizes:
* American Airlines
* Llanllyr organic water
* British Memorial Garden, New York
* Natural History Museum/ Climate Change exhibition
* Cardiff University
* New York Restoration Project
* New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
* Penderyn Single Malt Whisky
* Counter Organic Restuarant and Wine and Martini Bar Vegetarian Bistro
Sustainable Architecture Breakfast Discussion
Venue: the Residence of the British Consul General
Date: March 4, 2009
Time: 8.30 – 9.30
Strictly by invitation only
Consul General Sir Alan Collins will chair a breakfast discussion on sustainable architecture with Professor Phillip Jones, Head of the School of Architecture at Cardiff University. Guests will include notable New York and US architects, representatives of US schools of architecture, and editors of architectural journals and magazines.
Ll?r Williams: a Painter in Sound
Venue: Essex House, 160 Central Park South, New York
Date: March 4 2009
Time: 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Strictly by invitation only
Ll?r Williams has been described by the London Times as ‘the Welsh pianist with wizardry at his fingertips’ and ‘one of the truly great musicians of our time.’ The Glasgow Herald simply calls him ‘a fastidious painter in sound.’ The Welsh Assembly Government will invite key clients and VIP guests to a private recital - also the US solo premier - of one of the most outstanding pianists of this generation. The 30-minute recital by Ll?r Williams will include works by Debussy, Chopin and Schubert and new works by Welsh composers Geraint Lewis and Karl Jenkins. The recital will be followed by a reception in the company of the pianist.
Owen Sheers and Paul Watkins at the New York Public Library
Venue: South Court Auditorium, New York Public Library, Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street, New York
Date: March 5, 2009
Time: 6:30pm
Who should attend: Open to the public. No reservations necessary.
Admission and Reservation: free of charge
Prominent Welsh novelists Paul Watkins and Owen Sheers in conversation at Celeste Bartos, the New York Public Library.
Paul Watkins has published 10 novels and two books of non-fiction, including the best selling, Stand Before Your God. His novels Calm at Sunset, won Britain's Encore Prize for best second novel, and Archangel won the 1996 Holtby Prize from the Royal Society of Literature. The London Sunday Telegraph said: 'Paul Watkins has become the writer of his generation whose future course will be watched with most interest'. He is regularly compared to Hemingway and Conrad and his books have been translated into 9 languages
Owen Sheers, the winner of an Eric Gregory Award and the 1999 Vogue Young Writer’s Award, first collection of poetry, The Blue Book (Seren, 2000) was short-listed for the Welsh Book of the Year and the Forward Prize Best 1st Collection 2001. Owen’s first novel, Resistance (Faber, 2008) won a 2008 Hospital Club Creative Award and was short-listed for the Writers Guild Best Book Award. Owen’s recent collaboration with composer Rachel Portman, The Water Diviner’s Tale, an oratorio for children, was premiered at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms 2007.
Ll?r Williams at Carnegie Hall
Venue: Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall, 881 Seventh Avenue, New York
Date: March 6, 2009
Time: 7.30 pm
Who should attend: Open to the public
Reservations: Tickets available at Tel: 212-247-7800
Admission: $32
Ll?r Williams has been described by the London Times as ‘the Welsh pianist with wizardry at his fingertips’ and ‘one of the truly great musicians of our time.’ The Glasgow Herald simply calls him ‘a fastidious painter in sound.’ Ll?r Williams tonight makes his New York solo recital debut as part of the Distinctive Debuts series at famous Weill Recital Hall, Carnegie Hall.
Great Performing artists from Wales
Venue: New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Doroty and Lewis B. Cullman Cneter, Bruno Walter Auditorium (located at Lincoln Center)
Date: March 7, 2009
Time: 1.00 – 5.00 pm
Who should attend: Open to the public
Reservations: No reservations necessary but early arrival is advised to ensure a seat. For further information, please call (212) 870-1630 or visit www.nypl.org/lpaprograms
Admission: free
Screenings of biopics and concerts of great singers, actors and musicians from Wales including Richard Burton, Shirley Bassey, Sian Phillips, and Ll?r Williams (also appearing in Carnegie Hall the previous evening).
Program schedule:
1:00pm Sian Phillips: A Broadcast from Home
BBC documentary about the great Welsh actress (2006; 40 minutes).
1:45pm Welsh Greats: Richard Burton
Documentary (2008; 30 minutes)
2:30pm "Great TV" Shirley Bassey
Documentary (2008;29 minutes)
3;00pm Shirley Bassey at Faenol
Screening of a concert by Dame Shirley Bassey at the Faenol Festival in Wales, August 2006 (58 minutes)
4:00 pm Ll?r Williams: Virtuoso
Documentary about the Welsh pianist (2008; 50 minutes).
