Brazilian street artist Kobra’s Christ the Redeemer in Brooklyn.
Dear Reader
I’m not terribly religious, but I do like celebrating Easter - well, Greek Easter, that is. Which usually takes place, because of the Greek Orthodox calendar, the week after “English Easter,” as we call it. So while some will be gathering to celebrate Easter this Sunday, and others will be commemorating Passover, it will be Palm Sunday for the Greeks among us. This Sunday I was also meant to be flying to London, to celebrate Easter with my family in the UK, and then, take part in the London Marathon a week later. As we know, the London Marathon has been postponed until October (though I have to wonder if it will even happen then), and I am but one of countless people who has had travel plans cancelled. But Easter 2020 is still going ahead, albeit in a very different way — with virtual egg hunts and online church services. If you’ll be celebrating, I wish you a good one, as unusual and as uncertain as it may be.
Here’s this weekend’s bumper edition of online events:
1. The big highlight this weekend is set to be Andrea Bocelli performing a concert he’s calling Music For Hope at the Duomo cathedral of Milan on Easter Sunday. You can watch it live at 10am PT, 1pm ET, 7pm CAT on his YouTube. No other details are needed, because this is going to be wonderful.
2. Vatican News will be streaming Sunday’s service held at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City by Pope Francis on YouTube. The stream kicks off at 4:55 am ET, which is 10:55 am in Vatican City. In New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan will be leading St Patrick’s Church Sunday service at saintpatrickscathedral.org, and the time-honoured New York tradition of the New York City Easter Parade & Bonnet Festival will follow on social media. The Fifth Avenue Association wants you to still dress up and send them pics that they will feature.
3. Organizers with the Stonewall Community Development Corporation are hosting a "promenade-in-place" community Zoom event, on Sunday, where those taking part will don Easter bonnets and other "springtime finery."
4. Meanwhile, over in LA, Joel Osteen will bring in Kanye West (joined by his Sunday Service Choir) and Mariah Carey, who will sing Hero, as well as Tyler Perry, for his Easter service. It will stream at Lakewoodchurch.com/Easter.
5. The UK’s Royal Albert Hall has also kicked off a virtual series. Tonight/today, the Royal Choral Society sings their time-honoured tradition of Handel’s Messiah from 4:45pm GMT, broadcast here.
6. This item is for tourists and would-be-tourist locals who like exploring parts of New York usually off limits for seasoned New Yorkers. Rockefeller Center is hosting a Happy Hour Art Party today at 2pm PST/5pm EST on IG Live. You bring the drinks and snacks, and they’ll bring the tunes and the entertainment in the form of @JustinTeodoro, who’ll be sketching pics in real time. Send them your favourite photo and it could be one of the pics Justin will be drawing.
7. If you’re a big SNL fan, you’ll likely already know that for the first time, Saturday Night Live will be producing an episode that’s done entirely remotely, for the first time on Saturday.
8. Phoebe Bridgers will be playing a live set on Pitchfork’s IG today, after singing in her bathtub on Jimmy Kimmel last night. Her new album is coming out in June. As part of the Pitchfork series, artists will be able to spotlight a charity of their choice too.
Thank you for reading - and thank you for the email replies I’ve received. It’s really nice to get a response to something you make and put out into the world with love [insert heart emoji here].
I’ll leave you with this. It’s a note for my fellow runners from W. Kamau Bell, but it’s also fun to see his culinary choices in these tough times.
Stay safe, stay sane
Your neighbour
Nadia
Wonderful article, thank you for the tips!