Going Places, Near & Far: 11th Annual Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island Finishes Off With Really Hot Jazz

The Island Now

Talk about Hot Jazz! The heat and humidity could not dampen the celebratory spirit for the final weekend of the 11th Annual Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governors Island, where the weather was hot but the jazz was hotter. People still turned out in their vintage 1920s outfits, re-creating the Gatsby-era.
The entertainment throughout the day is topnotch: Gregory Moore and The Dreamland Follies, evoking the Ziegfield Follies, puts on stunning and sophisticated dance routines; Roddy Caravella & The Canarsie Wobblers  consistently wow with fanciful costumes and choreography; The Minsky Sisters, a 1920s-inspired sisters tap act in the tradition of classic vaudevillian family acts; Queen Esther, an award-winning vocalist with a four-octave range who is also a songwriter, actor, and recording artist performing regularly in NYC, who sets her own standard of Jazz Great while paying tribute to jazz royalty of yore with her jazz quintet The Hot Five; Peter Mintun, “world’s greatest piano man” and Molly Ryan, known for her silvery voice and lush, elegant vocal style; plus musical interludes on vintage 78 records from the 1920s played on a 1905 antique phonograph.
There are special attractions, as well, starting with lessons in Charleston or the Peabody by Roddy Caravella and his wife; dance competition (in Charleston or Peabody); a “High Court of Pie” contest; Scores of vintage vendors add to the atmosphere – if you didn’t have your own vintage outfit, you can rent or buy, and if you didn’t have your own picnic blanket, you could purchase from the General Store.Bathing Beauties and Beaus Promenade; Kidland carnival games and prizes for junior gents and Flapperettes; 1920s Motorcar Exhibition (get up close and personal with flivvers, Tin Lizzies and “Buttercup,” Gatsby’s very own 1925 Rolls-Royce “Twenty”); Vintage Portraits  (immortalize yourself while perched upon a Paper Moon); and boutonnieres and mini floral arrangements bestowed upon guests fromBloomThat, a flower start-up.
The enchantment begins as you board the ferry from South Street or from Brooklyn for the short ride to Governors Island. You think you have stepped back to the 1920s – crowds of giddy people are dressed in flapper dresses and linen suits, caps and suspenders (making their best accommodation considering the heat wave that sent the heat index above 100 degrees).
The unquestioned star of the day long festival is Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra, one of the world’s great Jazz Age dance bands, specializing in the Hot-Jazz of the 1920s.
“Conductor, composer, musician and singer Michael Arenella presents a personally transcribed songbook for your listening and dancing pleasure.” (Michael Arenalla also can be heard Wednesday nights at the Clover Club, Smith Street in Brooklyn and at the Red Room, the last Thursday of the month, 85 E 4th St, NYC, and at the Clover Club, see www.dreamlandorchestra.com).
The Jazz Age Lawn Party started in 2005 as a small gathering of about 50 friends and fans of Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra and their version of prohibition-era music and fun. Soon it was drawing thousands of fans who revel in the music and zeitgeist of the 1920s and 1930s and has become what is arguably the world’s largest outdoor musical celebration of the Jazz Age, but is undoubtedly one of the highlights in a crammed calendar of summer happenings in New York. (For more information, visit JazzAgeLawnParty.com).
Governors Island: Playground for the Arts
The Jazz Age Lawn Party is only one of the happenings on Governors Island during the summer. The Island has become known as New York City’s “Playground for the Arts,” hosting cultural events, food festivals, concerts, performances throughout the season.
It is a fantastic destination to explore – and really feel you have gone far away even if only 10 minutes ferry ride, and but 800 yards, from workaday “civilization” in Lower Manhattan (even closer to Brooklyn). My favorite way of experiencing Governors Island is to bike from Penn Station, down the Hudson River Conservancy to the Governors Island ferry at South Street.
Then, it is fabulous to bike around the 172-acre island to explore its various sites including a museum, the Civil War era Castle Williams (one of the triumvirate of forts that guarded the entrance to New York Harbor; the second is Battery Park and the third is the fort that is now the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty) and Fort Jay (where my parents lived for a time during World War II). Many of the homes along Colonels Row have been converted to various uses.
There are fabulous, creative playgrounds and places to explore, and on a typical weekend, special activities.
There are always serendipitous discoveries – such as the Civil War reenactment that took place the weekend of the Jazz Age Lawn Party.
You also are treated to breathtaking views of Lower Manhattan’s skyline, the Harbor, the Statue of Liberty and the massive cruise ships going out of the harbor from Manhattan and Bayonne, New Jersey piers.
The island has a fabulous history that goes back to the Native Americans, to the Dutch and the British. It has had a military purpose going back to the Revolutionary War. Between 1806 and 1809, the U.S. Army reconstructed Fort Jay and built Castle Williams on a rocky outcropping facing the harbor. During the War of 1812, artillery and infantry troops were concentrated on Governors Island.
The island continued to serve an important military function until the 1960s. During the American Civil War, it was used for recruitment and as a prison for captured Confederate soldiers. Throughout World War I and II, the island served as an important supply base for Army ground and air forces.
Over the years, Governors Island has served as the backdrop for a number of historic events. In 1986, the island was the setting for the relighting of the newly refurbished Statue of Liberty by President Ronald Reagan. In 1988, President Reagan hosted a U.S.-U.S.S.R. summit with Mikhail Gorbachev on Governors Island, and in 1993, the United Nations sponsored talks on the island to help restore democratic rule in Haiti.
In April 2010, Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Paterson reached an agreement on the future of Governors Island. The City of New York is now responsible for Governors Island and created the Trust for Governors Island, the organization charged with the operations, planning and redevelopment of the Island.
Governors Island is open seasonally from Memorial Day weekend to the last weekend in September.
National Park Service facilities, including Castle Williams, Fort Jay, and the bookstore are open 5 days a week, Wednesday – Sunday during the public access season. (See https://www.nps.gov/gois/planyourvisit/things2do.htm for programming.)
You can reach Governors Island by ferry from lower Manhattan, as well as from Brooklyn ($2), 10 am to 6 pm Monday-Friday; 10 am to 7 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
The Trust for Governors Island, also offers a wide variety of programming on public access days. Visit them at www.govisland.com for more information.


<div data-lazy-src=

” />


<div data-lazy-src=

” />


<p data-lazy-src=

Share this Article