Make Music NY Holiday Parades

From the organizers: 

Make Music Winter, a free, outdoor music-making celebration on the winter solstice that brings communities together and warms the spirit, announces its updated schedule of events for New York City, where 13 participatory musical parades will be held across the city. The daylong musical celebration on the shortest day of the year brings together New Yorkers of all ages, backgrounds, musical abilities and styles to sing, play, march and dance their way across streets, parks, plazas and other public spaces. Make Music Winter, which is being held in 40 cities nationwide, is the cold-weather counterpart to Make Music Day, the annual global celebration of music occurring on June 21, the summer solstice.

From ukulele caroling and a percussive Puerto Rican parranda to an Appalachia-themed hootenanny and a choir of medieval singers, Make Music Winter parades have been enchanting audiences since Make Music Winter first launched in 2011 in NYC. Make Music Winter in NYC is presented by The NAMM Foundation and produced by Make Music New York.

Make Music Winter 2019 highlights will include:

• [B] MERRY Music Parade (Brownsville, Brooklyn) – Hosted by the Brownsville Community Justice Center, the parade will engage residents in the local arts and culture with music selections performed by local youth bands and dancers, as well as music from the Sound of Brownsville record label. The parade will connect Brownsville residents from Pitkin Avenue down Rockaway Avenue, parading past historic Belmont Avenue down to Livonia Avenue, stopping at the Marcus Garvey Youth Clubhouse.
• Flatfoot Flatbush (Brooklyn’s Flatbush Avenue) – Dancers, fiddlers and pickers will parade down Flatbush Avenue playing old-time times while flat footing, a form of percussive dancing from Appalachia. Participants will learn the fundamental steps of this rhythmic dance form and have a chance to participate with the Flatfoot Flatbush String Band. The parade will traverse Prospect Heights Brooklyn, along vibrant Flatbush Avenue, with dozens of stops along the way to play, dance and sing. The fun will continue at an after-party featuring music and dance sets by City Stompers and the Flatfoot Flatbush Band. The program is produced by Nick Horner and Theo Boguszewski in association with the North Flatbush Business Improvement District, and made possible with support from M&T Bank and Con Edison.
• Solstice Sing Along (Kensington, Brooklyn) – The Kensington Stewards bring to life the community surrounding Kensington Plaza, located along bustling Church Avenue in Central Brooklyn. The festivities include a holiday-themed sing along led by local musicians and other activities perfect for the entire family.