2011's Judy In New York festival kicked off at the Steinway Recital Hall. The attendees were greeted and briefed by Chairperson Jan Glazier and her Co-Chairs Albert Poland and Steve Sanders. I wasn't able to attend the opening ceremonies but it was reported back to me that it was a charming start to JINY.
After the introductory remarks the crowd was treated to a recital and Garland song sing-a-long by Steinway artist, Richard Glazier.
Then it was time for lunch, to be followed by a historic event.
After lunch several of the group went on a private tour of Carnegie Hall.
Now mind you this special tour happened on the 50th anniversary of Judy Garland's historic triumph at the venue. People were so mesmerized by the Carnegie Hall archivist that they stayed over time just to soak up more knowledge.
Then it was on to Sardi's for a meet and greet party and special sit down dinner.
My partner in crime for the festival was The Judy Garland Experience's design consultant, Robin D'Amato,and this party was our first event at the festival.
I was thrilled to see my friend, legendary Broadway figure, Albert Poland, there.
In fact, Albert was responsible for the Sardi's event, and it went off without a hitch. The staff treated everyone like royalty and there was plenty of food and drink for all.
This was a particularly special event for me because I got to meet so many great people from all over, and was thrilled to find out that many of them are members of the Yahoo version of The Judy Garland Experience.
Albert Poland arranged for Phil McKinley to stop by and give a casual talk and he generously answered questions as well. He couldn't stay and have dinner with us because he was needed back at Spider-Man where he had just taken over directing chores.
But his stories were fascinating and we finally got to find out the real reason why Liza Minnelli couldn't bring herself to see The Boy From Oz.
After the Sardi's party some of the group went over to see the highly acclaimed Liza And Judy show at Don't Tell Mama, starring TJGE members Rick Skye and Tommy Femia.
Stay tuned for day two coming later in the week. The second day of Judy In New York included a luxury bus trip to Judy's final resting place, special presentations of never seen or heard before Judy Garland material at the Producers Club, panel discussions, and more.
Photographs provided by Justin Sturge, Hanna Brown, Cris Bonneville, Joan Beck Coulson, Frank Labrador, Jan Glazier, and others.
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