SC - OT- Mongol Event in Central Park

[DeeWolff at aol.com]

Naadam in Central Park, NYC - May 19th & May 20th East Meadow Events Details

(Please forward to anyone who may be interested)


The following are details about the Festival of Mongolia Central Park events

that are planned for May 19th & 20th. All the specifics mentioned will be

subject to change as required. The scheduled events in the East Meadow are

to comprise a traditional Mongolian national event called the Naadam. The

Naadam events are celebrated annually in Mongolia in which national

competitions in traditional Mongolian wrestling , archery and horse racing

take place. Men, women and children compete in these events. Naadam comes

from the word "Naadakh"

which means "to have fun".


On May 19th and May 20th 2000, the Festival of Mongolia anticipated bringing

a  Mongolian performance troupe composed of dancers, singers, musicians,

wrestlers and archers to do public entertainment performances at the East

Meadow in Central Park.


The troupe will be comprised approximately of 9 singers and musicians, 6

dancers, 4 wrestlers, and 3 archers.


These public performances will be presented with no admission charge.


We anticipate 5,000 to 15,000 people to present at these events daily.


We plan to use a 32’ x 24’ stage platform for the musical and dance

performances. There will also be seating arranged near the stage for

approximately 200 people. There will be a sound system in place for

amplification.


The stage will probably be placed 30 feet west of the 99th street and Fifth

Avenue entrance to the East Meadow. The stage will face west or somewhat

northwest.


There will be three Mongolian round tents called “Gers” placed within the

perimeter of the Naadam  site. The Ger are approximately 20 feet in diameter

and will allow the public to experience the traditional Mongolian nomadic

home and will also serve as information distribution centers.


We plan to cordon off the viewing area for demonstrations of Mongolian

wrestling and archery.


The area for these demonstrations will be approximately 40 feet from the

front of the stage.  Experienced professional safety officers will supervise

these events and a clear area of about 200 feet behind the targets will

prevent onlookers from straying near the archery area. The archery targets

will be placed approximately 60 feet from the archers.


The wrestlers will demonstrate their sport in a 50 foot circle and the

public will be allowed to view these events in the round.


Promotional stalls will be manned on site to distribute literature and

information about sponsors, their services and Mongolian cultural programs.


Some sponsor banners are also planned to placed near the stage during the

events.


The American Museum of Natural History which is a Festival of Mongolia

partner institution plans to bring its 37 foot Moveable Museum to the East

Meadow site. This vehicle house an exhibit on traditional nomadic peoples

including one on Mongolian nomadic life. It will also be free to the public.

This vehicle will be parked on 5th Ave.


There will also be need for permits for the 3-4 equipment trucks for the

stage and sound production company. The sound truck will be about 30 foot in

length.


The sound and stage and the Gers will need to be set up the previous evening

of May 18th, and will stay up till dismantling on May 20th. One or two off

duty police officers will maintain overnight security at the site.


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Events Schedule for East Meadow Events on May 19th & May 20th


11:00 am - Mongolian Naadam Festival Opening. City, State and Mongolian

officials make opening remarks and introduce the events


12:00 pm - Mongolian singers and dancers opening performance


1:00 pm - Mongolian wrestling and archery demonstrations


2:00 pm - Mongolian speakers talk about Mongolian cultural traditions


3:00 pm - Audience invited to visit Gers, Moveable Museum exhibitions and

meet the performers


4:00 pm - Naadam program ends. Site cleanup begins. On May 20th stage is

dismantled

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These are our current projected plans which are subject to modification. We

will need to discuss some of the other aspects of the programs needs such as

the insurance bond that needs to be posted, placement of barricades,

lavatories, and additional seating.


Publicity for the overall program is being coordinated with Mr. Gary Zarr’s

public relations office at the American Museum of Natural History. The AMNH

is planning to open its Mongolian Dinosaurs exhibition on May 19th, so there

will be joint publicity for these events.


Please contact Aziz Rahman at (212) 726-2453 if any additional information

is needed.

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Information on other Festival Of Mongolia events can be found at:

http://www.un.int/mongolia/festival-form.htm



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To be kept updated on Mongol cultural and historical activities:

http://www.onelist.com/group/Mongol

Receive announcements such as this, or periodically view the calendar, links

and messages. I maintain it as an announcements list so emails will be

infrequent and to the point.

Hope to see you there,


Luigi

(or, in the SCA: "Gulugjab Tangghudai" / Puppy)