Content area
Full Text
On April 27, thousands of people are expected to wind through lower Manhattan in the second annual 5K run/walk to benefit the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Last year's inaugural event raised more than $2.2 million. This year, it should bring in even more because the opening of the long-delayed, much-anticipated museum is in sight, although it is unlikely to be ready by the race.
Joseph Daniels, president of the 9/11 museum, is thrilled that it will finally debut this spring, giving visitors from around the globe the opportunity to understand what happened in lower Manhattan in 2001. He also believes it will make his fundraising job easier - and he may be right. After having toured the museum, billionaire David Koch recently donated $1 million. "We see the opening of the museum as a huge development opportunity," Mr. Daniels said.
The Sept. 11 museum opening is the most significant cultural milestone this year, but there are many other high-profile events on the calendar. Among them, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will debut its new plaza and fountains, as well as unveil its renovated Costume Institute; the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt will reopen after a three-year renovation; and the New York Hall of Science's Great Hall will return after a year off line. The debuts and reintroductions will be bolstered by a wide-ranging menu of performances and exhibits, such as Tony-winning actor Frank Langella's portrayal of King Lear at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and an Ai Weiwei exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum.
Cultural institutions are looking forward to a year when meeting budgets and raising money becomes less difficult as the economy improves, the stock market soars and tourists flood New York City. Late last year, NYC & Company announced that the city was on track to draw a record 54.3 million visitors in 2013, 1.6...