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GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION KICKS OFF FEBRUARY 1

Public Invited to a Full Day of Celebrations and Performances

Full 2013 Calendar of Centennial Activities is Released

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York (MTA) and Metro-North Railroad open Grand Central Terminal to the public on February 1, 2013 for the celebration of its 100th Anniversary with a full day of activities, including a morning public rededication ceremony and musical performances that will keep visitors entertained well into the evening. OPENING CEREMONY

More than a dozen well-known names and faces will wish the Terminal a happy birthday from a stage erected in the Main Concourse.  The day kicks off at 9:30 a.m. with a concert by the West Point Brass & Percussion (which culminates in “Grand Central Centennial Fanfare,” a new piece written for the occasion), and presentation of colors by West Point’s Cadet Color Guard, followed by a 75-minute opening ceremony (hosted by WABC-TV’s Sade Baderinwa) at 10 a.m.  Among the speakers, performers and activities at the ceremony:

award-winning actress and New York City resident Cynthia Nixon;

former U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins, who will read an original poem commissioned by MTA Arts for Transit for the occasion;

author and preservationist Caroline Kennedy, Honorary Co-Chair of the Grand Central Centennial Committee whose mother Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis is widely credited with saving the Terminal from destruction in the 1970s;

Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and actress Melissa Manchester, who will perform solo and with a choir;

members of the Vanderbilt family whose ancestor “Commodore” Cornelius Vanderbilt was the visionary behind railroading’s “gilded age” and inspired the construction of Grand Central;

baseball MVP and New York Mets World Series Champion first baseman Keith Hernandez;

the Celia Cruz Bronx High School Choir; and

several special presentations, including a surprise “sweet” delivery to cap off the event.

via mta.info | Grand Central Terminal.