City Parks Foundation has announced their 2019 Gala fundraiser will take place Thursday, September 26 in Central Park. The dinner and a concert under the stars will be held at the newly refurbished flagship SummerStage venue while celebrating the organization’s 30th anniversary. This year’s event will honor Paradigm Talent Agency’s Head of Global Music Marty Diamond and ING Americas with Gerald Walker, CEO. Guests will enjoy special performances by internationally renowned singer-songwriters Sara Bareilles, Janelle Monáe, and David in an intimate concert setting.

City Parks Foundation (CPF), through its Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage Festival, is the largest presenter of free arts and cultural programs in New York City parks, and serves 300,000 New Yorkers each year through arts, education, sports and community building initiatives. Thirty years ago, ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ author Avery Corman was concerned about the state of his local park and began looking for ways to improve it. Thanks to Corman, and many other dedicated New Yorkers who took action, today City Parks Foundation is dedicated to offering diverse programming to encourage residents to use and care for their local parks and green spaces, to bring these public spaces to life and make them accessible for all.

City Parks Foundation will honor Marty Diamond with its “SummerStage Icon” Award at this year’s Gala, for his long-standing support of the performing arts and festivals like SummerStage and for bringing world-class artists to perform for New York City audiences at SummerStage concerts. He has dedicated his career to advocating for artists across the globe and promoting their creative vision, enriching the international music landscape. As Paradigm’s Head of Global Music, Diamond’s clients include Sara Bareilles, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay, Janelle Monáe, Halsey, Lorde, Sia, David Gray, Liam Gallagher, Bastille, Sigur Rós, Alessia Cara, Vance Joy, Charli XCX, Snow Patrol, and MARINA.

“As a native New Yorker and family man, I’m one of many who directly benefit from City Parks Foundation and their ongoing effort to enhance and preserve the city’s open spaces,” says Diamond. “It’s an honor to be recognized by an organization committed to inspiring the next generation of creatives by bringing music and arts to their own backyard.”

City Parks Foundation is also proud to honor ING Americas with Gerald Walker, CEO, with the “People and Parks” Award for helping transform New York City green spaces into dynamic and active community assets. For over 15 years, ING Americas has been a major supporter of CPF’s free sports and community building programs, keeping our city’s parks active and thriving.

“I am pleased to accept this award on behalf of our employees who have cleaned parks, planted trees and built greenhouses,” said Walker, CEO of ING Americas. “Every year the lives of thousands of New Yorkers are enriched through CPF’s community-building initiatives in the arts, sports and education. We’re proud to be one of many organizations supporting CPF’s mission of sustaining communities and the environment.”

“This is a very special gala for us, and we look forward to celebrating our 30th birthday, while also honoring two outstanding partners — Paradigm Talent Agency’s Marty Diamond and ING Americas with Gerald Walker, CEO — for their long-standing support for our free programs in neighborhood parks,” said Heather Lubov, Executive Director of City Parks Foundation. “Few experiences match watching a great concert outdoors with friends, so our gala, which honors two dedicated partners and features three incredible artists performing in our new Central Park venue, will be especially meaningful.”

Following the evening’s award ceremony, a special intimate concert performance will cap off the night with not-to-be-missed performances by Sara Bareilles, David Gray and Janelle Monáe.

Janelle Monáe is a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and performer whose critically acclaimed 2013 album The Electric Lady, featuring music icon Prince and R&B star Miguel, reached No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. In addition to managing her own label, Wondaland Records, Monáe has starred as lead actor in the critically acclaimed Oscar nominated drama films, Hidden Figures and Best Picture winner, Moonlight.Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles first achieved mainstream praise in 2007 with her hit “Love Song” and has gone on to receive seven Grammy nominations, as well as a Tony Award nomination for her music and lyric composition for the Broadway show Waitress in which she also made her acting debut in the lead role.

Multi-platinum selling artist David Gray received critical acclaim for the album White Ladder that sold seven million copies and included his best-known songs: “Babylon,” “Please Forgive Me,” “This Year’s Love,” and “Sail Away”. Throughout his decades-long career, the Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter has established himself as one of the UK’s most revered artists with critical praise and multiple awards and nominations spanning over 11 albums.

City Parks Foundation’s 2019 Gala is co-chaired by Lisa and David Barse, Bonnie and Steven Beer, Chana and Cliff Chenfeld, Claire Goodman Pellegrini and Rusty Cloud, Lori and David Moore, Jeanne and Bob Savitt, Rebecca and Peter Shapiro, Jean and Raymond Troubh, Louisa and John Troubh, and Heather and Jason Ward. The Gala is hosted by a special Music Industry Committee that includes executives Lee Anderson, Greg Bestick, Ellin & Ron Delsener, Matt Galle, Chantal & Jim Glancy, Sam Gores, Jenny Lee & Joe Killian, Anthony Makes, Louis Messina, Scott Metzger, Paul Morris, Ken Weinstein, Jason Weinstock and George White.

WHEN: Thursday, September 26, 2019
6:30 – 8:30pm: Cocktail Reception & Dinner
8:30pm: Awards Ceremony & Concert

WHERE: SummerStage in Central Park
Rumsey Playfield, enter at E. 72nd Street and Fifth Ave
(Rain or Shine – Tented Venue)

TICKETS: Tables and tickets for the evening, including the dinner and concert, are now available for purchase. For more information, visit CityParksFoundation.org.