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U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to present gift to French officials during 125th anniversary celebration

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

It’s the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty, the historic gift from France, and to celebrate, the National Park Service is holding an open-to-the-public series of events Friday on Liberty Island in Upper New York Bay.

At 8:45 a.m., 125 immigrants from 40 nations will become U.S. citizens in a naturalization ceremony held to recognize the millions of immigrants who were welcomes to America by the Statue of Liberty.

At 10 a.m., U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will present a gift to French government officials in recognition of that nation’s gift of the statue in 1886.

The entertainment that will follow will feature singer Michael Feinstein, actress Sigourney Weaver, and Broadway actress Anika Noni Rose.

At 11:45 a.m., a parade of government and commercial vessels, which is intended to be a reenactment of the 1886 water-parade salute to the statue, will pass the island.

At 1:30 p.m., the Ladies Auxiliary of the Veterans of Foreign Wars will conduct a ceremony.

At 7:45 p.m., as the finale to the anniversary events, Macy's will sponsor a fireworks display with shells and umbrellas of fired from two barges and Liberty Island. The fireworks will be accompanied by the original score, "Gift of Light," written by Grammy-award-winning composer Doug Katsaros, and Emmy-winning lyricist/Macy's creative director William Schermerhorn.

1010 WINS radio will provide a live simulcast of the of the music and sound of the fireworks.