Ghost Light Project – Times Square

January 19, 2017

By Marina Kravchuk

This was a wonderful, if brief, event. Of course, when people know what they stand for, not much is needed to make a point.
More information on Project Ghost Light can be found here: https://theghostlightproject.com/

People started gathering quite early. Kate arrived at about 4:30. Since it wasn’t too crowded yet, I had a chance to come up to say hello. She thanked me for coming, asked if I was going to any of the Women’s Marches – she herself is going to Women’s March in Washington, DC – and then mentioned that she will be leaving for Ireland right after that to continue working on her second book.
By quarter to, the steps at Times Square were closed off to nonparticipating public, and the speakers and Broadway people (“are you with a show?”) were invited to come up the steps first, followed by everyone else.
At 5:20, designated speakers, including Kate, read a speech together outlining what the Ghost Light project stands for. After that, at 5:30, the lights were lit (flashlights, lights on the smartphones, whatever people brought with them), and a lovely song was sung. Beautiful!
Photos: a couple more photos with Kate before it started to get really crowded (I’d say easily over a thousand attended); the woman in white hat is Tina Landau, Broadway director (Antony and Cleopatra) and Kate’s friend, and one of the organizers of the project. Photo of the crowd as seen from the steps when everyone started to light up. Photo of a sticker everyone wore.