Thousands flocked to Times Square on the evening of Sept. 9 to celebrate the memory of the close to 2,753 who perished in the fateful terrorist attack on the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City, a decade ago. Not merely a formal ceremony but a musical tribute performed by more than a hundred theater performers from Broadway, the event featured legends like Joel Grey and Bebe Neuwirth.

Cast members from current stage musicals like "Book of Mormon", "Billy Elliot", "Priscilla: Queen of the Desert" and others, as well as celebrities such as American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, joined together in performing the iconic Kander and Ebb showtune "New York, New York" to every spectators delight. It was a moving gesture from the community of actors and stage performers who have helped make New York City a center of American artistic and cultural excellence. Broadway League chairman Paul Libin and Times Square Alliance Chairman Bob Wankel related this event to how for many years, Broadway had the power to entertain millions of people, momentarily forget their troubles and indulge in music and laughter.

Elsewhere in the country, different organizations and the U.S. government are giving groundbreaking memorial tributes to the 9-11 victims and their families, such as the inauguration of the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, situated right on the very footprints where the twin towers used to stand. Another much-antiipated spectacle is the Tribute of Light exhibition right around the same spot, where 88 high-powered searchlights will project two massive blue vertical beams into the sky, from dusk of Sept. 11, to dawn of Sept. 12.

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