NEW YORK: A crush of fans circled a flower-graced mosaic in Central Park\u2019s Strawberry Fields and sang lyrics from \u201cImagine\u201d on Saturday to honor Beatles legend John Lennon on his 70th birthday.<\/p>\n
On the day when the Liverpool Lad would have become a septuagenarian, thousands of fans from around the world gathered to remember the floppy-haired British superstar who just wanted to give peace a chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis music speaks to people of any nation, any age, and that\u2019s why I think so many young people now who never would have known him still find him so appealing,\u201d said Karen Kriendler Nelson, 69, who lives nearby and often visits the mosaic that spells out Lennon\u2019s song \u201cImagine.\u201d<\/p>\n
She and her Maltese dog, Pino, joined a group of fans who sang the lines, \u201c Imagine there\u2019s no countries\/ It isn\u2019t hard to do\/ Nothing to kill or die for\/ And no religion too\/ Imagine all the people\/ Living life in peace \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Joan Acarin and his wife, Laia, visited the memorial from Spain. \u201cThe values Lennon defended are still alive,\u201d said Joan Acarin, a 41-year-old attorney from Barcelona. \u201cIt\u2019s the idea that we do not have to fight wars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fans began arriving on Friday, spilling onto the sidewalk of Central Park West, where Lennon and wife Yoko Ono lived in the famed Dakota building for nine years. He was shot to death by a deranged gunman as he came home on the evening of Dec. 8, 1980.<\/p>\n
Police erected barricades to contain the crowd alongside passing traffic.<\/p>\n
This year, the memorial to the slain ex-Beatle and peace activist includes a mosaic donated by the city of Naples, Italy. A plaque lists 121 countries that endorse Strawberry Fields as a Garden of Peace.<\/p>\n
The 2.5-acre (1-hectare) site was created by Ono and named after the Lennon song, which also observes that \u201cliving is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.\u201d<\/p>\n
The birthday celebration got started early Friday in his native England, where Google UK released a 32-second video \u201cdoodle\u201d with an \u201cImagine\u201d soundtrack. The interactive electronic art generates a butterfly and a flower _ reflecting Lennon\u2019s devotion to world peace.<\/p>\n
In Liverpool, Lennon\u2019s first wife, Cynthia and, their son, Julian, unveiled a sculpture to celebrate his life.<\/p>\n
Hundreds of people gathered at the city center\u2019s Chavasse Park to watch the pair cut a ribbon to reveal the statue, called \u201cPeace and Harmony.\u201d The sculpture, which features a colorful globe with doves flying above it, was designed by 19-year-old American artist Lauren Voiers.<\/p>\n
The two held hands and joined the crowd in singing John Lennon\u2019s \u201cGive Peace a Chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the mourning is over for John. I think it\u2019s time to celebrate,\u201d said Cynthia, 71. \u201cThink about his life that was positive and good and just enjoy that.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was married to John Lennon from 1962 to 1968. In New York, planned celebrations include a Saturday evening benefit concert at the Society For Ethical Culture, a short walk from Strawberry Fields. The proceeds will go to the human rights organization Amnesty International.<\/p>\n
Capping the New York remembrances will be a Central Park screening of a documentary detailing Lennon\u2019s life in the city.<\/p>\n
Ono marked her late husband\u2019s milestone birthday in Iceland with a lighting of the Imagine Peace Tower, which shines a beam of blue light into the sky, followed by a concert by the Plastic Ono Band. Ono dedicated the tower to Lennon in 2007.<\/p>\n
She also presented awards to people who have contributed to peace, included Alice Walker, the author of \u201cThe Color Purple.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike millions around the world, I deeply loved John,\u201d Walker said as she received the award in Reykjavik.<\/p>\n
The other winners were filmmaker Josh Fox, who made the documentary \u201cGasland\u201d; author and activist Michael Pollan and food safety advocate Barbara Kowalcyk.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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