My invitation for the annual Sunset Gala Party in Four Freedoms Park, this year recognizing the 75th Anniversary of D Day, hit my inbox in May. It’s one of those events so special I dig deep in my closet to search for a pinstripe suit and a tie.

But a family emergency upset our plans. We waited for a telephone call as the party got underway.

We could not make it to the party, but Tad Sudol shared his thrilling photos from the evening with us.

All the photos in this article were taken by RIVAA President Tad Sudol.

Events at Four Freedoms Park:

• Gay Pride Celebration
• Kite Flight for Peace

Scattered clouds in a sunset over Midtown Manhattan lit the gala.

RIOC President/CEO Susan Rosenthal (second from left) and Four Freedoms Conservancy Executive Director Howard Axel (second from right) chat with veterans.

Four Freedoms Park’s monumental entry steps became a field of flowers.

Visitors: More Scenes from D Day 75th Anniversary in Four Freedoms Park

Howard Axel, Four Freedoms Executive Director, welcomed veterans.

RIOC President/CEO Susan Rosenthal represented the State.

Tad Sudol, artist, architect, with Four Freedom’s Gina Pollara and visual artist Esther Piaskowski Cohen.

Whenever I see Gina, these days, always elegant, I recall the first time I saw her. It was a decade ago, and she wore mud-caked, knee-high rubber boots. She clopped out of an onsite construction trailer.

Pollara took us on a first ever tour of Four Freedoms Park in progress. The bust of FDR was newly installed. Gently shading trees settled in fresh soil along the tapered meadow.

We’ve all come a long way to the blossoming of this park and its series of memorable public events.