Salem Media and the Times Square Alliance are set to turn Times Square into a two-day stage for America’s approaching 250th anniversary, with Celebrate America: Live from Times Square scheduled for June 23 and June 24. The first day brings free public broadcasts; the second pairs a dinner and live performance with a charity benefit.
On June 23, AM970 The Answer, WMCA AM570 The Mission, Salem Radio Network and Salem News Channel will broadcast live from the Red Steps at 46th Street and Seventh Avenue, with admission open to the public. Kevin Cottrell will host the WMCA broadcast table alongside Nicole Brown, giving the event a familiar radio voice as the celebration begins in one of New York’s busiest public spaces.
The June 24 program, Patriots, Pasta & Piscopo, moves the celebration to the Sinatra Room at Carmine's Italian Restaurant in Times Square, where Joe Piscopo will perform. A portion of ticket proceeds will go to Equal First Aid courtesy of LifeVac, which gives the second night a narrower audience but a wider purpose than the free broadcasts the day before.
That split is the point of the event. The June 23 broadcasts are meant to pull in the public without a ticket, while the June 24 dinner performance asks attendees to pay for entry and helps fund a cause at the same time. Salem Media has framed the celebration around a line it uses to describe its own identity: America was founded on faith and freedom, two distinct core values of Salem Media.
The event also marks the culmination of a six-week on-air celebration built around historical vignettes, which is why the timing matters now and not later in the year. Times Square is a deliberate choice because it puts the anniversary message in front of the biggest possible passing crowd, with the street-level broadcasts on Tuesday feeding directly into the ticketed evening event on Wednesday.
What comes next is straightforward: the free broadcasts happen first, then Patriots, Pasta & Piscopo follows on June 24. What remains open is how many tickets are available for the dinner performance and how much of the proceeds will reach Equal First Aid, details that will determine how large the benefit becomes once the lights come on.
