Street Party

PARIS — French police have banned a street party whose organizers planned to serve alcoholic cocktails and pork sausages in a heavily Muslim neighborhood of Paris, authorities said in a statement yesterday. Police said the party, called “Sausage and Booze,’’ could have been viewed as a provocation in the Goutte-d’Or neighborhood of northern Paris, where many Muslims pray on the streets because there are not enough mosques. Alcohol and pork are forbidden by Islam, and the party had been slated for just after Friday’s Muslim prayers.

NEW YORK — Thousands of marchers and a rainbow of floats filled the streets of New York yesterday as the city celebrated gay pride, one of a full weekend of events marred by a shooting death Saturday at a street party in San Francisco. Participants in New York’s annual parade, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor David Paterson, made their way down Fifth Avenue toward Greenwich Village. Throngs of people turned out despite heat and humidity to watch the parade. The parade had three grand marshals, including Constance McMillen, the lesbian teenager who sued her Mississippi school...

NEW YORK — Thousands of marchers and a rainbow of floats filled the streets of New York yesterday as the city celebrated gay pride, one of a full weekend of events marred by a shooting death Saturday at a street party in San Francisco. Participants in New York’s annual parade, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor David Paterson, made their way down Fifth Avenue toward Greenwich Village. Throngs of people turned out despite heat and humidity to watch the parade. The parade had three grand marshals, including Constance McMillen, the lesbian teenager who sued her Mississippi school...

PARIS — French police have banned a street party whose organizers planned to serve alcoholic cocktails and pork sausages in a heavily Muslim neighborhood of Paris, authorities said in a statement yesterday. Police said the party, called “Sausage and Booze,’’ could have been viewed as a provocation in the Goutte-d’Or neighborhood of northern Paris, where many Muslims pray on the streets because there are not enough mosques. Alcohol and pork are forbidden by Islam, and the party had been slated for just after Friday’s Muslim prayers.

NEW YORK - You wouldn’t think T-Pain was inhibited at all. But the rapper-singer, known for his synthesized vocals and catchy hooks, says he sometimes feels creatively restrained when it comes to music. He says he was able to express his true self in “Freaknik: The Musical,’’ a one-hour animated special based on an annual, raucous, and now-defunct Atlanta street party. It premieres March 7 on Adult Swim. “I always wanted to do a cartoon and I didn’t know it would be this good,’’ said the 25-year-old, who executive produced the special.

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Savannah's weekend St. Patrick's Day celebration turned from emerald green to pitch black as the city lost power, plunging the downtown party into darkness as thousands roamed the streets. The only lights late Saturday in the city's historic district were flashing atop police cars as officers directed traffic amid throngs of revelers ambling through streets littered with plastic cups and party debris. "It's just people wandering around in the dark, man," said Danielle Smith, 23, looking for friends amid the confusion near the...

The WFNX Best Music Poll concert found itself in an unusual position this year. In previous seasons, the celebration has been held in and around the clubs on Lansdowne Street and at the waterside venue currently known as the Bank of America Pavilion -- but on separate nights. This year the shows were held simultaneously. While some fans might have been torn, the Lansdowne Street crowds, filling the clubs to near capacity, weren't complaining. Local darlings the Dresden Dolls proved to have a tour-honed edge after opening shows for Nine Inch Nails, and...

POP & ROCK JAMN 94.5 PRESENTS SUMMER JAM 2012 It's the mainstream hip-hop party of the summer starring Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, B.o.B, Tyga, Wale, Big Sean, and more. Think of it as a big barbecue with banging beats. June 2. Comcast Center, Mansfield. 800-745-3000, www.livenation.com PASSION PIT With its highly anticipated sophomore release, "Gossamer," coming out in July, the electro-pop pride and joy of Boston graduates to the big leagues with this outdoor amphitheater show.

Chef Lydia Shire's culinary career was celebrated by her many friends at "Art of the Table," a Tuesday-night champagne reception at Christofle boutique on Boylston Street. The party, which doubled as a benefit for the Grow Clinic for Children at Boston Medical Center, featured an eclectic display of photographs of tables decorated by Shire, who's best known as the chef at Scampo and Towne Stove and Spirits. Guests included Shire's chef pals Jasper White, Robert Sisca of Bistro du Midi, and Tim Lynch, who used to work with Shire at Harvest.

PAKISTAN ISLAMABAD - Pakistan’s Supreme Court suspended the presidential appointment of two top judges in an emergency ruling yesterday that could cause a destabilizing clash between the judiciary and the Western-backed government. As local media reported the country was headed into a political crisis, President Asif Ali Zardari’s spokesman dismissed rumors the government was planning to declare a state of emergency. YEMEN Rebels are meeting terms of cease-fire SANA - Yemen’s northern rebels have withdrawn from an...

NEW YORK - You wouldn’t think T-Pain was inhibited at all. But the rapper-singer, known for his synthesized vocals and catchy hooks, says he sometimes feels creatively restrained when it comes to music. He says he was able to express his true self in “Freaknik: The Musical,’’ a one-hour animated special based on an annual, raucous, and now-defunct Atlanta street party. It premieres March 7 on Adult Swim. “I always wanted to do a cartoon and I didn’t know it would be this good,’’ said the 25-year-old, who executive produced the special.

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Savannah's weekend St. Patrick's Day celebration turned from emerald green to pitch black as the city lost power, plunging the downtown party into darkness as thousands roamed the streets. The only lights late Saturday in the city's historic district were flashing atop police cars as officers directed traffic amid throngs of revelers ambling through streets littered with plastic cups and party debris. "It's just people wandering around in the dark, man," said Danielle Smith, 23, looking for friends amid the confusion near the...

The WFNX Best Music Poll concert found itself in an unusual position this year. In previous seasons, the celebration has been held in and around the clubs on Lansdowne Street and at the waterside venue currently known as the Bank of America Pavilion -- but on separate nights. This year the shows were held simultaneously. While some fans might have been torn, the Lansdowne Street crowds, filling the clubs to near capacity, weren't complaining. Local darlings the Dresden Dolls proved to have a tour-honed edge after opening shows for Nine Inch Nails, and...

BOSTON PRIDE BLOCK PARTY Sunday, noon, Stuart Street between Arlington and Berkeley streets. $10 donation after 2 p.m. 617-262-9405, www.bostonpride.org The deal: The ninth annual Stuart Street Block Party promises to be the event “where 5,000 of your closest friends will be.’’ Back by popular demand, Tracy Young (inset) will be spinning a day’s worth of hot dance anthems. Young has become a global electronic music celebrity and a breakout name on the Billboard charts, racking up 40 No. 1 Club Play hits.

Between the heat and the brilliant costumes - sequins, feathers, and spandex in every shade of orange, pink, gold - Franklin Park yesterday could almost have passed for Port of Spain. The weeklong activities of Boston Carnival - a rendition of the epic fete that takes place yearly in Trinidad & Tobago - kicked off in Dorchester's White Stadium yesterday with Kiddies Carnival, a children-only march with music and grand costumes. This is the highlight of the year for many children who live in Dorchester and whose families proudly hail from the...