Sunday, August 29, 2010

The 7th Annual Howl! Festival Pays Tribute to 9/11 in Tompkins Square Park in NYC's East Village- All Events Are Free and Open to the Public


Performance artists, poets, musicians, and dance companies honor 9/11 at the 7th Annual HOWL! Festival in Tompkins Square Park, (7th–10th Streets, between Avenues A & B), on the weekend of Sept. 10, 11 and 12.
Chanters, a free meditation zone, meditation walk, yoga classes for both children and adults, a calling of names station and performance art will grace the green at Tompkins Square Park on Saturday Sept 11, heralding the start of an uplifting program at Howl! Festival’s 7th Annual weekend in Tompkins Square Park –September 10,11,12.

Featured September 11th events include:
Finding Sukha Yoga
Finding Sukha Yoga  -The East Village’s newest Yoga Center will hold 30-minute classes for adults and children at 11AM, 1PM, 3PM and 6PM. You can “find” Finding Sukha in front of the brick Park Office, located at approximately 9th Street between Avenues A and B.  Finding Sukha will provide a limited number of yoga mats.  Be prepared and bring your own.
Art Installation and Performance Piece by Artist Ujin Lee  - Unloading a truck load of 733 unique and individually wrapped 7x7x7 boxes, artist Ujin Lee will begin her 3 ½ hour performance art piece at 11AM in the center of Tompkins Square Park.  All boxes will be individually gift-wrapped in traditional Korean fabric.  The number 733 represents good luck and fortune. Once all boxes have been strategically placed, and the performance piece is ended, members of the public will be welcome to select a box and take one home.
Ujin Lee will also place 7 large sculptures around the park.  Each 10- foot tall and 6 ½ foot-wide piece will be a “pouch” created with the natural fiber ramie.  Each pouch will be filled with approximately 20-30 balloon-shaped balls, created in white paper and visible through the fabric.

Artist Ujin Lee at a past event

Art Around the Park – A 1500 foot-long canvas wrapped around 50% of the perimeter of Tompkins Square Park, beginning on Avenue A and 10th Street, continuing 3 blocks south to 7th Street and going east on 7th Street to the midway point between Avenues A and B.  Over 140 adult artists and untold numbers of children are confirmed to participate.
Art Around The Park "Street Scene" - photo by Nicholas Bergery

Meditation Free Zone and Walk - Enjoy our oasis in Tompkins Square Park. Relax and rejuvenate.  Walk led by local artist / Buddhist practitioner Riki Colon.
Memorial Center – Contemplative time is offered at this special station where names can be called and a gong can be sounded.
Poetry – Poetry performances on the South Stage include poets Bill Kushner (1:40PM-1:50PM), Kristin Prevallet (1:50PM - 2PM), Eileen Myles (2:45PM-3PM) and Emmanuel Xavier (3:45PM- 3:55PM), Dottie Lasky (3:55PM – 4:04PM).
Theater/Dance  – Vangeline Theater performs MOSAIC, a resonant butoh dance piece to commemorate 9/11. On the South Stage,- two performances: 2:10PM-2:40PM and 5:45PM-6:15PM.

"Coco Model in Mosaic" -Vangeline Theater photo by Ali Smith
Music:
Open Music Ensemble - This pioneering cooperative of acoustic improv musicians will guide the heart and spirit in meditation, relaxing and healing with sounds both pure and contemplative.  The performance will take place on the South Stage at Tompkins Square Park, Avenue A at 7th Street from 1PM-1:30PM.
Tyler Burba - An acoustic performance of songs written by Allen Ginsberg, on the South Stage 3:10PM-3:40PM.

Photo of Tyler Burba by Chris Verene

Timbila – Sassy, celestial vocals are highlighted in this performance of African rock with an East Village Edge.  On the South Stage from 4:25 PM-4:55PM.
Chris Rael – A sitar aficionado, this dynamic composer turns Indian and Western music into a mix of highly refined pop. On the South Stage – 5:05PM-5:35PM.
Arthur’s Landing-A Tribute to the Musical Genius of Arthur Russell – Musicians associated with the east village’s late Arthur Russell will perform a fusion of Western and Eastern musical traditions, driven by Russell’s engagement with Buddhist thought and practice. On the South Stage 6:30PM-7PM.

Arthur's Landing with guests Xavier and Zach Layton - photo by See-Ming Lee
Family Entertainment:
On the North Stage, Avenue A at 10th Street, from 12:30PM until 7PM, The Lower East Side Girls Club presents a variety of children’s and family entertainment, including dance, poetry, music and a featured performance by Rosie O’Donnell’s Rosie’s Broadway Kids.  Also in the north park:  A solar-powered merry-go-round, a children’s yoga tent, a fortune telling monkey, robot pony, art and science programs, face painting, a photo booth and more.
In addition to the Howl! Festival events in Tompkins Square Park on September 10, 11 and 12, there will be 30 days of Poetry, Theater, Performance Art, Film, Comedy and Dance, September 1-30 at Theatre 80 on St. Mark’s Place, and events throughout the neighborhood at many other venues, including The Bowery Poetry Club, Ella Lounge, Bowery Electric, The Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church and more.
The events in Tompkins Square Park are all free to the public.  All additional Howl! events will benefit Howl! H.E.L.P. (Howl Emergency Life Project), an emergency services and health fund administered by The Actors Fund.
For further information on the Howl! Festival and Howl H.E.L.P., please visit www.howlfestival.com



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