Event Horizon Series presentsKip Rosser, Electric Diamond and George Wallace

Kip Rosser: For twenty years, Kip Rosser’s solo performances, staged productions, award-winning compositions and industry recognition have earned him a reputation as one of the most accomplished thereminists in the country. Rosser typically moves beyond a standard recital format, making for a unique event that combines music (ranging from classical to jazz to popular) with stories and performance art, continually pushing the boundaries of what the theremin can play and do. His programs for special events are tailored specifically to suit occasion and client musical preferences. In an academic setting, the programs are always age appropriate and the presentation specific to the class subject. Back in 1996, after a twenty-one year hiatus from serious musical study, Rosser crossed paths with the grandfather of all electronic instruments; he purchased a kit and built his first theremin. Previously, Kip graduated from Ithaca College with a BFA in Acting/Directing and was then the sole candidate accepted in the graduate Directing program at Northwestern University. After receiving the MFA, he moved to New York City where he directed plays, worked as a playwright, as well as working as a graphic artist and copywriter.

Electric Diamond: Humanity has always been fascinated by the diamond: shimmering, multi-faceted and mesmerizing. That same description is more than apt when attempting to convey the impact of a performance by Electric Diamond. “Dispersion” is the term used to characterize a diamond’s colored light. The rainbow that should jump from a diamond is known as its “fire.” Although the official measurement of the fire can only be done by machine, the human eye can actually see and measure it. As for the fire jumping from Electric Diamond, 20th Century Music Magazine wrote: “a step beyond... A window into the future of music.” And Variety called it, “a wonderful trip into the asteroids...a fully symphonic piece of intense dignity and feeling.” At the heart of Electric Diamond’s fire are two extraordinary musicians, Don Slepian and Stuart Diamond. Their story spans forty years of composing, collaboration and performing together. Stuart Diamond is producer, composer, musician, writer, director, video artist, and journalist. He is also a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and Trustee for The California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. His instrument? The EWI – short for Electronic Wind Instrument. The EWI is essentially a synthesizer that’s played like a woodwind, requiring expert embouchure and breath control. In Diamond’s hands, the EWI can imitate any traditional woodwind as well as “go stratospheric,” creating both raw and deeply ethereal sonic textures and “voices.” Keyboard virtuoso, Don Slepian, has created his own descriptive mantra: “high technology, human touch.” During his career at Bell laboratories, he spent two years working with their most advanced digital synthesizer. A true pioneer in electronic music, he was a Synthesizer Soloist with the Honolulu Symphony. In addition to being presented by WNYC's “New Sounds” show in New York's Lincoln Center, he was selected by the French Ministry of Culture for a residency at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Together, Diamond and Slepian craft a seamless music experience that move “beyond sounds we explore. The actual sounds of our music are the outer coverings of deeper expressions, of the feelings, emotions...the sounds we explore are our vehicles to share what we discover with our audiences.” 

George Wallace: In live performance, multi-instrumentalist George Wallace presents a dazzling array of wondrous, imaginatively crafted soundscapes bound to delight fans of deep ambient, techno-tribal, and space music. George is a seasoned performer, having spent years with bands playing various permutations of rock, jazz, and popular music. But for the past few years he’s been on hiatus from playing out, mainly producing studio recordings of his own compositions, with recent forays into making music for film and television. He has recently risen to the challenge of engineering a way to deliver his particular brand of ambient music - inherently layered and complex - in such a way that its live performance is faithful to the sonic dimension and depth of the recorded version. During the course of a given set (anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending) audiences will experience something akin to hypnosis as our senses are immersed in music fed by George’s fierce, spontaneous inspiration and tempered with his keen feel for rhythmic and dramatic flow. In addition to the synthesizers he plays onstage, George uses guitars both acoustic and electric, Native American flutes, rain sticks, bells and rattlers, and even a Tibetan singing bowl to round out the sonic palette. His musical program consists of pieces both old and new; a few older favorites culled from his several ambient releases are woven in with newer, as-yet unrecorded pieces, most of which are essentially structured improvisations based on predetermined soundstages, the end result being that no two performances are exactly alike. Naturally this calls up a certain amount of audience engagement (and lots of fun for all) as George often says he likes to read – and get energy from – the audience he’s playing for. Adding to the mix is his occasional blending of natural ambiences such as forest sounds, night sounds, wind…and a few which might be best described as unearthly. These aural treats serve as the ‘ear candy’ which help to put the whole thing over-the-top. Despite his affable stage demeanor, the intensity of the music itself makes it evident that George likes to play deep. Through his magical musings, we are invited to discover a new access to our true Selves, from the deepest regions of our souls to the ecstatic, sublime worlds of our highest potential. Presented here is wild, enriched sound, simultaneously borrowing from the primal past and the celestial future, creating an inspiring, cleansing, memorable experience of exotic places and times well beyond this one.

Admission is FREE

And don't miss Event Horizon's next two shows:

May 13th - Ritchie DeCarlos, Nathan McLaughlin & Seth Chrisman and Guitar PilotsJune 9th - Ombient w ith guest Chuck van Zyl, ElkhornSeptember 23rd - TBAOctober 27th - TBADecember 1st - TBA

Join Artists Iron Gump, Ashwin Gurung (a.k.a. Sean Hoots) & Gabrielle de Burke (a.k.a. Plum Dragoness) for this Experimental Collaboration between a Shamanic Sound Journey & Yin/Yang Mindful Movement Exploration! 

Iron Gump and Ashwin Gurung invite you into an exploration of the imagination and its landscapes. With Bells, singing bowls, drums, flutes, guitars, gongs, voices and synths…a palette of transporting tones guide into an open soundscape of infinite movement.

Gabrielle will facilitate the Yin/Yang Mindful Movement Exploration, where Yoga & Chi-Kung meet for a dance with the Breath. Expect a movement practice that is a fusion of the Taoist Arts of Qi-gong (Chi-kung) & the Vedic Arts of Yoga in collaboration with the vibrational sound healing instrumentation facilitated by Gump & Ashwin. Engage in the Mindful Movements with your Breath &/or find Stillness as you Bathe in the Shamanistic Sound Journey.

There are options for how you choose to participate in this 1 hr. 45 min. Journey... The first 60 minutes of the presentation will offer an instructor led movement practice, for which you may choose to bring a mat to use for final 45 min. spent in a reclining position. Participants are also welcome to just bring a mat to lie down along the perimeter of the space or just take a seat in a chair if preferred for the duration.

This is a Free Community Event... But Donations are Greatly Appreciated!

https://seanhoots.bandcamp.com, https://soundcloud.com/iron-gump, https://soundcloud.com/plum-dragoness

Please join us for the first ever...

THE BRIDGE PHL THEATRE FESTIVAL FUNDRAISER!

Doors Open at 5:30pm

Performances from 6:00 - 9:30pm

Performances by:

Medusa and her Mythological Blues Band 

Jai T. Lynne

Carla Helene Ezell

Cherie Jazmyn

Ramona Hunter

Arthur Lafrentz Bacon

Craig Liggeons

Lois Moses and MORE!!

Poetry and Comedy, 

Singing, Dancing,

Refreshments, Prizes, 

Conversation and Community!

(With a dash of Advocacy and Activism!)

Suggested donation of $5 - $10, cash and cards accepted at the door. 

All funds raised will go towards producing the next Bridge PHL Theatre Festival this November 2nd through 5th, which includes paying our actors. 

The Bridge PHL strives to foster healing connections between our rich and diverse communities by encouraging openness and dialogue about perspectives on racial prejudice, privilege, inclusion, and bias. Our annual theatre festival each autumn welcomes both experienced and new artists wishing to engage in this mission and to further our endeavor to BUILD THE BRIDGE PHL!!

facebook.com/thebridgephl instagram @thebridgephl thebridgephl@gmail.com

Please help us with outreach and forward this on to anyone who may be interested in attending or donating raffle prizes. 

The Philadelphia Science Fiction Society hosts author David Mack

David Mack is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels and numerous short works of science fiction, fantasy, and adventure, including the Star Trek Destiny and Cold Equations trilogies.

Beyond prose, Mack’s writing credits span several media, including television (for produced episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), film, and comic books.

Mack’s most recently published work is the novel Star Trek: Legacies, Book 2 – Best Defense.

His upcoming work includes the novels Star Trek: Section 31 – Control; Star Trek: Titan – Fortune of War; and Star Trek: Discovery – Desperate Hours. Also coming soon from Mack is Dark Arts, an original series of secret-history novels debuting in 2018 from Tor Books, starting with The Midnight Front, a World War II-era epic fantasy.

Mack resides in New York City with his wife, Kara.

You can learn more about him here.

 Upcoming PSFS Meetings

General MeetingsGeneral Meetings are open to the public and are held at International House, 3701 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA, at 8:00 p.m.; or at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St, Philadelphia, PA at 8:00 p.m.Social gathering begins at 7:30 p.m. The Business Meeting begins at 8:00 p.m. The Program begins at 9:00 p.m.

Admission is FREE 

ELECTRIFEST: Lgbt/qpoc wellness and healthcare festApril 8 and 9, 1-11pm both days April 8King Azaz: https://kingazaz.bandcamp.com/Pink Wash: https://pinkwash.bandcamp.com/Interminable: http://interminablemusic.com/ !Aparato!: http://www.aparatomusic.com/Sour Spirit: https://sourspirit.bandcamp.com/Among the Rocks and Roots: https://amongtherocksandroots.bandcamp.com/Ex By V.: https://exbyv.bandcamp.com/Yatta: https://thisisyatta.bandcamp.com/releasesDowntrodder: https://downtrodder.bandcamp.com/Wordz the Poet Emcee: www.reverbnation.com/wordzthepoetemcee, www.Soundcloud.com/wordzthepoetemceeKilamanzegoMight HauntRomona Cordova: https://www.facebook.com/ramonacordovamusic/April 9vitche-boul raSWARM: http://www.swarmphilly.tumblr.com/ Solarized: http://solarized.bandcamp.com/Trophy Wife: https://trophywifetheband.bandcamp.com/Sheena and the Nosebleeds: https://sheenatheenosebleeds.bandcamp.com/Anatomy of an Outcast: http://www.soundcloud.com/anatomy-of-an-outcastCarl Kavorkian: https://carlkavorkian.bandcamp.com/ZakiMadam DataCoup SauvageCMOVPresenters / Workshop Collaborators / Panels (more info. tba soon)Trauma/Mental Health workshop by Ras MashramaniBlack & Brown Workers Collective A facilitated panel discussion based on healthcare from an emergency/crisis response all the way through to chronic care and all the difficulties in between for marginalized and vulnerable communitiesRebellious Nurses Philly___________________________________________________

The STRANGE DREAMS collective is a small group of folks seeking to liberate healthcare and wellness spaces from the grip of bureaucracy, tedium, and racist, homophobic and transphobic micro-aggressions. Strange Dreams is putting together an event called ELECTRIFEST: Radical Queer Empowered Healthcare and Wellness (ELECTRIFEST in short). At this event, we are concerned with helping to widen frequently inaccessible avenues of the healthcare and pharmaceutical complex-- both figuratively and literally-- and to pry open the gates that have remained shut for millions of marginalized folks for decades. We plan to ask very simple, direct questions about navigating the landscape of wellness and prevention to get to the core of what options exist, what practices we can combat, and what resources are there to promote the general well-being of our impacted queer and black and brown bodies.While ELECTRIFEST is not a proposal for an alternative health gathering per se, we also propose that there are many different types of healing. In this instance, we will use the galvanizing force of music, art, spoken word, performance, dance and celebration to help highlight the issues. As well, the jubilant nature of what we propose with provide a euphoric blueprint of the paradigm we envision for a future in which our expression as queer and POC artists are heard resplendently.The idea is to gather radical and/or progressive minds within the healthcare industry-- EMTs, paramedics, doctors, nurses, caretakers, clinicians, advocates, lawyers, midwives, doulas, social workers, activists, healers, pharmacists-- as well as those greatly impacted by the rigors of the health care landscape. Through a series of panels, presentations, and lectures-- all with a QnA so that direct voices can be heard and can question-- we will weave a powerful tapestry that can extended even beyond this initial event.And yes, there will be bands playing. We are looking for bands that feature and center the ideas, thoughts, and the people behind queer and POC identities. We feel that these voices need to be raised higher and uplifted and not silenced or ignored, so we are doing that. We want a diversity of sound, culture, and ideas. Are you interested in playing? Let us know! Send your music! WE NEED YOUR JAMS AT ELECTRIFEST!PROCEEDS:-an as yet unnamed political activist organization that benefits the health and well-being of LGBT people of color -the continuation of this conversation in the form of informative zines, websites or other events; and most specifically-to the LGBT and/or POC-led and empowering bands, artists, and participants themselves.DISCUSSION TOPICS (among others):-Trans health concerns-navigating the intricacies of the health system as a queer person of color-housing and gentrification-a roadmap to benefits and resources not often made available to marginalized people-understanding intersections of identity and health risks involved-non-pharmacutical healing practices-bed-side manner and proper protocol of emergency caretakers-making spaces accessible for disabled people-racism and white supremacy in the medical industry

ELECTRIFEST: Lgbt/qpoc wellness and healthcare festApril 8 and 9, 1-11pm both days April 8King Azaz: https://kingazaz.bandcamp.com/Pink Wash: https://pinkwash.bandcamp.com/Interminable: http://interminablemusic.com/ !Aparato!: http://www.aparatomusic.com/Sour Spirit: https://sourspirit.bandcamp.com/Among the Rocks and Roots: https://amongtherocksandroots.bandcamp.com/Ex By V.: https://exbyv.bandcamp.com/Yatta: https://thisisyatta.bandcamp.com/releasesDowntrodder: https://downtrodder.bandcamp.com/Wordz the Poet Emcee: www.reverbnation.com/wordzthepoetemcee, www.Soundcloud.com/wordzthepoetemceeKilamanzegoMight HauntRomona Cordova: https://www.facebook.com/ramonacordovamusic/April 9vitche-boul raSWARM: http://www.swarmphilly.tumblr.com/ Solarized: http://solarized.bandcamp.com/Trophy Wife: https://trophywifetheband.bandcamp.com/Sheena and the Nosebleeds: https://sheenatheenosebleeds.bandcamp.com/Anatomy of an Outcast: http://www.soundcloud.com/anatomy-of-an-outcastCarl Kavorkian: https://carlkavorkian.bandcamp.com/ZakiMadam DataCoup SauvageCMOVPresenters / Workshop Collaborators / Panels (more info. tba soon)Trauma/Mental Health workshop by Ras MashramaniBlack & Brown Workers Collective A facilitated panel discussion based on healthcare from an emergency/crisis response all the way through to chronic care and all the difficulties in between for marginalized and vulnerable communitiesRebellious Nurses Philly___________________________________________________

The STRANGE DREAMS collective is a small group of folks seeking to liberate healthcare and wellness spaces from the grip of bureaucracy, tedium, and racist, homophobic and transphobic micro-aggressions. Strange Dreams is putting together an event called ELECTRIFEST: Radical Queer Empowered Healthcare and Wellness (ELECTRIFEST in short). At this event, we are concerned with helping to widen frequently inaccessible avenues of the healthcare and pharmaceutical complex-- both figuratively and literally-- and to pry open the gates that have remained shut for millions of marginalized folks for decades. We plan to ask very simple, direct questions about navigating the landscape of wellness and prevention to get to the core of what options exist, what practices we can combat, and what resources are there to promote the general well-being of our impacted queer and black and brown bodies.While ELECTRIFEST is not a proposal for an alternative health gathering per se, we also propose that there are many different types of healing. In this instance, we will use the galvanizing force of music, art, spoken word, performance, dance and celebration to help highlight the issues. As well, the jubilant nature of what we propose with provide a euphoric blueprint of the paradigm we envision for a future in which our expression as queer and POC artists are heard resplendently.The idea is to gather radical and/or progressive minds within the healthcare industry-- EMTs, paramedics, doctors, nurses, caretakers, clinicians, advocates, lawyers, midwives, doulas, social workers, activists, healers, pharmacists-- as well as those greatly impacted by the rigors of the health care landscape. Through a series of panels, presentations, and lectures-- all with a QnA so that direct voices can be heard and can question-- we will weave a powerful tapestry that can extended even beyond this initial event.And yes, there will be bands playing. We are looking for bands that feature and center the ideas, thoughts, and the people behind queer and POC identities. We feel that these voices need to be raised higher and uplifted and not silenced or ignored, so we are doing that. We want a diversity of sound, culture, and ideas. Are you interested in playing? Let us know! Send your music! WE NEED YOUR JAMS AT ELECTRIFEST!PROCEEDS:-an as yet unnamed political activist organization that benefits the health and well-being of LGBT people of color -the continuation of this conversation in the form of informative zines, websites or other events; and most specifically-to the LGBT and/or POC-led and empowering bands, artists, and participants themselves.DISCUSSION TOPICS (among others):-Trans health concerns-navigating the intricacies of the health system as a queer person of color-housing and gentrification-a roadmap to benefits and resources not often made available to marginalized people-understanding intersections of identity and health risks involved-non-pharmacutical healing practices-bed-side manner and proper protocol of emergency caretakers-making spaces accessible for disabled people-racism and white supremacy in the medical industry

 The Rotunda & Vision Driven Consulting are teaming up to bring resources and capacity-building workshops to self-producing artists/musicians and event curators in all disciplines.

Workshops are held: 2nd Monday of each month

6:00 – 8:00pm at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St, Philadelphia)

All workshops in the series are FREE and OPEN to the public! Refreshments provided. 

Special guest presenters and facilitators will be announced each month.

If you want to receive workshop reminders, join Vision Driven Artists - Philadelphia, a closed Facebook group for Philadelphia-based artist/arts organizations.

http://www.visiondrivenconsulting.com/artists.html

2016 - 2017 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

Developing Campus/Community Collaborations (September 12th)

• Hear stories of successful campus and community collaborations

• Learn how to find campus and community partners

• Avoid common problems and learn how to build mutually beneficial partnerships

Goal Identification & Measurement (October 10th)

• Identify what you want to achieve in your projects

• Incorporate critical feedback and self-reflection into your arts practice

• Brainstorm and receive tools for measuring success

Nonprofit, LLC, or Fiscal Sponsorship (November 14th)

• Discuss the pros and cons of various structures – pool experiences and get new ideas

• Craft your mission statement to determine the structure that best suits your practice

• Sole-proprietor, LLC, 501(c)3: understand the structures and how your projects fit into them

2017 Planning (December 12th)

• Plan your upcoming year of work 

• Identify your goals and break them into achievable tasks

• Plot your tasks on a timeline for 2016

Fundraising Basics (January 9th)

• Learn the language of fundraising 

• Maximize opportunities beyond grants to support your projects

• Brainstorm actual fundraising ideas for your work

Taxes for Artists (January 23rd)

• Learn the language of fundraising 

• Maximize opportunities beyond grants to support your projects

• Brainstorm actual fundraising ideas for your work

Grant Writing – Beginner (February 13th) 

• Demystify the language and process behind grant writing

• Receive tools for finding grants 

• Read actual grant proposals to learn common mistakes and important proposal components 

Grant Writing – Intermediate (March 13th)

• Review aspects of a strong grant proposal

• Practice writing an actual grant 

• Receive feedback on your draft proposal 

Real Budgeting for Real Work (April 10th)

• Look at sample budgets and learn how to interpret the story behind the numbers 

• Create a budget tailored to your goals for 2016

• Learn how to assemble a project budget for potential funders

Getting People to Show Up (May 8th) 

• Learn new techniques for building an audience and your ideal project participant

• Troubleshoot issues with audience development that you may have had in the past

• Identify marketing techniques to keep people showing up to your future events

Getting New Projects off the Ground (June 12th)

• Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential threats of a new project 

• Think through the components of your project and its goals 

• Hone in on the details of your program or project and begin a draft project plan

Crowdfunding 101 (September 11th)

• Learn how to tell if crowdfunding is right for your project

• Discover the pros and cons of  crowdfunding platforms

• Hear from a panel of artists who have run successful crowdfunding campaigns

Speaking Tech (September 25th)

• Learn what event curators and sound engineers wish you knew when arriving to a performance

• Receive sample templates of contracts, tech riders, and advance sheets

• Practice using templates with real-life examples

Setting & Measuring Goals (October 9th)

• Identify what you want to achieve in your projects

• Incorporate critical feedback and self-reflection into your arts practice

• Brainstorm and receive tools for measuring success

Marshall Allen, now 92, was born in Louisville, Kentucky.

During the Second World War he enlisted in the 92nd Infantry Division and was stationed in France.[3] Allen studied alto saxophone in Paris and played in Europe with Art Simmons and James Moody.

He is best known for his mastery of pyrotechnic effects on the alto - he has said that he "wanted to play on a broader sound basis rather than on chords" (1971 interview with Tam Fiofori cited in[4]). The opportunity came through his long association with Sun Ra, with whom he performed almost exclusively from 1958 to Ra's death in 1993, although he did record outside the Arkestra, notably with Paul Bley's group in 1964 and with Olatunji's group during the mid-1960s. Critic Scott Yanow has described Allen's playing as "Johnny Hodges from another dimension".

Since the departure of Sun Ra and John Gilmore, Allen has led the Arkestra, and has recorded two albums as their bandleader. In May 2004, Allen celebrated his 80th birthday on stage with the Arkestra, as part of their performance at the Ninth Vision Festival in New York City. Allen gave another performance on his birthday in 2008 at Sullivan Hall in New York City.

Allen often appears in NYC-area collaborations with bassist Henry Grimes and has also participated in the "Outerzone Orchestra" together with Francisco Mora Catlett, Carl Craig and others in an appreciation of Sun Ra's music.

EL3 

Elliott Levin- reeds, wordsLarry Roland- bass, wordsJackson Krall- percussion

Check them out at https://vimeo.com/210612762

"I think the strains of social and political activism, along with the esthetics of the modern art world which developed into the space and atomic age, is what connects these roots to the futuristic expressions of spirit and soul."

Elliott Levin: Peace, Poetry & Music

Elliott Levin is a Philadelphia born and based poet and musician. He studied musical and literary composition at the University of Oregon. He has done further studies with Michael Guerra of the Phila. Orchestra; Cecil Taylor, pianist, composer, poet; Claire Polin, flutist composer; and Odean Pope, saxophonist, composer. Elliott has performed throughout the world with such groups as the Cecil Taylor Ensemble, Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, New Ghost, Interplay, Talking Free Be-Bop, Odean Pope's Saxophone Choir, Don Preston's Akashic Ensemble, Cee-Knowledge & The Cosmic Funk Orchestra, Alan Silva's Sound Vision Orchestra. He has collaborated in performance with many poets including Miguel Algarin, Bob Holman, Gloria Tropp, Reg. E. Gaines, John Sinclair, Butch Morris' CHORUS OF POETS, Wil Perkins, Frank Messina and David Amram. His original music and poetry can be found on the recordings: OLDUVAI MUSIC ("Or-Om-You'll-Us" 1978), and ILTAR ("Ewe-Doh-Noh-What-Fo'-Kiss" 1979), on TIWA Records. He was the associate producer, composer, and performer for the compilations: POETRY IN PHILADELPHIA (1989), and MUSIC FROM PHILADELPHIA (1990). As producer, composer, performer, in 1990 and 1992, he created two internationally broadcast features for New American Radio.

In 1993 "Whose Myth...?" was used as the title and as the featured work in a multi-disciplinary event sponsored by The Watts Towers Cultural Center in LA. "Huan" is a poetic/musical duet performed and recorded at The Berlin Total Music Meeting with Cecil Taylor in 1996. "A Bleak, Stark Beauty", and "Northern Liberties" were performed and recorded for The Fire In The Valley Festival in Amherst, Mass. with The Jackson Krall Quintet (1996). THE MOTION OF EMOTION CD was released by the Elliott Levin Quartet in 1998 on CIMP, followed by A FINE INTENSITY, SOUL-ETUDE, ON IN ONONDAGA (Opportunities and Advantages). NEW GHOST: LIVE UPSTAIRS AT NICK'S was released by ESP-Disk in 2006. His first book of poetry, "does it swing?" was published in 1996 by Heat Press of LA. Elliott Levin's musical and poetic inspirations are drawn form the roots of American forms of jazz and blues (along with many other international, cultural, folk, and classical forms) to grow into the more expansive techniques of the extended compositional and improvisational directions of modern innovators such as Cecil Taylor, Sun RA, Frank Zappa, and Don Van Vliet, to cite a few sources of inspiration. For the past 25 years, he has been intimately involved in the integral interplay of the language of music, and the music of language.

Admission is FREE 

Andrew’s Video Vault at The Rotunda

FREE Screenings Continuous From 8 PMon the Second THURSDAY of Every Month!Since 2004, Andrew’s Video Vault is a free, once-a-month screening series at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia programed by film director and educator Andrew Repasky McElhinney.  Andrew’s Video Vault programs original, obscure, neglected, marginalized and commercial unavailable video media. It connects the West Philly neighborhood to the University of Pennsylvania community and fosters a multicultural examination of motion pictures in a relaxed, educational setting.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Cinema Studies Program and The Rotunda at the University of Pennsylvania. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. 

APRIL 13 – REEL BLACK CINEMA PRESENTS TV MOVIES OF THE 1970sDummy (1979 / 75 minutes)Levar Burton plays a deaf mute wrongly accused of rape and murder. Based on the real-life case of Donald Lang, this Emmy-nominated film co-stars Paul Sorvino as hearing impaired lawyer Lowell Myers.The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened (1977 / 100 minutes)Adapted from the novel by Don Robertson, Jimmie Walker plays a high school basketball player stricken with sickle-cell anemia. Tony nominated director Gilbert Moses enlists a strong supporting cast, which includes James Earl Jones, Kevin Hooks and Debbie Allen (re-teamed with her Good Times co-star Walker in her movie debut).Guest Host and Curator: Mike Dennis 

MAY 11 – EARLY ALMODOVARPepi, Luci, Bom (1980 / 81 minutes)Pedro Almodovar’s rarely screened first feature feature about three friends features many of the traits he became well known for, including the power of women, homosexuality, drugs, pitch-black comedy, and Carmen Maura.What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984 / 101 minutes)Carmen Maura gives another brilliant performance as an overwhelmed, working-class housewife in another of Almodovar’s dark comedies featuring a murderous nod to Roald Dahl’s ‘Lamb to the Slaughter”, a prostitute, child-selling, telekenesis, an impotent policeman, a lizard witness, and more drugs/homosexuality.Guest Host and Curator: Mike Zaleski

JUNE 8 – ART HOUSE EROTICA DOUBLE FEATURELa Marge (1976 / 88 minutes)This little seen erotic film about a Parisian prostitute (Sylvia Kristel) who meets a businessman (Joe Dallesandro) from the countryside is one of director Walerian Borowczyk’s greatest achievements. Despite her aloofness, their encounters develop into a deep emotional attachment as his home life falls apart and tragedy strikes.Der Bomberpilot (1970 / 65 minutes)One of the most experimental films of New German Cinema is this colorful, somewhat lurid tale from Werner Schroeter, which follows the lives of three women in a traveling cabaret troupe from the excesses of Nazi Germany to hardship in the postwar years.Guest Host and Curator: Samm Deighan 

JULY 13 – CLARA BOW DOUBLE FEATUREKid Boots (1926 / 60 minutes)Eddie Cantor stars in this slapstick comedy. His friend Tom wants a divorce, but must stay married long enough to receive an inheritance. Unfortunately, he’s in Palm Beach, and tempted by all the beautiful girls there. Cantor tries to help him stay faithful, but then falls for Clara Bow himself (and who wouldn’t?).Mantrap (1926 / 70 minutes)Lonely Canadian bachelor Joe (Ernest Torrence) takes a trip to Minneapolis. He meets a pretty manicurist (Clara Bow) in a barber shop, and soon takes her back to Mantrap, Canada to marry her. The only trouble is she can’t help constantly flirting with other men – including the divorce lawyer who comes to town.Guest Host and Curator: Andrew Gilmore 

AUGUST 10 – ’90s DRUG-FUELED FREAK-OUTSGift (1993 / 80 minues)Perry Farrell and Casey Niccoli’s experimental, shot-on-video feature telling a story of a couple’s heroin addiction, set in the rock and roll world of Farrell’s band Jane’s Addiction. Made while the band was at the height of success and publicly struggling with real-life substance abuse issues, Gift wavers uncomfortably between death-wish braggadocio and an eerie call for help. The stripped-down lovers’ melodrama is framed by vivid Tijuana-shot concert footage of Jane’s Addiction in their fleeting heyday.The Love God (1997 / 82 minutes)Director Frank Grow’s little-seen masterpiece is a phantasmagorical tale of love and obsession at lower Manhattan’s Love Hotel, a dumping ground for prematurely-released mental patients. Grow sees the film through the deranged eyes of his bugged-out characters while never losing sight of their humanity. Awash with garish day-glo colors and madly stomping along to a score by Australia’s Lubricated Goat, The Love God unloads some wild shocks while barely hiding a deep compassion just beneath the mayhem.Guest Host and Curator: Dan Buskirk

SEPTEMBER 14 – BOLDLY INTO THE DARKSelected ShortsThe men and women who made these animated films were free; they did not have to answer to any studio, appeal to any demographic, or argue with actors, nor were they were bound by the laws of gravity, time and logic.  Each answered only to his or her heart and imagination.  As a result, these films go places and do things no feature film would dare… Begotten (1990 / 72 minutes)In Begotten, Edmund Elias Merhige separates the darkness from the light to reveal the beginning of everything: matter, motion, myth, sex and Cinema itself are born on the screen in blood and fire.  We are witness to forbidden rituals and images that conjure the savage poetry of James Dickey and terrible beauty of Ingmar Bergman.  Though we can’t look away, we feel we shouldn’t be watching…Guest Host and Curator: Ted Knighton

OCTOBER 12 – GRINDHOUSE GOTHICThe Witch Who Came From the Sea (1976 / 88 minutes)“Molly really knows how to cut men down to size!” was the tagline for this deeply atmospheric “video nasty” with great location cinematography, dramatic heft, and a haunting turn from Millie Perkins as Molly, who seems to leave a trail of deadly sexual multialtions in her wake, but why…? Toys Are Not For Children (1972 / 85 minutes)Jamie’s (Marcia Forbes) obsession with her absent father and the toys he gave her as a child ruins her marriage and leads her into a life of prostitution in this exploitation drama filled with equal parts of the bizarre and of melancholy.Guest Host and Curator: Mike Zaleski 

NOVEMBER 9 – PRE-CODE COMEDYShow Girl in Hollywood (1930 / 77 minutes)Flapper comedienne Alice White stars in this musical comedy as an unemployed chorus girl who decides to leave Broadway and go to Hollywood to find a job in the new field of “talking pictures”, but finds it’s not as easy to get into the movies as she had hoped.Girl Crazy (1932 / 74 minutes)Zany vaudevillians Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey star in this George & Ira Gershwin-scored musical comedy. Gambler Woolsey hires taxi driver Wheeler to drive him to Custerville, Arizona, where the sheriffs always get bumped off. Woolsey tries to get out of paying his taxi bill by talking Wheeler into running for sheriff against the town’s nastiest bandit, and hilarity ensues.Guest Host and Curator: Andrew Gilmore

DECEMBER 14 – DIABOLICAL FRENCH DRAMAUnder The Sun of Satan [Sous le soleil de Satan] (1976 / 97 minutes)Gerard Depardieu stars in Maurice Pialat’s film about the nature of evil, where a particularly zealous priest in the French countryside becomes tempted by the devil and is obsessed with saving a young murderess (Sandrine Bonnaire) who has killed one of her lovers. The Devil, Probably [Le diable, probablement] (1977 / 95 minutes)Robert Bresson’s penultimate film follows the attempts of a suicidal young man (Antoine Monnier) to find some meaning or value in society by immersing himself in religion, politics, and even psychology, all for nought.Guest Host and Curator: Samm Deighan

Join us for a special Youth Night at The Rotunda on Saturday, April 15th from 6-10pm! We know Philly Youth Poetry Movement (PYPM) is known for their lit poetry slams and amazing youth performers...BUT we want to show you another side of our community of talents! 

Our PYPM Youth Board will be hosting their "FIRST EVENT EVER" Talent Showcase with a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prize winner in the spirit of friendly celebration! 

If you cannot make it and would still like to support please consider purchasing a donation ticket for $10 to help us reach our goal of raising $1000 at this event! 

The money raised at this event will help us get our team that will be representing the entire city of Philadelphia to BNV - Brave New Voices International Poetry Competition in San Fransisco, California in July 2017. 

Thank you so much for supporting your local youth organization! 

Doors open at 5:30pm - Talent Showcase starts at 6pm sharp. Sign up to perform here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeF_YLDwyZMH0jqFKDTc3hFpiwavvVM3uatxWxpGWTDchi-lA/viewform?c=0&w=1

SAVE BRUJO!

Friend, artist, musician, & community worker Brujo de la Mancha needs help making a new life in Canada. Unfortunately, U.S. immigration is impossible at this time. Help us support Brujo and raise awareness of what immigrants have to go through in this country.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

DONATE!Donate money right now to make an immediate impact. https://www.gofundme.com/save-brujo

COME TO EVENTS! 

Sunday April 16 @6pmCommunity Dinner + silent auction & rafflesWe will have a lovely vegan dinner with a silent auction, art sale (including work from Brujo himself), readings, and a screening of Belmont Grove (Fairmount Park) Reclaiming Coaquannock. This film tells the story of how Belmont Plateau served as a powerful gathering space for Philadelphia's native communities from 1974-1992 and what impact the loss of that space had. In addition, Brujo was one of the producers of this film. 

Sunday May 14 @8pmConcert with Philly legends Stinking Lizaveta, Geb the Giant Cackler, Stephan Tsapatoris, and Ollin Yolitzli Calmecac + silent auction & raffles.  therotunda.org/event/keep-saving-brujo-concert-fundraiser

Admission for both events is your choice. We suggest $5-1,000,000 at the door.

Both events are at The Rotunda.

SO WHY DOES BRUJO NEED OUR HELP? 

Here is his story, in his own words:

"I came to the United States of North America, when I was 20 years old in February 1998 hoping to escape from the repression and discrimination inflicted on indigenous Mexicans.  I was part of a group of activists in Mexico City around 1994, around the time of Zapatista uprising.  In 1996 I was detained for participating in a classic annual demonstration called 2 de Octubre.  The Mexican political party called PRI - now in power - has a history of killing university students and protestors.   I was hoping to go to the university, but the Mexican government was planning to privatize it.

I was seventeen years old and taken into custody by the undercover Federal police that came to the subway after the demonstration.  They pulled aside about fifteen of us, drove us around to confuse and scare us, then put us in depravation for 8 hours.  They took pictures of me naked and kicked me every time I moved from a squatting position.  They threw me out in the streets half naked.   I had to cover myself with fabric from the trash outside of the police station.  It was one of our demonstration banners.  I got home however I could.

Months later in Mexico City was militarized.  I was again stopped and questioned on my way to friend's house to make t-shirts.  They ripped my backpack open and saw transfers for new printing ideas.  Then they uncovered a tattoo on my right arm and said “look it’s him!”  They said, “We know where you live and what you do!  If you keep doing this you will be in deep trouble!” And they told me the street and house number where I was living.

After that I moved out of Mexico City, but found no peace.  I was detained in Queretaro City for two days for not looking like the others from there.  I was set free because I was not talking and not eating inside the jail. In Culiacan, Sinaloa, where Cartel activity is rampant, I was detained for the same reason, and after washing the bathrooms and being called clown I was set free.  In Nogales Sonora on the Mexican-US border, I was harassed again.  They held me for 36 hours without any registration on their books.  In that jail I was sexually harassed and I had to protect myself by not sleeping and by acting macho so no one would try to rape me.

In late 1997 I met an American woman in Oaxaca City, who offered to lend me money to come to the US. With few other options, I walked three and half days through the mountains to come to US.  I decided to come to Philadelphia, where she lived, because she offered me more help.

I had to pay the Mexican embassy in New York City $100 dollars, to free my army card so I could get a passport.  Without the army service we can't get a passport, so we cannot get out of Mexico the legal way.  I did not do the army service because the Mexican government sends the army mostly to small villages to oppress the native population.  If I return to Mexico, I could face persecution or get killed because the Mexican government - especially the PRI - do not like people that think in a radical humanitarian way.  This is because I work to preserve indigenous art and culture from Mexico.  Today it is easier to see what the Mexican government does to their own people, thanks to Youtube and Facebook; but when I came to US it was not easy to prove why I decided to run away from my government. If I return to Mexico, without a way to get out to another country, I could face several hardships, as I did before, or even worse endings.

In Philadelphia I was able to make friends in the punk scene and find housing.  It was easy at first, but I felt lonely because I didn't fit in and I couldn't get services for my situation.  I had a lot of stress, but I found Vipassana meditation, which is still helpful to me today.  After a few hard years I knew I needed to seek citizenship, so I began taking steps.

Over the past fifteen years I have spoken with many immigration lawyers.  They start out saying "this will be the year!"  First they tell me that applying for a visa has to be done from outside the US.  Then they talk about marriage, but that's not the right path for me.  They say “I cannot change the laws for you”; but they tell me to wait for the next President.  OK, NEXT year.  Then they can charge thousands of dollars for their services. 

Once in the year 2000 I was detained after a routine traffic stop in New Jersey due to racial profiling.  After being found not guilty, the lawyer told me that he could get me a wife for $7000.  I said no thanks, there are too many complications; and what immigrant has that kind of money?

Once I even worked with a refugee lawyer, who said the same things and couldn’t find a way to seek asylum either.  No country in the world takes Indigenous refugees from Mexico; Mexico does not give IDs for “Indian” reservations because there are no reservations.  My Aztec descent means nothing to them, and many Catholics of Spanish descent look down on me.  Mexico treats you as a Mexican or NOT, so there is no such thing as a Mexican refugee.  When police detain you, they don’t book you; they don't respect your human rights, and they don't keep records.  Cartel activity is illegal, so it does not count as government oppression.  That’s why my case is not considered severe enough to grant asylum.

A few years ago I looked into the National Interest Waiver.  As a memory keeper for my culture, and a student of ancient skills, I fit many of the guidelines.  Other immigration categories are out of my reach.  However, I am stopped by the same technicality: you can’t apply for a visa from within the US.  Guidelines have gotten harder today.  Even within a marriage, they require evidence of extreme hardship, like if my wife was on suicide watch.  Lying is expensive and complicated, and it’s morally wrong.  I have not committed any fraudulent acts.  And I do not want to marry if I’m not in love.

Nineteen years have passed.  Today I'm a teaching artist and community worker in Philadelphia.  All I want is to share my skills for the commonwealth of humanity.  Unfortunately current immigration law has no provisions for someone like me.  I am here now to ask for help.  I want to comply with documents so I can come and go as I please.  My father is aging; I haven’t seen him since I was 20.  I have decided to go to Canada if they accept my visa application, even though my entire adult and professional life has been built here.  From there I may be able to re-apply in a few years for entry into the US.  This way I can still use my resume and show my accomplishments.  If they accept me, I will be able to travel freely after six months, which means I can also visit my father. 

I need to raise these funds as soon as possible, for obvious reasons.  However, the visa process is so expensive,and includes fees, several tests, and requirements stating how much money I must have in the bank. Without these funds, I can't start my new life."

Secret Cinema presents famous films (again!) 

In this, our 25th anniversary year, we'll again present a popular theme from our past...but this time, with all new content...

The Secret Cinema is known for showing rarest-of-the-rare, otherwise impossible to see celluloid treasures. That changes on Wednesday, April 19, as we revive our FAMOUS FILMS program concept, at The Rotunda.

Once again, we've scoured our archive shelves for the most famous short film titles we could find...and realized there was still more great, non-obscure viewing that we'd not shown before. The program will include legendary documentaries, notable silent films, animation milestones, and once-mainstream theatrical subjects. Some were landmark achievements for their unusual style, or other innovative techniques. Others endure simply as great entertainment.

Of course, "famous" is a relative term, and fame is a fleeting thing. One reason we wish to share these great works is the growing realization that even classic films are becoming hard to see in their original form (projected celluloid on a large screen). Not so long ago, all of these films would have been mandatory viewing (via 16mm or 35mm prints) in university courses and repertory cinemas, but that is sadly no longer true. Indeed, several of these reels will be unknown to today's casual viewer -- all the more reason to celebrate them again.

Just a few highlights of FAMOUS FILMS 2017 include:

THE ADVENTURES OF DOLLIE (1908, Dir: D.W. Griffith) - A true landmark in film history, this film was the very first directorial effort by D. W. Griffith. He is generally credited with developing, in a series of short dramas made for the Biograph studio, the very grammar of the motion picture. Those advancements took another leap forward a few years later, when he made his first feature, THE BIRTH OF A NATION. Griffith's wife Linda Arvidson co-starred in this story of the kidnapping of a young girl by gypsies.

LOT IN SODOM (1933, Dir: James Sibley Watson & Melville Webber) - This pioneering avant garde film, based on the Biblical tale of Sodom and Gomorrah, was experimental in both its expressionistic style and its fearless, erotic depiction of sexuality (both homo- and hetero-). Watson, heir to the Western Union fortune, was a true renaissance man, with achievements as a medical doctor, philanthropist, publisher, editor, and photographer, in addition to his highly influential amateur filmmaking. Other Watson and Webber credits include TOMATOES ANOTHER DAY and National Film Registry entry THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER. Watson's close friend, the noted composer Alec Wilder, recruited cast members and served as assistant director on LOT IN SODOM.

HUMOROUS PHASES OF FUNNY FACES (1906, Dir: J. Stuart Blackton) - A series of chalk drawings that come to life, this is thought to be the very first animated cartoon. It inspired many others to animate drawings, though it is marred by the inclusion of some unfortunate racial stereotypes. Blackton was a newspaper reporter and illustrator until he purchased an early projector and films from Thomas Edison. This led to his co-founding of Vitagraph, one of the most important of the early film studios.

Vitaphone trailer for THE JAZZ SINGER (1927) - Al Jolson famously ad-libbed "You ain't heard nothing yet!" in THE JAZZ SINGER, the first talking feature film. However, audiences lucky enough to catch this coming attraction preview for the film had already heard something! In what must have been the first talking trailer, prolific character actor John Miljan awkwardly addresses the camera to promote the new Vitaphone sound process, and shows scenes of the film's star-studded New York opening.

Plus TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE COLLAPSE, THE INCREDIBLE JEWEL ROBBERY, WHAT'S OPERA DOC, I'LL NEVER HEIL AGAIN, and much more!

Secret Cinema history/trivia: Our first FAMOUS FILMS program was presented in 2007. Additional volumes were screened in 2008 and 2011. No films from these earlier editions will be repeated in FAMOUS FILMS 2017.

SECRET CINEMA WEBSITE: http://www.thesecretcinema.com

There will be one complete show, starting at 8:00 pm. Admission is $8.00.

Presented by BowerbirdThree Voices, written in 1982 for Joan La Barbara, was the last solo vocal piece he wrote before his death in 1987 (For Stefan Wolpe, dedicated to his composition teacher and written for chorus and two vibraphones, post-dates it). It sets part of Wind, a poem by his friend Frank O'Hara that had been dedicated to him and which he had set earlier in its entirety in The O'Hara Songs (1962) for bass-baritone. 

Conceived as a trio for the one voice, with two pre-recorded parts and one to be performed live, the score is conventionally notated (all parts are written out with precise rhythms and pitches, though often in differing metres) but is beguilingly short on some details. There is, for example, no tempo indication, no vowel specified for the many lengthy passages without text, no dynamics bar an initial ppp, and no guidance as to which voice should be the 'live' one.

Writing later about Three Voices, Feldman said: 'One of my closest friends, the painter Philip Guston, had just died; Frank O'Hara had died several years before. I saw the piece with Joan in front and these two loudspeakers behind her. There is something kind of tombstoney about the look of loudspeakers. I thought of the piece as an exchange of the live voice with the dead ones - a mixture of the living and the dead'. 

Soprano Juliet Fraser has a repertoire dominated by the very old and the very new. In new music, she has performed as a guest soloist with Klangforum Wien, Remix Ensemble, Talea, ICTUS, Plus-Minus, We Spoke: New Music Company, London Sinfonietta and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. She is also principal soprano of EXAUDI, the acclaimed vocal ensemble, which she founded with James Weeks in 2002. Juliet has premiered well over 100 works, many of which have been written for her, and has worked particularly closely with composers Rebecca Saunders, Michael Finnissy, Bernhard Lang, Matthew Shlomowitz, Andrew Hamilton and Cassandra Miller. Her commercial recording of Morton Feldman's Three Voices was released on Hat Hut Records in November 2016.

Admission is FREE

The Village featuring Ream Raw

ATIBA HALISI | DAVID COOPER | Q-FLOTRE ANDRA'E | FRESH FIREOPEN MIC#WEARETHEVILL

Purchase tickets HERE 

*INVITATION TO THE PHILADELPHIA POETRY FESTIVAL*

THE PHILADELPHIA POETRY FESTIVAL 2017!The Free Poetry FestivalDo you run a poetry organization, magazine, poetry press, poetry series, or college writing program in the Philadelphia area?  If so, please register for the Philadelphia Poetry Festival 2017 by sending your request via email to  gontarek9@earthlink.net. Include your name, the organization you represent, and a brief summary of what your org does and where and when you do it.   Please use The Philadelphia Poetry Festival 2017 in the subject line of the email.

Our Format has changed: Each organization will present one poet to represent them, who will read for five minutes.  In the spirit of the event, we ask that organization leaders or editors not read, but choose a poet to spotlight.

There will be an area for the circulation of program brochures, flyers and information about dozens of Philadelphia poetry and writing outlets. Bring your favorite series’ information to share!  This is the area’s most comprehensive poetry event solely dedicated to celebrating Greater Philadelphia Poetry in all of its manifestations.

Register now to introduce your favorite poetry org to the greater Philadelphia poetry community OR just come and listen to the spoken word on April 23th!

Come and find out about all the other poetry orgs, series, coordinators, and more in the Philly and surrounding areas.

Participants have included:

* Farley’s First Thursday Series * The Collective Mic, LLC* Montgomery County Poet Laureate Program* Mad Poets Society/ Young Poets Contest /Mad Poets Review* Calypso Press * Philadelphia Community College Certificate Program* Philadelphia Stories * Brandywine Valley Writers Group* Manayunk Roxborough Art Center / Schuylkill Valley Journal* The Green Line Reading & Interview Series * Philadelphia Wordshop* Word Up Wednesdays * Joie deVivre Book Competition* Moonstone Art Center * The Osage Poets * Brigid’s House Writers* Musehouse: Supporting the Literary Arts * Philadelphia Writers Conference* Painted Bride Quarterly * Cleaver Magazine * American Poetry Review+

PPF BOOK FAIR 2017The Philadelphia Poetry Festival will include a Poetry Book Fair. This is for individual poets signing and selling their books of poems. All proceeds will go to and be handled by the authors. The space is free, but very limited. You must sign up in advance. Please arrive at 12:30.

Please contact Leonard with interest: gontarek9@earthlink.net

Join us on Tuesday April 25 for the closing reception of 40th Street Artist-in-Residence Wit Lopez's show Wit's Wonderland. This show opened on April 7 at the 40th Street Artist-in-Residence Program (AIR) gallery, AIRSPACE, and was a lot of fun. 

The exhibition features work that Lopez created in the studio during the first 7 months of their residency. Visitors are invited to immerse themselves into Lopez's fiber art by engaging with the directions as listed on each piece. Enjoy the absurdity of the exhibition and become a part of it!

This reception is accessible to individuals with low-vision and the blind.

Exhibition is free and open to the general public. The wheelchair and stroller ramp is on the right side of the building toward the back. 

Are you ready, men and women of Philadelphia and surrounding areas?? Because our wonderful team here at Sisterhood Project LLC. has prepared a great movement that turned into a great show which only happens once a year.

Don't miss out on this wonderful opportunity to be a part of great change by increasing your awareness of social events, working on your networking pitch, building new working relationships, branding within a new circle encouraging the possibilities for future revenue and career endeavors. Why not - it's clean, simple fun. Click the link below to purchase your tickets. Also find out ways how you too can get involved with our movement.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-royal-fashion-show-2017-tickets-26760878508?aff=escb&utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-source=cp&utm-term=homepage

The Royal Fashion Show is once a year and you don't want to miss this year's show. Great models who've been working not just on their outer but their inner as well. Dj Mitch on the 1's and 2's. Food, Fun, Shopping, Raffles, Model of the year . Beautiful models, great designers, etc -  a wonderful family event to attend.

Philly MAC-Down 2: Vegan Boogaloo!

Philadelphia's vegan mac & cheese contest returns! Get ready for Philly MAC-Down 2: Vegan Boogaloo!Join V Marks the Shop & friends on Sunday, April 30, 2017 at 2pm for a great afternoon of food, fun and lots of mac & cheese! Watch the competitors vie to be GRAND CHAMPION and winner of the GOLDEN TROPHY! They'll work their recipes to unseat our inaugural titleholder LJ Steinig! Not to mention our PHILLY'S CHOICE winners, Brittany and Terrence Roche, aka Plant Power Couple, let it be known that their bringing mac & cheese magic! For you creative types, Falynn Koch is defending her MOST ORIGINAL title!

GET'S GET READY TO MAC-DOWN!!!!Your emcee for the festivities is actor/singer/songwriter Joe Pudetti!We're excited to announce our judges for Year 2!

YOU will be the judge for our PHILLY'S CHOICE winner!

WAIT! THERE'S MORE...

We'll have a mini marketplace where you can sample and shop with the likes of:

You'll have a chance to receive goodies and win prizes from sponsors including:

There will be a DJ and fun entertainment in store!

YOUR TICKET PURCHASE HELPSBy purchasing a ticket, you'll also be doing some good. $5 of every ticket will benefit Woodstock Farm Sanctuary in High Falls, New York!

WE CANNOT WAIT TO MAC-DOWN WITH YOU!

TICKET PRICESAdvance tickets are $15.00Tickets the door are $20.00Kids under 5 years of age can MAC-Down for FREE!Purchase tickets HERE