3 Days to the Black Women’s Arts Festival! 7/29-8/1

Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter July 26, 2010

Greetings Friends!

Cassendre Xavier here (founder and director of BWAF) with another update about Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival, which is happening this weekend starting Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010!

I recently read a magazine article about a husband and wife who suddenly found themselves the parents of three children under the age of one! She was told she couldn’t conceive, so they adopted and had a surrogate mother, both of which ended up producing a baby at almost the same time, and then the wife miraculously and very unexpectedly became pregnant! They’re thrice blessed, but very, very busy with those babies!

I say this to say that this is much how I feel running BWAF this year. As you may have noticed, a few things have been delayed, and for any inconvenience, I sincerely apologize. I also have made amends however I could, and offered special deals to folks who may have been shortchanged by the late happenings of certain features of this year’s event.

I have had more than a few serious life issues this year that caused my production with BWAF to be affected. I intend and expect next year will show a significant increase in the number of people working on the Festival than there were this year!

(For those who’d like more details, I will be releasing a ME! ME! ME! Newsletter before the Festival begins this week to share more of my experience and how things happened with BWAF this year. Links to my Yahoo Group and Blog can be found at www.cassEndrExavier.com)

ABOUT US
The Black Women’s Arts Festival is an acclaimed, inclusive, community cultural arts event which was founded in 2003 and began operating as a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization in 2007.

This summer’s Festival dates are Thursday, July 29 thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010.

BWAF Philly 2010 will feature many very special, first-time featured artists, workshops, children’s events and more at several venues in Greater Philadelphia including our primary venue, The Rotunda, on the campus of, and in our longtime partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
We will also feature special, spiritual, and family events to honor the elders and ancestors from all our communities.

As always, all respectful persons are welcome, invited, and encouraged to participate as attendees, volunteers, and/or organizers.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Thursday 7/29 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) from 11:00AM – 8:00 Workshops and Films – no other events, no vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org

Thursday LATE NIGHT from 9:00PM – 2:00AM it’s the Opening Night Party at the Arts Garage (533 Ridge Avenue) $5 Admission 21+ID. www.theartsgarage.com

Friday 7/30 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) 11:30AM – 11:00PM – Workshops, Exhibits, Performances and Vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org

Saturday MORNING 7/31 Children’s Storytime at Big Blue Marble Bookstore (551 Carpenter Lane) 11:00AM – 1:00PM FREE. www.bigbluemarblebooks.com

Saturday 7/31 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) from 1:30PM – 10:00PM Workshops, Exhibits, Performances and Vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org

Sunday 8/1 at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut Street) from 11:00AM – 10:00PM Workshops, Exhibits, Performances and Vendors. $7 each person or 2 for $10. www.therotunda.org

Note: There will be chair massage on Friday and Sunday. There will also be a Clothing & Book Swap every day! All are welcome to bring gently used clothing, books, etc. to give away and feel free to take with you a special souvenir of the Festival as well! (I’ve already compiled a bag of clothes and new, unopened bottled of scented body lotion to give away, because I remember how much I enjoyed receiving clothes and a nice bottle of fragrance-free shampoo at the NoLose Conference years ago!) Men and women are welcome to participate.

For the latest events, please visit http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/2010/07/bwaf-philly-2010-schedule.html or http://tinyurl.com/295zvbm, or our official website’s 2010 Schedule page http://bwafphilly.homestead.com/2010.html or http://tinyurl.com/294vrap.

Please note that changes are being made much faster than they’re able to be updated online. Please just come to the Festival and see what happens!

OUR LAST YEAR AS A NON-PROFIT
BWAF operated from 2003 – 2006, then operated as a non-profit from 2007 – 2010. A few weeks ago, BWAF decided to leave the New Beginnings Non-Profit Incubator of Resources for Human Development, our fiscal sponsor, and submitted our notice of resignation. BWAF will remain a New Beginnings project through December 31, 2010, unless we find other office space sooner. From January 1, 2011, BWAF will again be in the for-profit sector. As I learned, running a non-profit is like having three jobs, and we’re just not cut out for it. It’s not our style, and I look forward to trying the new thing of being a company that runs as a business, yet with the support of a community organization. In these next four months, we’ll be looking for office space and have already been given a few leads that may pan out quite nicely. Keep you posted!

In the meantime, watch a tour of our BWAF office and hear about leaving the non-profit sector on YouTube:

Black Women's Arts Festival Office Tour 2010 - (Part 1 of 2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiMQVcBZAXc or http://tinyurl.com/252734r

Black Women's Arts Festival Office Tour 2010 - (Part 2 of 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4loKUveeNI4 or http://tinyurl.com/2brfj8w

CHAPBOOK POETRY CONTEST UPDATE
We will resume this project later this year, after the Festival. The goal is to assemble a committee of folks to do this work, and then the three judges who were selected this year, will do the judging. Keep you posted!

The BWAF Pages - a Community Resource Directory & Coupon Book is a project in the works by the Black Women's Arts Festival www.BWAFpages.com. In the meantime, we’re sending out the occasional online version and offering free advertising to our community of friends. If you have news that would be of interest to BWAs, please send your free 75-word classifieds/listings to: BWAFpages(at)gmail.com. If your event is dated, please put the event date in the subject where we can see it right away, and the more in advance you send us news of dated events, the better. We may include your news in future online supplements of the BWAF Pages. BWAF Pages - Almost as Good as Word of Mouth!

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER (NEW!) AND OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKING LINKS
Please take a moment to click on all our social networking links and befriend us. Also, if you’re a black woman artist, or an ally of BWAs, please network with us and with each other – befriend befriend, befriend!

NEW!! TWITTER http://twitter.com/BWAFphilly

BWAF Facebook Fan Page (Don’t forget to login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dk4wst

Our official email list: http://tinyurl.com/2asxjzj

Our official blog: http://bwafphilly.blogspot.com/

We’re on MySpace, too: http://tinyurl.com/2c3mk8t

BWAF Facebook Profile (Log in first): http://tinyurl.com/26n9u9h

BWAF Facebook Group (Login first): http://tinyurl.com/2dl2pdk
You can always join our official email list by sending a blank email to: BWAFphilly-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Thanks for everything and see you next time!

In art & community,

Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Director
Black Women's Arts Festival
7th Annual, Philadelphia, July 29th - Aug 1st, 2010

Contact / Donate:
Black Women's Arts Festival
3721 Midvale Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19129-1743
(215) 951-0330, x 2108 (Email much preferred.)
Email: BWAFphilly(at)yahoo.com
Website: www.BWAFphilly.org


© 2010 Black Women’s Arts Festival, BWAF, BWAF Philly. All rights reserved.

Schedule Update: Opening Night Party is ON!!

Dear Friends,


The Black Women’s Arts Festival’s Opening Night Party is happening after all!

--------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at The Arts Garage, 533 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130 www.theartsgarage.com. (Our event may not be on their website yet, but it's on!)

9:00PM - 2:00AM - Opening Night Party at the Arts Garage. 21+, Kitchen Open All Night, Drink Specials, Accessible via public transportation (Broad Street Line or C bus).


Please check our website for regular updates http://BWAFphilly.org

BWAF Philly 2010 Schedule

Schedule of Events

Thursday, July 29, 2010 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.

===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====


WORKSHOPS

11:00AM - 12:15PM - African Modern Dance Workshop with Shandra Staley
12:30PM - 1:30PM --- "Breszny Amplified" Meditative Workshop & Writing Excerise with Dr. Niama L. Williams
2:00PM - 4:00PM - Book & Clothing Swap and TBA


FILMS

Starting at 5:00PM -

Damali Abrams' "Self-Help TV" Compilation of short films including "Rose Petal Lemonade", "Drama", and "Frederick Douglass Boulvard".

"United in We" by Katrina Strickland

"The Postwoman" by Jamie Walker


More Films TBA



CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!

-------------------------------------------------------

Schedule Update: Opening Night Party is ON!!

Dear Friends,


The Black Women’s Arts Festival’s Opening Night Party is happening after all!

--------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 29, 2010 at The Arts Garage, 533 Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19130 www.theartsgarage.com. (Our event may not be on their website yet, but it's on!)

9:00PM - 2:00AM - Opening Night Party at the Arts Garage. 21+, Kitchen Open All Night, Drink Specials, Accessible via public transportation (Broad Street Line or C bus).


Please check our website for regular updates http://BWAFphilly.org



--------------------------------------------------------

Friday, July 30, 2010 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.

===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====


11:30M - 2:30PM - Book & Clothing Swap and TBA


WORKSHOPS

3:00PM - 4:00PM - MOYA Workshop by Pat Augustus Gilbert

4:30PM - 4:45PM - Progressive Poetry Workshop with Ms. Wise

5:00PM - TBA


MUSIC

6:00PM - Rafiya

6:30PM - TBA

7:00PM - M'Balia


SPOKEN WORD

7:30PM - NASSUNNI

7:45PM - TBA


MUSIC

9:00PM- Danie Ocean


9:30PM - TBA



VISUAL ARTIST & VENDOR

4:00PM - 10:00PM - A. Nailah Arts


CHAIR MASSAGE

Super special treat!
11:30AM - 7:00PM - Certified massage therapist Shandra Staley


CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!


Saturday, July 31, 2010 at Big Blue Marble Bookstore, then the Rotunda.

11:00AM - 1:00PM - Children's Storytime at Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19119. www.bigbluemarblebooks.com

-After Children's Storytime, all of Saturday's events are again at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.

===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====

1:30PM - 2:30PM - "That's Funny You Didn't Sound Black On the Phone" -a Comedic Monologue by Jacquetta Szathmari of Big Guns Big Tobacco Theatre Company

SPOKEN WORD & MUSIC

2:45PM - 3:00PM Jaz (Spoken Word Artist & Singer)

3:15PM - 3:30PM Mase III (Spoken Word)

4:00PM - 4:15PM Lydia Rene (Music)

4:30PM - 4:45PM - Dr. Niama L. Williams (Spoken Word)


VISUAL ART EXHIBITS & VENDORS

Starting at 6:00PM - Brandi Pettijohn (Photography), Crystal Hawkins (Photography), Addye Durant (Vendor)


6:30PM - 7:30PM - Art Talk with Brandi Pettijohn and others TBA


MUSIC & SPOKEN WORD

7:45PM - 8:00PM - Saida Agostini (Spoken Word)

8:15PM - 8:40PM -- Anonymous7 (Music)

8:45PM - 9:10PM - Open Mic feat. Anonymous7

9:15PM - 11:00PM - TBA


VISUAL ARTISTS & VENDORS

Starting at 6:00PM - A. Nailah Arts (Visual Artist & Vendor)

More TBA


CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!



Sunday, August 1, 2010 at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 www.therotunda.org.


===Admission for the whole day: $7 per person or 2 for $10====


WORKSHOPS

11:20AM - 11:50AM - "ABCs of Organic" with Claudia Street

12:00PM - 12:45PM - "Beautiful Ugly: An Exploration of Self-Love & Self-Worth" with Ms. Wise

1:00PM - 2:00PM - "Poetry & Movement: Liberating Language with Our Bodies" with Joyce Angela Jellison

2:00PM - 3:00PM - "Poetry Pulls Pain" with Pat McLean


PERFORMANCES

3:15PM - 3:45PM - TBA

4:00PM - 4:15PM - Pat McLean (Spoken Word)

4:30PM - 4:45PM - Joyce Angela Jellison (Spoken Word)

5:00PM - 5:15PM - Connie Muhammad (Music)

6:00PM - 6:15PM - Kina the Prophtic Poet (Spoken Word)

7:00PM - 7:20PM - Cocosol (Music)

7:30PM - 8:00PM - TBA


CEREMONY TO HONOR OUR ELDERS & ANCESTORS (ALL ARE WELCOME TO PARTICIPATE)

8:30PM - 9:30PM - Ceremony created and led by O aka Loretta Lynn Payne


CHAIR MASSAGE

12:00PM - 8:00pm - Certified Massage Therapist Shandra Staley



VENDORS
Starting at 5:00PM - A. Nailah Arts and more


CLOTHING & BOOK SWAP
All day, there will be a couple of boxes for you to bring books, clothes, or other little presents that would make a nice souvenir. That means you get to leave with something new and special, too!




(Schedule subject to change with no notice. More to be added to the schedule in mere hours or even minutes! Visit our official website at http://BWAFphilly.org)

Press Release - Black Women's Arts Festival July 29 - Aug 1, 2010

Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival is scheduled for Thursday, July 29th through Sunday, August 1st, 2010 at two locations: The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, 19104 (Thursday - Films & Workshops from 11:00AM-8:00PM, Friday/Saturday/Sunday– Shows, Films, Workshops & Vendors), and Big Blue Marble Bookstore, 551 Carpenter Lane, 19119 (Children’s Storytime 11:00AM – 1:00PM).

(Please note the Opening Night Party has been cancelled.)

This acclaimed, inclusive community event features interdisciplinary performances, exhibits, films, workshops, and vendors from Philadelphia and other states as far as California and Arizona.

Some highlights of this year’s events include films like Jamie Walker’s “The Postwoman”, Jacquetta Szathmari’s comedic monologue “That’s Funny You Didn’t Sound Black On the Phone” (her theatre/production company is called Big Guns Big Tobacco), Damali Abrams’ “Self-Help TV”, the music & spoken word of Anonymous7, workshops and spoken word by Dr. Niama Leslie Williams, Pat McLean, the music of Lydia Rene, Danie Ocean, Cocosol, and many more. There will be at least one Open Mic and Sunday evening will close the event with an Honoring Our Elders & Ancestors Ceremony. As always, the BWAF is open to all respectful persons – all community members are welcome and encouraged to attend.

(Schedule subject to change.)

For more about this year’s events, to get an early start on BWAF Philly 2011, or learn how you can produce a Black Women’s Arts Festival in your town or city, please visit the official Black Women’s Arts Festival website at http://BWAFphilly.org, email info(at)BWAFphilly.org or call 215-951-0330 ext 2108. We’re also on Facebook as a Profile, Group, and Fan Page!

Black Women’s Arts Festival Newsletter July 3, 2010

Greetings, folks!

Super tired and sleepy, so I’ll be quick…

I kept my deadline of notifying the selected featured artists, workshop presenters, and vendors in the month of June – mostly! I called 90% of the featured folks on June 30, 2010, and have since been following through on these calls and creating the schedule.
There are still a few folks left to call, so if you haven’t heard from me yet, it may mean I haven’t gotten to your name yet.
Vendors, please know that making the schedule is my first priority, and I will notify vendors after the event schedule is officially set.
Please note that we will be at three (3) venues this year: The Rotunda, our primary venue, The Arts Garage, and Big Blue Marble bookstore. We are very excited!

We have just updated our website, and plan to include the schedule of events next week.
Enjoy your day, everyone, and thank you for your interest and participation in Philadelphia’s 7th Annual Black Women’s Arts Festival (Thursday, July 29th thru Sunday, August 1st, 2010) http://BWAFphilly.org

In art and community,

Cassendre Xavier
Founder & Executive Director, Black Women’s Arts Festival (Est. 2003)

© Copyright 2010 by Black Women’s Arts Festival, or BWAF Philly. All rights reserved. http://BWAFphilly.org.