community + cultural info
BridgeSpotters Mission: to establish an artistic and intellectual culture by providing places and products for the appreciation and development of art and intellect. This email is sent to subscribers and friends of BridgeSpotters that are supporters of urban creative and intellectual culture. Enjoy the updates... Tomorrow! Tune into 106.7 WAMO and listen around 8:40am to 9am for an interview with BridgeSpotters Founder and Artistic Director, Kamau Ware and Queen Aliya the Executive Director of Operation Better Block. The topic is “Written in Stone” – why celebrate Ethiopia? Why in Homewood? Feel free to call in! Good afternoon, Bridge City! Can you believe that tomorrow is the first day of summer? For those of you that catch the Element 5 emails [like myself], I’m sure you are aware that the “summer solstice” is upon us. There’s a rumor that we will have some beautiful weather tomorrow. Just in case, we included the sun to our email database so she knows to come out and bless “Written in Stone” and the Arts Festival tomorrow. We’ll see what happens. We’re assuming the sun uses “hotmail”, so we hope to get through the spam filters. Saturday June 21, 2003 [First Day of Summer] -------------------------------------------- The BridgeSpotters Collective presents Midnight Espresso Series [MES] “Written in Stone”: a celebration of Ethiopia! Vibe: Ethiopian Amoretto DJ: Donsville 7310 Frankstown Ave [Homewood] 3pm to 8:30pm | All ages | No charge 9:09pm to 2:09am | 21+ | $10 in advance and $15 at the door Vendors? Tickets? - info@bridgespotters.com Community partners: Infinite Treasures, HBCCO, Operation Better Block, and Urban Youth Action Tickets available at The Natural Choice, Donsville’s Jamaic! Jamaica!, and Operation Better Block! 3pm to 8:30pm [Parking lot] Open Air African Market [Vendors] Jewelry Making/Peace Sessions African Drum and Dance Ethiopian Music Ethiopian Food Youth Open Mic 9:09pm to 2:09am [Coliseum] Spoken Word production featuring Chassity "the lioness", Bomani "the h-illa", “Brother” Luqmaan, and Tarish “the phenomenon” performing two live paintings. Nyabhingi Drumming Oral and Video Presentations DJ Donsville spinning reggae and Hip Hop Itals [Vegetarian Food] June 4-29, 2003 --------------- The Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company presents “Boppin’ with the Ancestors” by the Honorable Rob Penny Martin and Malcolm come back to save the hood! Penn Theatre 4809 Penn Avenue For tickets call 412.441.2213 June 18-29, 2003 ---------------- The Arabian Night Quantum Theatre Spring Way Center, 2515 Liberty Avenue, Strip District 8:00 pm (no shows June 23) Young German and Arab immigrants live side by side in huge, modern apartment complexes in gritty cities like Berlin… their lives seem undistinguishable, but at core, these people are different… or are they? The play examines the fantasies we spin about those 'exotically' different from ourselves. For tickets call ProArts at 412-394-3353 www.quantumtheatre.com Tickets: $20 Friday June 20, 2003 -------------------- The Three Rivers Arts Festival presents 5:30-6:30pm: Pucci: Sport. 6th Street Bridge 6:00- 7:00pm: The Real Silk Band. WYEP Festival Stage 7:30pm: Maceo Parker performs on the alto saxophone, from which he coaxes his own brand of jazz-funk. WYEP Festival Stage. Friday June 20, 2003 -------------------- Afrika Yetu presents Djema Bosawa in a live musical performance evoking the ancestral ways of life in the Congolese rainforest The Kelly Strayhorn Theater 5941 Penn Ave [East Liberty] 8pm Friday June 20, 2003 -------------------- “Spunoutspoken” Shadow Lounge 5972 Bamu Blvd. 10pm until whenever $5 suggested donation Practically every Tuesday since May, a group of Pittsburgh's up- and-coming spoken-word poets has been meeting in a North Oakland one- bedroom to revise, re-write, re-hash, and rehearse their original poetry in preparation for National Poetry Slam 2003 (National Poetry Slam), this year held in Chicago, IL from August 6-9, 2003. Friday, June 20th at the Shadow Lounge, these same poets wish to welcome you to help them practice for possibly the most rewarding part of Nationals... partying like a rock star for 5 days straight!! OK, so this party's only one night -and its main purpose is to raise hotel and gas money for these Pittsburgh poets to make the trip to Chicago - but we can still rock it like Herbie Hancock until the street lights fade out again. "Spunoutspoken" is a straight up party - featuring fresh music by DJ Anonymous, Frank Gambino, Sextillion Dollar Man, and Cesar - plus an open-mic for those so inclined (just don't plan on getting wasted and pouring your heart out for hours, kids - there's a five minute time limit). Suggested Donation is just $5 at the door, and the party's going from 10pm - whenever. The Shadow Lounge is located at 5972 Baum Blvd. (412.363.8277). Sixty-three teams of four poets, from across the U.S. and Canada, will converge on Chicago during the first weekend in August to compete among their peers in a National poetry competition. Pittsburgh is lucky to have three first-timers who get to experience this amazing event. Help us make sure they get there! Saturday June 21, 2003 ---------------------- The Children's Museum's 20th Birthday Party The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh 10 Children's Way, Allegheny Square, on Pittsburgh's North Side 10:00 am- 5:00 pm The Children's Museum of Pittsburgh is celebrating its 20th birthday with a day jam-packed with fun and entertainment for our young visitors and families. Throughout the day, make your own party hat, play "Pin the Heart on Stuffee," paint your face and enjoy music and games with Larry Berger from the radio show "Saturday Light Brigade." It's also opening day of the new exhibit, Alice's Wonderland! Meet Alice herself all day long, have tea with the Queen of Hearts at 11:30 am and 12:30 pm or better yet, take tea with the Mad Hatter at 1:30 and 2:30 pm! (412) 322-5058. www.pittsburghkids.org Admission prices are children 2-18, $4.50; adults, $5; members and children under 2, free. Sat-Sun Jun 21st-22nd (latenight) --------------------------------- Crash Shadow Lounge 5972 Baum Blvd [East Liberty]. Return of the weekly Shadow Lounge afterhours. 1am-5am. $5. BYOB. Free Belgian Waffles! Tuesday June 24, 2003 --------------------- Shadow Lounge 5972 Baum Blvd. 7pm until ? THREE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! Barrett Black Band Vanessa German W. Ellington Felton K. Alyn DJ SMI Davu J. Flint The Rain Quartet Congratulations, J. Strong! [The line up is off the hook and looking for Nemo!] June 24-August 26, 2003 ----------------------- The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and WDUQ, 90.5 FM Present “Downbeat in the District” : a new summertime jazz series! Jazz at Katz Plaza on Tuesdays June 24 ~ Jazz Satellite July 1 ~ Dwayne Dolphin Trio July 8 ~ Howie Alexander July 15 ~ Ken Karsh Trio July 22 ~ Matt Ferrante Quartet July 29 ~ Salsamba August 5 ~ Kenny Blake Band August 12 ~ Tony Campbell Project August 19 ~ Serious Inquiry August 26 ~ Jam Session in the District! On Tuesday evenings, the finest jazz musicians will perform from 5:00 - 7:00 pm. "Downbeat in the District" showcases Pittsburgh's great jazz heritage and exciting contemporary jazz scene. Katz Plaza is located at the corner of 7th Street and Penn Avenue, in the heart of the Cultural District. June 20- 26, 2003 ----------------- Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky in Our Times Pittsburgh Filmmakers at the Harris Theater 809 Liberty Avenue, Downtown Without question, MIT professor Noam Chomsky is one of America's foremost voices of dissent. His recent book, 9-11, has launched Chomsky into a much larger spotlight. This timely documentary serves as a fascinating companion piece. Assembled from a series of lectures given at various colleges, then intercut with informal interviews, the film offers compelling insight into how the rest of the world sees us. (Directed by John Junkerman; USA/Japan; 2003; 74min) 412-682-4111 www.pghfilmmakers.org Sunday June 29, 2003 -------------------- Cleveland Museum of Art Bus Trip! Silver Eye Center for Photography 1015 East Carson Street, South Side Interested in the History of Japanese Photography? ...Then come with us to the... Cleveland Museum of Art! Join us Sunday, June 29, 2003. We will depart from Silver Eye at 9:00 a.m.; arrive back at 6:00 p.m. We will provide: Lenzner Coach bus, Delicious Bento box lunch, Tour of The History of Japanese Photography, curated by Anne Tucker, Curator of Photography, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Call Sylvia Ehler for details. 412-431-1810 www.silvereye.org Registration and deposit due June 6, 2003. $65 - Students and Members of Silver Eye; $70 - Non-members. Saturday July 19, 2003 ---------------------- The BridgeSpotters Collective presents The Midnight Espresso Series [MES] “..a synergy of the arts and nightlife..” “Mean and Impressive”: Inspired by Zora Neale Hurston Pittsburgh Center for the Arts 6300 Fifth Avenue | 5:05pm to 12:02am Vibe: Hip Hop Hazelnut DJ: Nate the Phat Barber Featuring: Spoken Word by Chassity “the lioness”, Nathan James, and Vema Sam’I of the BridgeSpotters Collective with special guest Vanessa German. Live art by Tarish “the phenomenon”. This will be the finale of the Midnight Espresso Series 2003 spring/summer season and what a season it has been. If you missed “Moonshine” on May 30th 2003, you probably heard how beautiful the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts patio experience was. For those of you who do not know, Zora Neale Hurston is an African-American women writer of the Harlem Renaissance period. Got research? : ) www.google.com BridgeSpotters would like to thank the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Alliance for providing arts updates! ---------- To unsubscribe from this list, or change the email address where you receive messages, please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=postman@v2.listbox.com