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| The Happenings Feature - A new monthly story about a Brooklyn event that is extra special! |
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Celebrating the Red Hook Waterfront and the Arts
by Mark D Phillips
©Leyla Sharabi 2005 Festival |
In 1993, long before artists discovered the area, Martha Bowers staged her first outdoor performances in Red Hook.
"On the Waterfront" took the audience on a journey through the abandoned waterfront warehouses
on the Beard Street Pier to revisit the days when Red Hook was a teeming shipping port.
Developed in close collaboration with neighborhood seniors and youth, the work gave voice to
the community's desire to end the crime and violence that was overtaking its streets.
The success of the production was a catalyst for the creation of the Red Hook Partners, a group
of cultural, educational, social service organizations, community leaders, developers and artists
who meet on a regular basis to plan and implement cultural programs as part of an overall plan for
urban renewal in Red Hook.
The following year, the Red Hook Waterfront Arts Festival was born. This year's 12th Annual festival is Saturday, June 3rd, from Noon to 6pm.
"I think the attendance speaks for its growth," said Bowers, whose
Dance Theatre Etcetera is the organizer of the festival and is expecting 3,000 to 5,000 in attendance.
"It is a very inclusive festival. We target the youth groups in Red Hook,
giving them an outlet for their talent. When people come out they get a feeling of empowerment. The festival's primary purpose is to showcase the
youth and celebrate the diversity of the neighborhood."
For the first time, New York Water Taxi will provide ferry service from Manhattan to Red Hook, docking just off the Beard Street Pier,
home to the festival and the new Fairway grocery store.
Bowers is excited about many of the changes coming to Red Hook, including the relocation of Dance Theatre Etcetera to space within
Fairway's new location.
Ò"he arts have played a role in the gentrification of the neighborhood. Gentrification is a complex issue, good for some and not for others. My hope is that as Red Hook continues to change,
it might become a positive model demonstrating how all residents and new entrepreneurs can work together to benefit from new development," Bowers stated. "All our projects have taken place thanks to the generosity of Greg."
Greg O'Connell's Pier 41 Associates is responsible for much of the redevelopment in Red Hook. The Beard Street Pier, built in 1869 by
William Beard, is home to an eclectic range of businesses and a promenade that features incredible views of the Statue of Liberty and
New York Harbor.
The success of the festival is a reflection of Martha Bowers and Greg O'Connell's inclusion of the arts in the redevelopment.
Martha Bowers arrived in Red Hook in 1991. The neighborhood had suffered a devastating loss when beloved PS15 principal Patrick Daly
was killed in crossfire in the Red Hook Houses. Bowers offered the school an arts related after school program, expanding the program
to the Red Hook Recreation Center the same year. During the programs, Bowers learned a lot from the kids, they became her resource as she developed "On the Waterfront."
"The kids in the projects had no connection with the waterfront," said Bowers. "The jobs had disappeared."
She used "On the Waterfront" to get them involved as a community, consciously making them part of the project.
"When we were making pieces that involved the community, the media coverage was positive," she said. "The kids would attend the press events.
It allowed the residents to talk about the positive aspects of their neighborhood."
The community involvement is apparent in this year's schedule of events. PS15, PS27 and the South Brooklyn High School will all send youth performers to the main stage.
All around the festival, entertainment will be provided for the youngest members of families with the Brooklyn Children's Museum's traveling petting zoo, free
canoe rides and roaming circus performers to name a few.
Local professional performers want to showcase their talent as well. Brooklyn-based band Radio Mundial, delivers a fresh blend of Latin inspired rock and reggae that has the
entire music industry buzzing -- especially since Carlos Santana covered their song "El Fuego" on his multi-platinum record "All that I am" last year. Just back from their
international tour, Brooklyn's own Urban Bush Women dance company will return with new work that is sure to be thought-provoking and fiercely physical.
MECCA BODEGA, a popular local, percussive-driven band, AND HIP HOP COMMEDIA, a sassy improvisational theatre troupe, will host free workshops following their performances.
Kids can learn percussion, beat-boxing techniques and comedy from these masters.
A new event at the festival, the Red Hook Youth Film Festival screens young filmmakers and producers from Red Hook, South Brooklyn, and around the city. Growing from
programs offered at the Red Hook Recreation Center and South Brooklyn High School, the films are youth made productions featuring issues that are important to kids.
Question and answer sessions will follow each of the screenings.
How to get to the Festival:
Subway/Bus: Take the F Train to Smith Street, then B 77 bus to corner of Van Dyke and Van Brunt St. continue walking 2 blocks to end of Van Brunt at the water. Or take the A or C train to Jay St./Borough Hall, then #61 Bus toward Van Brunt to last stop.
By CAR: Brooklyn Bridge becomes Adams Street. Right onto Atlantic Avenue. Left onto Columbia Street. Right onto Degraw. Left onto Van Brunt. |
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Access our Story Archive:
A Queen comes to Kings
William Wegman surprises and amuses
The Changing Face of South Brooklyn: The Gallery Players bring Broadway to Park Slope
The Changing Face of South Brooklyn: Montague Street Roulette
Manufactured Landscapes: The Photographs of Edward Burtynsky
The Sopranos invade Brooklyn
150 years of tradition ends in Cobble Hill |
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| Visit our HAPPENINGS page to see more events taking place in South Brooklyn. |
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Produced by
SouthBrooklynInternet. All material ©2006. No reuse without permission.
All photographs ©Mark D Phillips - southbrooklyninternet.com |
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