THE HOWL! FESTIVAL ROARS THROUGH THE EAST VILLAGE by Paul Hansen
THE HOWL! FESTIVAL ROARS THROUGH THE EAST VILLAGE
 by Paul Hansen
 Friday, September 3rd, 2010
 New York, NY
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The Seventh Annual Howl! Festival,  the East Village Festival of the Arts,  begins on Friday, September 10.  The three day event features a wide variety of activities which will appeal to virtually every aesthetic taste.

 

The Festival will open with a reading of Allen Ginsberg’s iconic poem, Howl!,  on September 10 at 5 pm at the South Stage located at Avenue A and 7th Street.   The reading will be led by East Village notable Bob Holman of The Bowery Poetry Club, who is also a founding member of   the  Festival.   The event will also feature works by other noted East Village writers including John Giorno and Anne Waldman.

 

Allen Ginsberg was, of course, one of the leading writers of the so-called Beat Generation.  His poem Howl!, written in the mid-1950’s, was practically an anthem of the counter-culture movement.  The rebellious tone of the poem presaged much of the psychedelic, colorful energy of  the 1960’s.   Ginsberg was also a friend of Jack Kerouac, author of the another landmark Beat work,  On The Road.  

 

The mission statement of the organization is, in part, “The Howl! Festival uses poetry, music, dance, theater, fine art, popular culture, in fact all means of artistic expression and new technologies to engage and incite people to connect with the arts.”    The musical idioms of the groups featured run the gamut of  Indian sitar, African Rock, and “Hip Hop Howl.” The Festival will also honor the ninth anniversary of 9/11 with soothing sounds of chanting monks, Buddhist gongs, Yoga practice and chamber music.

 

The Festival also features a number of programs for kids, including mural painting, mask making and “Recycled Paper Flower Workshops.”  Rosie’s Broadway Kids, a theatre organization supported by Rosie O’Donnell, will also participate. 

 

A carnival atmosphere is guaranteed with the appearance Circus Amok, consisting of jugglers, stilt walkers, clowns and more.  Solar Punch,  a solar powered band, will also perform for the environmentally conscious.   

 

For more information on the schedule and very extensive variety of events at the Howl! Festival, log on to its website at www.howlfestival.com.

          


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Last updated by Paul Hansen - Friday, September 3rd, 2010 -  New York, NY

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