Saturday, June 7, 11am to 7pm
----------------------------------- Press
Release
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For Immediate Release -- Friday, May 16, 2014
For additional information, please contact:
Richard T. Bryant, ValleyArts, 862-252-7035
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HAT CITY STREETS FESTIVAL Returns to the Valley Arts District of Orange
and West Orange NJ, Saturday, June 7, 11am to 7pm
Internationally acclaimed Gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel
leads off the multi-band Mainstage concert program that includes the Metro
Area's best Blues by Mike Griot and Friends, the celebrated Reggae band
Wedeya, and the classic music of Motown by Universal Soul
ORANGE, N.J. - Get ready to grab your hats and celebrate -- the second annual Hat
City Streets Festival is almost here, returning to the Valley Arts District of Orange
and West Orange with a full schedule of headliner concerts, family-friendly live
performances, art exhibitions, and much more on Saturday, June 7 from 11am to
7pm. Presented by ValleyArts, the festival is a day-long celebration of music, visual
arts, dance, family activities, delicious food, and non-stop fun that reflects the spirit
and diversity of the region while saluting the creativity of Orange. All festival events
are free and open to the public. For more information,
visit www.valleyartsnj.com/hat-city-streets.
The Festival is centered at the corner of Forest and Tompkins Streets, which will be
closed to traffic for the occasion, and on the grounds of the International Central
Gospel Church (438 Valley Street, Orange).
Throughout the day, visitors can enjoy live music on two stages, browse festival
booths that showcase the work of area artists, shop for works by artists and
craftspeople, and sample delicious food from the Oranges. On view throughout the
day at the Firehouse Gallery will be Open Orange, a juried art exhibition that
features more than 100 works by 36 artists from New Jersey and New York. Parking
will be available at nearby churches and on the streets.
Principal funding for the Hat City Streets Festival has been provided through an Our
Town Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, one of 59 awarded in the
U.S. this past year. HANDS, Inc., City of Orange Township, and Orange Public
Schools are the festival's Strategic Partners.
"The second annual Hat City Streets Festival is not only a wonderful summer day of
art, music, food, and fun, it is also a striking symbol of the creative energy that is
transforming the Orange Valley into one of the State's top creative places," said the
Festival's Founder and Executive Producer Richard T. Bryant. "An event like this
would not be possible without the participation and support of scores of artists,
volunteers, donors, community leaders, neighbors, and friends, to all of whom we
are deeply grateful."
ON THE 50 & 55 MAINSTAGE
On the festival's Mainstage, sponsored by 50 & 55 South Essex, four featured bands
will keep the happy beat happening, beginning at 3 pm and continuing through 7pm.
The Mainstage will feature the neo-gypsy jazz band led by French-born guitarist
Stephane Wrembel, heralded by its inclusion in New York's Globalfest as one of the
most innovative international groups performing today; Mike Griot and Friends, an
all-star blues band assembled especially for this Festival by Orange bassist and
musical director Mike Griot that features some of the New York metro area's top
blues artists; the high-energy reggae sounds of Wedeya that both sizzle and soothe;
and Leroy Owens and the Universal Soul Band, which steps through a non-stop
Motown medley that captures what many consider to be the world's best music.
(Mainstage artist biographies follow this release.)
ON THE MACY'S FAMILY STAGE
Also at the heart of the Hat City Streets Festival are the family events. The festivities
will kick off at 11am on the Family Stage, sponsored by Macy's, which will feature
acts for and by young people. Starfish, the popular band for children ages 4 to 10,
will lead off the set, followed by performances by young teens enrolled in the blues
music program of ValleyArts' Saturday Arts Academy. The Family Stage will also
feature New York-based dancer Wendell Cooper, who has performed for youth
audiences around the world, as well as the Mighty Marching Tornados and Voices in
Harmony of Orange High School. The day's family performances will continue with a
diverse variety of music and dance groups, with many featuring children as
performers.
AT THE FRONT OF HOUSE FAMILY ACTIVITIES AREA
Children and families will have an opportunity to create their own art in a variety of
forms in the Family Activities Area, sponsored by Front of House Services. Carrying
on last year's tradition of hat-making (a salute to the historic occupation in Orange,
which was once the hat-making center of the world), visual and performance artist
Mansa Mussa will guide children in creating their own hats. There will also be an
African mask-making workshop with artist and art educator Ivy Omere, a
printmaking workshop with legendary printmaker and performance artist Stephen
McKenzie, and other artistic workshops. Throughout the festival, there will be more
opportunities for children to get creative, from a poetry treasure hunt to a Post-It
mosaic and two public sculpture projects.
A range of tempting foods found in the Valley Arts District will be available onsite,
from local restaurants and booths, with a "Feast in the Street" featuring a long table
so attendees can enjoy their food and share their festival experience together.
(NOTE: The grounds of the Hat City Streets Festival are alcohol-free.)
The Hat City Streets Festival is produced by ValleyArts, the arts service and activist
organization of the Valley Arts District of Orange and West Orange, N.J. The festival's
Executive Producer is Richard T. Bryant. Mainstage Producer is Mike Griot. Associate
Producers are Tracye Johnson, Jeremy Moss, and Marisa Benson. Participating
organizations from the Valley include Luna Stage, Arts Unbound, ORNG Ink, Cat Fish
Fridays, Hat City Kitchen and Garden State Urban Farms.
MAINSTAGE ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
STEPHANE WREMBEL has been hailed as "a revelation" by Rolling Stone, and "a
truly astonishing talent in action" by All That Jazz. Born in Paris and raised in
Fontainebleau, home of Impressionism and Django Reinhardt's music, guitarist
Wrembel discovered the music of Reinhardt and the Gypsies while in his teens, and
spent the next ten years learning, playing and expanding on this storied musical
tradition. The hard work gave Wrembel the technique, but it was the time spent
playing around the campfires and trailers of the Gypsies that gave him the soul. The
music he plays, and his nomad lifestyle, are both expressions of the Gypsy way of
life.
MIKE GRIOT AND FRIENDS
After hearing Mike's newly minted all-star Blues band in a packed performance at the
South Orange Performing Arts Center last March, Richard Bryant asked him to
assemble a similar all-star band for the Hat City Streets Festival. Bassist Griot has
performed with a who's who of extraordinary artists, including Omar, Dani Wilde,
Lauryn Hill, Divine, Queen Latifah, Bobbi Humphrey, Lynette Hawkins, and many
others. His international touring eventually brought him from all corners of the globe
right back home: to Orange, N.J.! From here he continues his work as a music
producer, music educator and performing artist. "Mike Griot and Friends" features his
pals, music heavyweights Michael Hill (of Michael Hill's Blues Mob), Wayne
Livingston, and Kelton Cooper.
WEDEYA
is an acclaimed reggae ensemble featuring Del Dub and EliJAH, bassist Derrick
Bourne, drummer Freddy McCondichie, guitarists Kev Chambers and Duggy Williams,
and keyboardists Paul Kates and Aya Kato. Together or individually, these musicians
have worked with a wide variety of reggae musicians, including Culture, Burning
Spear, Gregory Isaacs, Leroy Sibbles of the Heptones, Luciano, Etana, Christopher
Martin, Romain Virgo and a host of others.
THE UNIVERSAL SOUL BAND
Veteran vocalist Leroy Owens leads an R&B ensemble through the classic sounds of
the world-famous Motown era, delivering all the best-loved songs in perfect
harmony, while reminding us of what some call the"world's greatest music." Be
prepared to sing, dance and party with their irresistible sounds!
ABOUT VALLEY ARTS
ValleyArts is the arts service and activist organization of the Valley Arts District,
home to Luna Stage, ArtsETC, Arts Unbound, ORNG Ink, ValleyArts Firehouse
Gallery, Hat City Kitchen, Garden State Urban Farms, Ironworks Community Artist
Center, Yema Gallery, Oualie Gallery, and many Individual artists and creative
entrepreneurs. The highest priorities of ValleyArts are to inspire the neighborhood to
recognize the arts as essential to community health and vitality, help build up and
serve individual artists, arts organizations and creative entrepreneurs; and
encourage everyone to participate in arts, culture and creativity as part of everyday
life. ValleyArts is closely allied with HANDS, Inc., a nonprofit organization that
combines strategic real estate investment and community organizing to revitalize
communities.
ValleyArts is funded in part by JPMorgan Chase Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge
Foundation, Kresge Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, Wells Fargo
Regional Foundation, Target Foundation, Essex County Division of Cultural and
Historic Affairs, Bass Foundation, United Way, and others.