Jersey Arts Resolutions, Part 1.

As we head towards the close of another trip ’round the sun, we wanted to share with you some of our reflections and thoughts on both 2010′s arts experiences and our hopes for what 2011 may hold. Here’s some resolutions from Shen, Gary, Patricia and Cat–check back for part 2 later this week. We hope you enjoy, New Jersey–and stay warm! –CV

SHEN SHELLENBERGER, our Blogger-at-Large:

When Twyla moves, you listen...

Twyla Tharp said that “art is the only way to run away without leaving home” and, really, isn’t that the truth?

I’ve always had art in my life – whether I was pounding out adolescent stories on the hulking Royal typewriter in my grandmother’s basement or listening to “West Side Story” and “Funny Girl” with my mother in the living room of our circa 1950s Cherry Hill ranch home.

Through writing for Culture Vultures this year, I’ve been more tuned in to art than I have for a long time.  Not only have I gone to musical concerts, which I’d likely have done regardless, but I also visited a jewel of a cultural site, saw a marvelous art exhibition at an equally marvelous South Jersey museum, watched a remarkable theatre production and attended the WheatonArts fest.

And the conversations that I had with people who make art – or in the case of the Civil War reenactors, keep history alive – reminded me of how glorious it is to have that passion to create.

In the coming year, I want to hear more stories – told from the stage in theatre productions and from authors reading and discussing their work.  I want to see more visual art, and maybe finally get my boyfriend to Grounds for Sculpture.  And I’d love to be a student and challenge myself to learn a new skill or fine-tune something I once knew how to do.  In short, my goal is to spend more time surrounded by art and the people who make it.

And, you’re right, Twyla, I won’t even have to pack a bag.

Arts Holiday Memories, Part Two: The Festivities Continue!

Welcome, dear reader, to part two of our Holiday Stroll Down Memory Lane with our Bloggers. We hope you’ll check out part one below, if you haven’t already, and then scamper on over to our Holiday Guide. Happy Holidays, New Jersey! -CV

JESSE NORTH, Our Theater Blogger:

Not Quite Dylan Thomas...

A Holiday Memory: The holidays can be a confusing time. It was for me when my family took me to the 12 Miles West Theatre Company in Madison when I was in sixth grade for a Christmas-y afternoon of Dylan Thomas poems. First of all, I spent the entire afternoon confusing the Welsh poet with Bob Dylan. What did the Tambourine Man have to do with Christmas anyway? Well, even upon setting the record straight that Dylan Thomas was NOT Bob Dylan, I still didn’t know what he had to do with Christmas. But it wasn’t so much the subject matter, it was the presentation at the 12 Miles West Theatre. We all sat at wooden tables on wooden benches in the black box theater. Hot apple cider was served in mugs and the glow of large, old-fashioned Christmas lights glowed around the stage’s perimeter. A few Welsh carols were sung (yes, Welsh Christmas carols), and I remember rolling my judgmental, sixth-grade eyes in embarrassment. I didn’t think the show made a lot of sense, but all these years later, I remember it as one of the coziest Christmas events I’ve ever been to. And nowadays when I listen to my Bob Dylan Greatest Hits album, I always think of Dylan Thomas.

A New Tradition: Because I like my holiday traditions served with a side of sap, I was thrilled  for the Kelsey Theatre’s reading of “It’s A Wonderful Life – A Radio Play” in West Windsor. The story of George Bailey and his selflessness toward his family and friends brings me to tears at least three times throughout its duration. And in this production performed as a radio show, there’s an old timey aspect added that makes me feel like I’m listening to the story during the characters’ time period. “No man is a failure if he has friends.” Ugh, here come the tears.

Arts Holiday Memories…and Making Some New Ones.

Even the Grinch Loves This Time of Year!

Over here at Culture Vultures, we’re all sorts of excited for this time of year. There’s a chill in the air, the lights twinkle and blink in every color imaginable, and everything has that faint, mysterious flavor of gingerbread. We’ve asked our bloggers to share their favorite holiday memories from years past, and offer some advice on building new arts traditions with your family this season. We’ll have some today, and some more next week. After reading, check out our bloggers’ recommendations on our Holiday Guide. We hope you enjoy! -CV

CHRIS BENINCASA, Our Film Blogger:

George C. Scott as Scrooge (Bah. Humbug)

A Holiday Memory: Aside from the holiday events at church and school, and there were many of those, over the holidays we were pretty much barricaded in at some relative’s house, or at our house, in which case the trains of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, and friends ran until what seemed like the end of Time itself.  We went to church on Christmas eve, made weird-looking ornaments out of Styrofoam, made lanterns for the sidewalk by putting sand at the bottoms of paper bags and then sticking candles in the sand – not the best idea, come to think of it – and then, finally, after the sermon, we watched choir-ish-looking congregation members ring handbells in very ingenious, clucking sequences.  We would also watch the George C. Scott version of A Christmas Carol – which I still like very much – and, of course, the sacred Charlie Brown special – the one with the little tree who’s so meek that it can’t even hold one red bulb off the ground.  But one experience I can share is what must have been an abridged reading of A Christmas Carol at Rivergate Books in Lambertville.  The store is no longer there, but it was a really cool spot that had a backyard patio overlooking the river, and you could buy a book and sit out there and read it.  The owner lived on our street, and she asked me to do some modest, middle school set design – Scrooge’s hearth made of painted foam core.  At the point when the reader, whose name I cannot remember (Sorry.  You were great!), got to Charles Dickens’ description of that hearth, I got a kick out of seeing someone kind of acting and interacting with the prop I’d made – and seeing it pretty much match up with the words being spoken.

A New Tradition: But if there’s one holiday-ish arts thing I need to get around to doing, it’s checking out a production of Black Nativity.  I’ve always thought that sounded great.  When I was a kid, and my younger brother was still, I don’t know, under the age of one, my family “performed” in our church’s nativity play – meaning we stood around while the story was narrated from the pulpit.  A different family did it every year.  My brother was the baby Messiah, my parents were the parents, my sister was a shepherd, and I was a slightly taller shepherd, wearing a robe and some biblical headgear, pretending to sing.  I wasn’t trying to be uncooperative.  I think I was just distracted by how bored I was, and so couldn’t really keep up with the rest of the cast.  Even today, it seems like the smartest strategy I could’ve hoped to come up with.  And it worked.

A Love Letter to the Film Festival…

This was the year I finally decided that movies were better presents than books.  For his birthday, I gave my dad two DVDs.  Not Blu-ray – plain old DVDs.  One was the Mel Brooks adaptation of The Twelve Chairs, and the other was the Woody Allen film Broadway Danny Rose.  I told him it was the best I could do – the recession and all.  For my brother’s birthday, which is later this month, around Thanksgiving, I’ve picked out a weird French film set in war-torn France called Triple Agent, and the amazing Noah Baumbach film The Squid & The Whale.  I hope my brother’s not reading this.

I have a history of going out of my way to see movies.  Going into the city, or to an out-of-the-way cinema co-op in some town nobody ever heard of, delving verrry deeply into the collections of the local video rental stores – before they all died – and, of course, drifting in and out of the autumnal film festival.

The CV Top 5: XPoNential 2010.

We're big fans of Kids Corner...get it?

When you go to an established outdoor concert – like last weekend’s blockbuster XPNoNential Festival – you’re fairly certain to see and hear more than a few first class musical performances.  But, there are other experiences that are just as enjoyable.

Here’s my Top 5 (not in any order) non-musical moments from the fest:

XPoNential Music Festival: Sunday, Sunday, Sunday.

Edward Sharpe

From the first chords of The Great Unknown to the final notes from Robert Randolph and The Family Band, the 2010 XPoNential Music Festival provided an incredible day of music in Camden.  This was my first time seeing a show in this city in many, many years and I couldn’t stop thinking about how beautiful the waterfront area is and how perfect it was for a music festival.  Between the amazing scenery and XPN’s excellent track record in spotlighting some of the best indie artists around, this is definitely one of the best festivals in the state.

XPoNential Music Festival: Saturday’s Adventures.

Harper Blynn

Disclaimer: There was just TOO MUCH good music at the fest on Saturday.  The exclusion from this article of any artist is due to space limitation and not performance significance.

You hear the phrase “something for everyone” so often that – like most clichés – it eventually loses meaning.  But the XPNoNential Festival, like WXPN itself, does truly serve up a surprisingly wide range of music.  The festival, once called Singer Songwriter Weekend and located on the river’s west side, has been happening for a long time, and to my eyes and ears, just keeps getting better.

Even without the aural delights, the festival is a feast for the senses.  More often than not, there’s a breeze blowing off the river.  And the view – the Philly skyline, the Ben Franklin Bridge, and the ongoing parade of watercraft – is breathtaking.

The best part is that I always discover at least one unfamiliar artist that knocked my socks off and makes me want to immediately buy the CD (yeah, I still do that … buy CDs) and listen to it non-stop for a few weeks.  And, I’m also often reminded of how much I like an artist or band I know already after seeing a performance at the fest.

The XPoNential Music Festival 2010: Five Six Can’t Miss Acts

One of the best music festivals of the summer takes place July 16-18 in Wiggins Park along the Camden Waterfront area. Known as the XPoNential Music Festival, it has been held annually in Camden by the Philadelphia radio station WXPN for several years now, ever since moving across the river from its original home. It may seem a bit odd for a Philadelphia radio station to hold a festival in New Jersey, but WXPN is far from just a Philadelphia station. In fact, you can easily hear WXPN or one of its affiliates in parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland making it one of the most powerful stations along the east coast.

It’s also one of the best radio stations in the country.

Known for showcasing up-and-coming artists, WXPN uses this festival to bring artists that people should know about to the area. I was asked to write about the “five can’t miss acts from the festival.” Unfortunately (or fortunately for music fans) when I took a look at the schedule for the three days I realized that picking just five acts was going to be next to impossible.

Southern Shore Music Festival: Gary’s Picks

Dala

I’m the kind of guy that loves discovering new artists. I tend to laugh when people say there’s no good music anymore because I believe the more you listen to current artists, the more you realize just how much great music is out there these days. Maybe that’s why I run an online radio station that plays independent artists that most people have probably never heard of before; Those same independent artists are the backbone of music festivals like the Southern Shore Music Festival.

Southern Shore Music Festival: The Rundown.

The Southern Shore Music Festival returns to Millville on Saturday, June 19th filling the Cumberland County Fairgrounds with a wonderful blend of folk, rock, country, jam, and blues acts. Headlined by Little Feat, the festival also features performances by Trout Fishing in America, The Lee Boys, Dala, Elizabeth Cook, Splintered Sunlight, and The Sin City Band. Admission is $25 in advance or $35 at the gate. Children under 12 are admitted free.

The festival continues the spirit of the long-running Bridgeton Folk Festival, which finished a run of 23 years in 2006. The Southern Shore Music Festival took over the following year and has since brought acts such as Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Dr. John, Cowboy Junkies, Arlo Guthrie, David Bromberg & Angel Band, and the late Robert Hazard to South Jersey. Both festivals were founded and run by promoter Bob Rose.

If you are looking for a nice festival to take the kids, this family-friendly event should be high on your list. In addition to featuring great music, it’s a festival free of alcohol or drugs. What you will find is between 1500-2000 people enjoying 8 hours of artists that rarely perform around here, but can often be heard on your local NPR station or satellite radio. Attendees are encouraged to bring blankets for seating or folding chairs and since it’s a rain or shine event umbrellas are welcome as well. Craft booths, souvenir stands, and plenty of food vendors help create the perfect festival experience. There’s even a booth where you can meet some of your favorite radio DJs like Gene Shay (WXPN), Michael Tearson (XMSirius), Kathy O’Connell (WXPN’s Kid Korner), along with two DJs (Elizabeth Cook from XMSirius’ Outlaw Country and Scott Birney from WVUD) who are also performing at the festival!