The 20th Annual Red Hook Fest (May 30-June 1, 2013).
"Rebuild, Restore, Rebirth: Resilience after Sandy."
With our neighborhood and region still recovering from Hurricane Sandy, the Red Hook Fest is more important than ever.
The event features world class music and dance and fun activities for all ages (like free kayak rides in New York Harbor courtesy of the Red Hook Boaters).
This year's festival is jam-packed with programming. Use the following links to navigate to the event/day that you are interested in learning more about:
THURS MAY 30 Youth Kick-Off Event (6pm-8pm)
FRI MAY 31 BBQ/Dance Party (6pm-8pm)
SAT JUNE 1 Red Hook Rebirth Parade (10am)
SAT JUNE 1 Mainstage Performances (12pm-7pm)
FEATURED EVENT: Urban Bush Women Community Performance Workshop
R
ed Hook residents will collaborate with internationally-renowned dance company Urban Bush Women in a performance workshop May 24-26. Participants will then perform alongside the professionals in a new original piece during the Mainstage Performances at the Red Hook Fest June 1.
Get details or sign up now online. Make sure to sign up by May 17 to guarantee a spot in the workshop. No experience necessary. Ages 14 and up welcome. Questions? Call (718) 643-6790 x 111.
THE FESTIVAL WEEKEND
Youth Kick-Off: Thursday, May 30 @ PS 15 (71 Sullivan St.) kick things off with a night of performances from Brooklyn youth. Honest, unabashed, and talented, this evening represents the next generation of artists in Brooklyn.
BBQ/Dance Party: Friday, May 31 @ PS 15 (71 Sullivan St.) enjoy an outdoor BBQ/Dance Party (6pm-9pm). Break bread with neighbors and get moving to the music of our DJ.
Red Hook Rebirth Parade: Saturday, June 1 10am @ Coffee Park: The return of the Red Hook Rebirth ParadeClick here for more info on the Red Hook Rebirth Parade
Join with neighbors, friends, local businesses, organizations and schools and participate in the Red Hook Rebirth Parade on Saturday June 1st (rain date Sunday June 2nd). The parade will line up outside Coffey Park at 10 am and march through Red Hook's streets to Valentino Park and Pier.
This is a great way to remember how we became an even stronger community after Hurricane Sandy. Individuals, organizations, businesses, faith-based groups and/or schools can participate. Decorate your strollers, come on bikes, make your business vehicle into a float, paste spring flowers on your old hazmat suit or march with your organization! There are loads of creative people in Red Hook-let's take our strengths and talents to the street. To register, please complete the Registration Form by using this link. If you have any questions, please contact our Community Organizer, Paulie Anne at redhookfest.paulie@gmail.com
For more information about the festival, email kamau@kamaustudios.com or call (718) 643-6790.
Mainstage Performances/Festival Main Day: Saturday, June 1st 12pm-7pm @ Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park & Pier: The festival culminates with Mainstage Performances and family fun all day Saturday on the beautiful Brooklyn waterfront.
Mainstage performances begin Saturday with Danced Invocations for Red Hook Recovery, a special dance tribute to Superstorm Sandy survivors in Red Hook and beyond. Dancers from diverse religious and spiritual traditions invoke blessings and healing for ongoing recovery, with participation from Rita Silva (candomblé invocation to Yemaja, Bahia), Vongku Pak (Korean shamanic) and Kaina Quenga (Hawaiian ceremonial hula). (Presented in conjunction with BAC)
Community partners will bring out fun activities and resources for the neighborhood for over 3,000 attendees Saturday afternoon.
Saturday's Mainstage lineup ( June 1, 12pm-7pm @ Louis J. Valentino, Jr. Park & Pier) features:
Brown Rice Family, winners of WNYC’s Battle Of The Boroughs. An 8-piece world roots band, BRF’s sound incorporates elements of jazz, afrobeat, reggae, rock, Latin rhythms, hip-hop, and funk.
Gangstagrass, Emmy-nominated musicians behind the theme song for FX’s Justified, may be the world’s only “Rappalaichan” band, combining elements of hip-hip and bluegrass for a unique sound equal parts Jay Z and Ralph Stanley.
Camille A. Brown & Dancers is led by a Jamaica, Queens native who has choreographed everywhere from the Ailey Company to Broadway. “Gutsy. Wild. Smart. Original.” (Wendy Perron, Dance Magazine)
Photo: Matthew Karas
Avenida B, an oldschool Salsa Dura band out of the Lower East Side.
Nicholas Leichter Dance (“whose slippery, rhythmic style slides between street and classical”- Claudia La Rocco, New York Times) creates ecstatic cultural mash-ups with dancers who “move with ferocious abandon and clarity,” (Jennifer Dunning, NYT).
The Hungry March Band (“irrepressibly entertaining”-The New Yorker) opens the Festival, leading a raucous Red Hook Rebirth Parade through the areas of the ‘hood hit hardest by the storm. Parade begins at 10am. See below for details.
