Results tagged “festival”

       

Yesterday recreationists and Medieval revelers congregated at Fort Tryon Park for the annual Medieval Festival, which was centered around a "medieval market town decorated with bright banners and processional flags." Amongst the performers, music, minstrels and unicorns, there were even modern day offerings to be found; you can't fool us Master Buntings Hut of Ye Fried Dough!

All Tomorrow's Parties (better known as ATP) got a New York home last year in the Catskills, and the old upstate resort Kutshers provided such a perfect space that it'll all be happening again this year. The fest is hands down the most enjoyable event we've ever personally attended, and the soundtrack provided isn't too shabby either. This year Animal Collective, Sufjan Stevens, Flaming Lips, Deerhoof and many many many more will be performing throughout the three days; there's also poker with Steve Albini (don't miss his band Shellac, either), and plenty of other distractions to keep you entertained (check out photos from last year here). If you're free this weekend, we highly recommend buying yourself a ticket—but first, get to know the organizer a little better.

It only took the folks behind the All Points West Festival a few days to find a replacement for their Friday night headliners. Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys announced on Monday that the band would be canceling their upcoming tour, which included the festival date, while he undergoes treatment for throat cancer. So, upon hearing such somber news who does one get to replace the legendary trio? The fest booked another Brooklyn-born boy, of course, and his name is Jay-Z. The APW press release says this is, somewhat unbelievably, the U.S. festival debut for the rapper; choosing a fitting quote from one critic that declares: “his mouth is one of the most nimble in the genre's history, and he uses it to present thoughts that are sharp, funny and resonant." Sounds about as close to the Beasties as one can get, and hopefully he'll do a cover or two to fill the void. For those not interested in Jigga, single day Friday tickets are now refundable (the rest of the fest's lineup is here).

Remember that festival over in Liberty State Park, NJ last summer featuring a little band called Radiohead? Well, it's back. All Points West is embarking on its second year and they've just announced their initial lineup (which now includes comedy). Looks like the East Coast may have officially gotten its Coachella, and you might be headed to Jerz for a few nights.

As SXSW's music fest kicks off today, The L Magazine has announced the first annual Northside Festival. Taking place from June 11th through the 14th, think of it as our very own version of the Austin fest. All shows will take place in the venue-saturated area of Williamsburg and Greenpoint and is being touted as "a four-day celebration of the independent music and art scene that thrives here...with live music being held at nearly every venue in the area (including some that haven't even opened yet), and art events at some of the most relevant galleries in the neighborhood." Unlike CMJ, this will all be in two neighboring 'hoods, making nearly every event within walking distance from the other.

                

Over 700 nerds achievers descended upon Lucky Strike Lanes over on 12th Avenue and 42nd Street last night for the 4th NYC Lebowski Fest. The extravaganza, which came on the heels of Saturday night's sold-out concert and The Big Lebowski screening at Irving Plaza, featured a costume contest, profligate consumption of White Russians, amateurish bowling, and incessant shouts of "Over the line!" Sort of a Star Trek convention for party people, the Lebowski Fest has become an international phenomenon since its humble beginnings in Louisville in 2002, when Will Russell and his pal Scott Shuffitt drew a spontaneous crowd of "Lebowski" quoters at a tattoo convention. Here's our interview with Russell from last week, and here's The F%#king Short Version of The Big Lebowski. Well, enjoy!

Look, we're not trying to scam anybody here, man, but Will Russell and Scott Shuffitt, two urban achievers from Louisville, are throwing their fourth NYC Lebowski Fest this weekend and, well, they'd love it if you would come and give them notes. (Also, tomorrow's already the tenth.) If any of what you just read was confusing, don't worry, it just means you need to rent the Coen brothers' masterpiece The Big Lebowski again. Released ten years ago to general critical disdain, the astonishingly nuanced Chandleresque romp has gone on to become an incessantly quoted cult classic.

               

It was a sight to warm the hearts of dialysis clinic owners citywide: The massive, football field-size space la.venue at The Waterfront in Chelsea was overrun by 43 of New York's top pastry chefs and confectioners last night for the Food & Wine Festival's most anticipated debauchery. The event sold out before the Wall Street crash, and with tickets going for $175 a pop it's no wonder people queued up well before the doors opened to make sure they got their dwindling dollar's worth.

The Times tagged along with the New Yorker's Calvin Trillin for his "gastronomic walking tour" through Chinatown and Little Italy on Sunday, as part of the magazine's eponymous festival. The $100 tickets sell out instantly every year because the event is limited to just 35 nerds—er, gourmands—with money to burn. Trillin led participants on an erudite eating tour of his favorite little haunts on the two mile stroll. Among other revelations, he said he likes to eat standing up. And he doesn't care about restaurant reviewing: "If I couldn’t eat in a four-star restaurant again, it would mean nothing to me. But if someone said I couldn’t eat any more cilantro, I would be very upset." Also, the greatest development in American cuisine according to Trillin? No, not the Turducken; it's the Immigration Act of 1965, which allowed more third world immigrants.

The organizers of the inaugural New York Craft Beer Week must have gotten started early, because their "week" of beer events actually adds up to ten days. No matter; the refined debauchery kicks off Friday with the third annual Brewfest at the South Street Seaport, stumbling all the way to a glassy-eyed climax on the 21st with the 2nd Annual Manhattan Cask Ale Festival at the Chelsea Brewing Company, which features 45 ‘firkins’ of cask-conditioned ale from noon to midnight! No, we don't know what a firkin is either, but it's what's inside that counts: cool, succulent ale that's "so good once it hits your lips," as the poet quipped.

This weekend All Points West brings the summer festival circuit to our area (albeit to New Jersey), and if you plan on making the trek, here are some helpful tips.

              

Hometown post-punk heroes Sonic Youth played a free show for approximately 7,000 fans in Battery Park on July 4th as part of the River to River Festival. The decades-old band started the set with a spellbinding, spacey rendition of “She is Not Alone,” followed by the Kim Gordon-led classic “Bull in the Heather.” By the third song, a blistering “Silver Rocket,” 50-year-old frontman Thurston Moore seemed to have had enough of the photographers separating his band from the frenzied crowd, so he climbed down into the photo pit to thrash through the scrum, before getting back onstage to finish the song.

Not too long ago there was a heated debate over the upcoming Rock the Harbor festival, making it the city's most controversial festival to date! The only source of conflict was geographic location...the fest will take place on Staten Island this coming Saturday. For those who can get over the stigma attached to the borough, you're in for a treat. Pat Duffy, who also runs the blog Pop Tarts Suck Toasted, has helped organize a full day of sonic splendor from our SI band brethren -- and it's all taking place at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center. More details on the event can be found here, and if you buy your tickets before Saturday you'll save 5 bucks (bring the kids for free!).

In a couple of weeks Staten Island will hold its very own music festival called Rock the Harbor, something Brooklyn Vegan posted about this week -- instantly sparking a lot of "discussion" about the borough ("Does everyone have to tan and work out before the show?" etc). With Manhattanites trying to pawn SI off on Jersey, and Jerseyites rejecting it, it was only a matter of time before Staten Island Advance caught wind of the fightin' words, noting that "battle lines were drawn." One of the promoters of the show also chimed in, saying, in part:

We actually have a lot more to offer on Staten Island aside from what you may have seen on True Life: I'm a Staten Island Girl. Not all of us say 'Bro', not all of us are mobbed up, and not all of us have no idea about the arts or culture. We actually have quite a few beautiful attractions, but I'll save the tourism chat for another time. The whole point of Rock the Harbor was to shine a light on a music scene that is slowly gaining some steam. There's all sorts of bands on this lineup from straight up indie, to shoegaze, to punk, to pop, to bluegrass, we have a bit of everything and are planning on hosting this event with a completely open mind.

The World Science Festival is coming to New York, and starting tomorrow we'll become the hub of all things scientific. The NY Times pondered the idea of the city as a national science center earlier this week, saying "there’s plenty of science getting done here — it just gets overshadowed by everything else."

While moviegoers pack theaters for summer blockbusters like Iron Man and Indiana Jones, it’s refreshing to find big crowds flocking to an entirely different spectacle, one celebrating the Victorian-era phenomenon of do-it-yourself “toy theater” kits. The cavernous St. Ann’s Warehouse in DUMBO was packed on Saturday night for the eighth annual Toy Theater Festival, presented by Great Small Works, a company dedicated to coaxing big ideas out of tiny materials.

Barbecue fans will want to start bracing their colons for the 6th Annual Big Apple Barbecue Block Party, which has been announced for June 7th and 8th in Madison Square Park. Gothamist tore through the festival of regional barbecue last year, devouring everything from pork shoulder to Brunswick stew to candied ribs.

Every year we're drawn to the Coney Island shoreline by the sirens...or at least, The Village Voice Siren Festival. This year they seem a bit more on top of things, announcing their initial lineup today -- a full two months before the show!

In 2006, Lou Reed revived his album Berlin by performing it in its entirety with a small orchestra for five sold-out shows at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. The 1973 album, which riffs on themes of drugs, love and suicide, was a commercial failure when it came out; Lester Bangs described it as “the bastard progeny of a drunken flaccid tumble between Tennessee Williams and Hubert (Last Exit From Brooklyn) Selby, Jr.”

The summertime free music options keep on rolling out. Not to be outdone by the recent Summerstage announcement or River to River's Wire kick-off, Brooklyn's answer to free in-park music stepped up this week to show what they've got. The Celebrate Brooklyn series runs all summer long at the Prospect Park Band Shell, and will kick off with a free Isaac Hayes show on June 12th. From there, they'll host a number of free (well, $3 recommended donation) shows, with everyone from Medeski Martin and Wood to Ghostland Observatory performing. Even if you're not in the mood to actually attend one of these shows, there are few better ways to spend a summer evening than setting up a picnic outside the gates and listen from afar. You can see the entire lineup here.

Indie animator Bill Plympton has just finished his sixth animated feature, for which he hand drew every cell. Called Idiots and Angels, it tells the haunting and humorous story of a dyspeptic working stiff who wakes up one morning and finds, to his horror, angel's wings sprouting out of his back. Try as he may to rid himself of the grotesque mutation, they inevitably take over his life and soon become the wings of desire for a quack doctor and a covetous bartender at the local dive; a riot of scheming and slapstick violence ensues. Like the best of Plympton's distinctive oeuvre, Idiots and Angels bounces merrily along from the profane to the sublime, with a parade of arresting images that have a way of sticking with you for days. It premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival Saturday night; details on screenings here.

Lots of chefs consider their food to be art, but few artists see their art as food. A new festival called Umami – a Japanese word meaning "savory" or "meaty" – is trying to change all that. The ten day smorgasbord, which started Tuesday, spotlights artists and performers who use food as a medium, and also features culinary events ranging from “water tastings” to a weekend workshop for kids called “Paint With Your Food.” Just what every parent needs!

Goldenvoice concerts, the people who bring the West Coast Coachella each year, are now planning a similar concert for us East Coasters. And it's set to be right in our very own backyard. Sort of.