Photos from the Holiday Happening!

Here are some photos from last night's Holiday Happening at DUO Multicultural Arts Center. We had a nice turn out of people and the performances were full of high energy, the perfect way to celebrate the holidays and the arts. Throw in the food, open bar and goodie bags at the end of the night and it was quite the successful evening. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported FAB and the arts and we hope that you have a wonderful holiday season!

Let the Holiday Good Times Roll!

Holiday parties are starting to happen left and right and we've got one that you don't want to miss! This Monday, December 14 we're holding the cocktail party of the season with live performances, tasty treats, an open bar (hosted by Hornitos) and goodie bags galore!
Doors open at 6:30PM with an open rehearsal by Rod Rodgers Dance Company, then move to the theater for "Happen Chance" by Claire Porter, provocative dance theater works by Sidra Bell Dance Company, selections from a multi-media tribute to Marilyn Monroe, back flippin' performance artist Edward Vilga, films from the NYC Downtown Short Film Festival and much more!
Tickets are $10, $5 when you use your FABPass online or show it at the door. There's no reason not to stop by for a little holiday time with your favorite FAB ladies.

Emma Goldman arrested on E. 4th Street?

Yup, it is true. A century ago, this stretch of E.4th Street between the Bowery and 2nd Avenue was an important epicenter of New York City's labor union movement -- and a popular public forum for the anarchists, socialists, and other "-ists" that helped fuel the work-force's fire. (Eh, figuratively... in most cases.)

On October 30, 1906, already-prominent anarchist Emma Goldman was preparing to speak at 66-68 E.4th Street (now part of LaMama, then called Lyceum Hall), during an event which was organized to protest police suppression of free speech at a previous meeting. However, Goldman was arrested, along with ten others, during opening remarks by guest speakers -- she never had the chance to take the podium.

In one account of the story¹, Goldman was charged with "criminal anarchy" for distributing copies of Mother Earth magazine. In another account², Goldman was charged with "unlawful assembly for the purpose of overthrowing the government."

Either way, all charges in Goldman's case were dropped by 1907, and she got her chance to speak at the Lycum again on November 11, 1907 - along with longtime partner, Alexander Berkman³. No incidents were reported.

1. A book reference to the arrest
2. PBS American Experience time line
   
3. See poster from November 11, 1907 event
   

-----------------------------------

PS: Thanks to FAB for letting LESHP post some history to the blog. We would be interested in your feedback, input, and experience regarding any of the articles/topics we present.

Review: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter at New York Theater Workshop

This past Sunday I attended New York Theater Workshop's new show, "The Hearts is a Lonely Hunter". This play is based on the book with the similar title by Carson McCullers. "Heart..." was McCullers first novel, written in 1940, when she was merely 23 and it shows in the characters. They are all boiling underneath their skin with some hunger that makes them inherently unique in a small Southern town.

Each character attempts to vent their sufferings to a deaf man who has recently entered their town, John Singer. Singer invites each person into his room, to sit at his table, to be his companion. Here each character, a alcoholic with a Communist bend, a black doctor, a recently widowed restaurant owner and a young girl beginning the process of becoming a woman, tells Singer their problems, wishes and fears knowing that he will not expose them. Singer is a sounding board for their own existence to be amplified back at them without judgement.

Singer looks forward to seeing his best friend, a fellow deaf man who is prone to outbursts that have landed him in an asylum. Here you see Singer light up and turn into a three dimensional man with desires and opinions as opposed to a friendly face to air grievances to.

New York Theater Workshop's version of the book breaks the stories down into vignettes of experiences interchanged that highlights the want of connectivity within each character but also the inability and isolation felt instead. The gorgeous set (by Neil Patel) moves pieces of rooms back and forth, illuminating bits and pieces of these lives lived without fulfillment.

"Heart..." was able to make me successfully reflect on my own desires and yearnings and compare to these people how successful (or unsuccessful) I have been. The people in this story are very real and are expressing a feeling and part of life that many of us experience on a day to day basis. Watching failure of these goals is heartbreaking and shows you McCullers' ability to frame a specific loneliness. Leaving the show, I couldn't help but think about what I was going to do next and how it could impact greatly.

Terrible Things are Actually Pretty Great

Lisa D'Amour and Katie Pearl bring their one-of-a-kind performances to Performance Space 122 with their show, "Terrible Things", opening tomorrow, December 4. These two have been creating fascinating, individual work together since 1996. PearlDamour works in a way that always focuses on how the audience percieves and even interacts with the performance. This show has turned P.S. 122 into an IMAX theater to show you all the parallel lives and adventures of Katie Pearl with an action-figure version of her mother, Nancy Pearl (Ms. Book Lust herself!). Go see the show and let this amazing duo give you a much needed in-out-of-body experience!

Also, if you want to learn a little more about the people behind the magic Culturebot, the awesome awesome blog, has this series that I really love called "Five Questions". And they asked the five questions to Ms. D'Amour. You can check that out here and be sure to buy two for one tickets to "Terrible Things" at FAB Tix every Thursday & Friday from 1-6PM.

Photo of the Week: New York Neo-Futurists Doing What They Do Best

Pictured above: Erica Livingston, Christopher Borg, Adam Smith, Eevin H and Daniel McCoy

Here is a picture from the New York Neo-Futurists' show "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind". This is the most reliable show around, with performances every Friday and Saturday at 10:30PM. And you can get discount 2for1 tickets for $12.00 each week via FAB Tix, FAB's discount ticket booth. Just come to 61 East 4th Street between 1&6PM Thursdays & Fridays and get your discount tickets. Get your tickets this week and find out what, exactly, is up those Neos sleeves.

Something New Everyday

FAB's office was just graced by a representative of this really cool organization, No Longer Empty. They organize and host public art shows in vacant storefronts and properties. They are also a non-profit company dedicated to renewing neighborhoods in New York City via "high-caliber art installations with accompanying programming to the public".

No Longer Empty is planning to have their upcoming exhibition in the neighborhood and we're looking forward to helping them in any way possible. As we get more information, we will update what is going on, but as for now we can simply look forward to having even more art in the LES.

Their upcoming show, Cartoons in Conflict is their fourth major show and will be opening December 10, 2009 at 6 West 26 Street with an opening reception at 6PM. This show focuses on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and how cartoonist from all over the world have chosen to depict this situation. RSVP to events@nolongerempty.com and be sure to check this out!

We Want Your Stories!

We at Fourth Arts Block want you to give us your favorite Lower East Side/East Village Experience. What is it that you love about these neighborhoods? Have you seen art on this block that has inspired you as an art maker? Do you have a fond memory that shows the diverse nature of the people and places that make these neighborhoods still vibrant? Let us know!

Please email us your stories at info@fabnyc.org and we will post them on our website! Sharing your stories and experiences will help others see all the great things this very special area has to offer. You could even help your favorite coffee shop get some new business, so let us in and don't keep this area a secret.

Tamar Rogoff has a blog that's pretty Faun-tastic

"Diagnosis of a Faun" is a show that will be presented at La MaMa E.T.C. from December 3-20. This show will combine the faun and it's interaction with the world of medicine. The faun moves through different relationships with medicine, hospitals, humans and nymphs to find the relationship between art and medicine.

The creator of this show is Tamar Rogoff and she is chronicling her creative process of this work in her blog. Gregg Mozgala is an actor who has been working with Rogoff for over a year and a lot of what Rogoff has gotten in terms of movement vocabulary is based on Mozgala's experience with Cerebral Palsy. There are some cool blog entries about working with Mozgala in a movement-based way. It's great to read Mozgala's experience of movement and how Rogoff approaches working with a very specific body.

It's also great to read about a before and after experience Mozgala has had with his movement practice. To think that this year-long relationship with Rogoff has changed his everyday movement capabilities is so great and is something that is worth doing. Physical therapy is always an option for people with illnesses or disabilities that affect their physical capacity, but other body practices can have a powerful effect as well based on ideokinetic facilitation (Mozgala refers to a class taught by Rogoff as "experiential anatomy").

This show should be pretty cool and it's coming up! Make a note in your calendar and who knows, there may be a ticket deal in the mix...

KGB Bar Brings Literary Expression and Spirit Together (Again)

The KGB Bar, 85 East 4th Street, has been happening since 1993 and is not looking to slow down anytime soon. Most days of each month is full of readings and performances for current writers, giving them a voice and a place to use it. Every Monday is a poetry reading, featuring a few poets and of course there is a fabulous bar to relax and enjoy all of the live experiences offered.

This Thursday, Nancy Mauro will be reading as part of the Behind the Book series from 7-9PM. Mauro recently published her first novel and here is a chance to check out her creative voice. She will be reading with Stephen Elliott, author of The Adderall Diaries as well as 6 other books and Brian DeLeeuw, also a first time author with In This Way I was Saved: a Novel.

Another cool way to get to know Mauro's work is to check out her Page 69 Test. In this blog, authors are asked to open their book to page 69 and talk about how the passage does or does not represent the rest of the work. A nice little nibble for Thursday, I say! So check out the KGB Bar, or go to their website and look at the calendar to see what reading night will match your personal poetic palette.

What do Sonic Youth, La MaMa and Performa 09 all have in common? East 4th Street

The theme of "Cold Water", the exhibiton opening at La MaMa E.T.C.'s Galleria tomorrow, is performers on paper: Musicians and actors channeling their creativity into visual art. The exhibiton was curated by singer-songwriter Justin Bond (some may know him as his drag alter-ego, Kiki from the duo Kiki and Herb) and the New Yorker theater critic Hilton Als.
This show is presenting the talents of Rufus Wainwright, Tilda Swinton, Kate Bornstein, Jemma Nelson, Lady Rizzo, Leslie Thornton and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore. All the artists who have participated are "rooted in the East Village, downtown, CBGB's, La MaMa scene."
This show is also part of Performa 09's citywide festival going on through November 22. This festival is dedicated to presenting cutting edge, experimental work from around the world. They have some awesome stuff happening and a whole lot of it too this year, so try to see as much as possible (especially "Cold Water").

East Village Eats!

No New York neighborhood is complete without some fabulous restaurants at, well, every corner. Here at the East 4th Street Cultural District, we are blessed with some great eats bookending this cozy block.
Phebe's, 361 Bowery, is a great bar & grill eatery that has great burgers, wings, fish 'n chips, and always delicious ales to quench a long day's thirst. At the other end we have Cucina de Pesce, 87 East 4th Street, a tasty and reasonably priced Italian restaurant. They have great lunch and brunch (weekends only) deals and you'll never be disappointed with a visit there. Caddy-corner to Cucina at 84 East 4th Street, Belcourt brings you a fabulous little french cafe with a killer brunch menu and happy hour deal.
So on East 4th Street between Bowery and 2nd Ave, we have a little something for everyone to munch, slurp, gobble and delight their taste buds with any hour of the day. And if you stop by the block, be sure to take a stroll and see all the shops and theaters to make 'dinner and a show' a must-do for your weekends.

A Photographer with a Soft Side for the Block

Brian Rose has an affinity for East 4th Street between Bowery and 2nd Ave. He used to live on the block and even worked at Cooper Square Committee for a period. On his blog, he recently posted an item about East 4th Street, remembering his experiences on the block as well as congratulating Cooper Square Committee on their 50th anniversary.

Rose is a photographer and uses his blog to show the parts of New York that strike him as interesting and compelling. We at Fourth Arts Block wanted to share his work and his attention to this block so that you could enjoy someone else's view of the East 4th Street Cultural District.

Rose's attention to detail and his appreciation of the simple, smaller aspects of New York come through in his photographs of stoops and sidewalk graffiti. He is able to find the grandiose in the niches of this city and for him to show his interest and appreciation for our block is appreciated. So check out his stuff and enjoy!

Salsa Workshop starting This Friday!

If you want a surefire way to warm up in this cold weather, sign up for Teatro IATI's Salsa Workshop. This workshop is meant to teach you all the basic salsa moves, beginning with individual steps and working up to basic partnering techniques.

Plus if you sign up now, you can get $20 off the regular price of $160 just by using the code word FAB at checkout. Just go online to FAB's website, click on the FAB Deals, and get yourself some steamy salsa classes. The workshop will meet from October 30-December 18, every Friday from 6:00PM-7:30PM.

Instructor
Adolfo Vázquez studied ballet and choreography in the world famous Ballet Nacional de Cuba, where he became the youngest choreographer ever to create ballets for the company. After leaving his natal Cuba, Mr. Vazquez started a very successful career as choreographer and dance teacher in Spain, Mexico, and the United States where he resided for the last 25 years.

He has choreographed for dance and theater companies all over the world, like DanzaHoy in Madrid, Danza Contemporánea in Mexico D.F., Puerto Rican Dance Theater and Repertorio Español in New York. He received the prestigious ACE Award for "Cuentos Negros" which he wrote, choreographed and directed Currently Mr. Vazquez is dividing his time and creativity between New York and Rio de Janeiro where he is creating the Salsa School Dance Group.

It's too good to pass up, so sign up now and get the FAB Deal you deserve.

A Blog We Love (and you should too!)

Earlier this month we participated in OpenHouse NY which was really great. So many people showed up to take tours of our block and to learn about how the East 4th Street Cultural District (and FAB) came to be. We appreciated being a part of the weekend so much that we started checking out their blog. Now we just can't get enough!

openhousenewyork is devoted to the architecture and design of New York City, and works hard to enhance knowledge and appreciation for the buildings surrounding us, old and new. They also promote the education of engineering, design, planning, and preservation to create a discussion about the place that we live in.

What's so great about OHNY's blog is how it makes design accessible, in little blog bits. They'll talk about specific buildings, post photos of some great hidden places to check out, and, most recently, discuss the benefits of plastic wine glasses. Essentially, OHNY is a great way to stay in touch with the urban design and architecture changes happening in the City, and we can't get enough!

East 4th Street voted Best Block in NYC!

The Village Voice was gracious enough to award the East 4th Street Cultural District as the Best Block in NYC! We on the block are doing our little victory dances because this block is awesome. It's no secret to us who spend our time here all the fun there is happening on the block, and now you can get in on the good times too.

If you go to Fourth Art Block's website, you can check out all the events happening on the block as well as information about the restaurants and local businesses housed right here on East 4th Street, between Bowery and 2nd Ave. And, you can even get some discounts if you look up FAB (shopping, eating, drinking, theater tickets, the list goes on!).

And we weren't the only lucky ones to get some attention from the Village Voice, our neighbors at Plantworks received the Best Plant Shop award. Recycle-a-Bicycle, a company we recently collaborated with to bring our ArtUp exhibition "Cycle", currently on display won Best Way to Reincarnate Your Two-Wheeler.

As you can plainly see, the Lower East Side is a place to be. Come see for yourself, and soon!

East 4th Street: Perfect Date Block

Finding love in the city is no easy feat. But when someone's struck by Cupid's arrow on East 4th Street, we can't help but want them to have romantic success. For example, this fine young man had a missed connection at our very own KGB Bar, so we thought we'd help his search a little more.

Read his post from Craigslist here. Do you know who he's searching for? Is it you? If so, contact him and come see a show on our block! What better place to have a first date than the cultural district that brought you together? We can even plan your date for you:

1. Grab a fabulous and affordable meal at Belcourt.
2. Go see a show with the 2 for 1 tickets from our very own FAB Tix ticket booth.
3. Grab an after-show drink at KGB Bar.

Success is written in the cards for that evening. Whether you're on your first date or celebrating your 45th wedding anniversary, the East 4th Street Cultural District is a date location you don't want to pass up. Check out all the options at FAB's website to plan the night of your dreams.

The Collective Arts Think Tank brings you...the Sustainable Avant-Garde

A group of producers, organizers, artists, grant-writers and one critic have come together to create the blog, Collective Arts Think Tank that is meant to aid we makers of New York to create work for a long time. The blog went up this past Thursday and is written by Jennifer Wright Cook from The Field, Vallejo Gantner from Performance Space 122 (one of FAB's Affiliate Members!), Aaron Landsman from Thinaar and Elevator Repair Service, Sheila Lewandowski from the Chocolate Factory, Carla Peterson from Dance Theater Workshop, Brian Rogers from the Chocolate Factory and Morgan von Prelle Pecelli from The Lost Notebook and Performance Space 122.

This blog was born from a few meetings the above group had and they have hit the ground running. Their first post is an inventory of approaches and recommendations to the art/money debacle associated with the strife of being a 21st century artist attempting to live in New York, make work AND get people to come out and see what you're doing. In so many words, it is a struggle and this think tank is dedicated to finding the "systemic problems facing the field of contemporary live performance" and doing something about it.

This is a common preoccupation and when talking with a group of artists (or people involved in the art world in some way) the conversation will inevitably shift to the business, money-making aspect of their art. This will induce groaning, forehead slapping and 'whatever are we to do' statements with the usual consensus being things need to be changed. Perhaps the time has come. With this blog, you can become a part of the creative think tank with your comments and experiences. The writers want this to be the "beginning of a dynamic and strategic dialogue that speaks to our mutual passion and commitment to a thriving community of artists, audience and advocates."

It certainly sounds divine.
Lets make it happen.

People don't know how we say things... yet.

Chris D: So The Pumpkin Pie Show, Commencement
Samantha W: Yes! At Under St. Marks. Presented by Horsetrade Theater Group.
C: Yes!
S: Si! (british accent) It was my first time at Under St. Marks, at all!
C: ...
S: We're PERFECT for each other! Why do I have to be the douche?
C: You're not! We're the perfect couple! of douchebags. The show! the show was great!
S: I liked how the performer, Hanna Cheek, greeted everyone in the audience and thanked them for coming.
C: The atmosphere was totally welcoming and warm.
S: And the beer was totally foamy.
C: but cheap! and good. I wouldn't expect anything less from Horsetrade.
S: Welcoming, warm, cheap, and good.
C: And foamy... The house was packed, too. That's always good.
S: Why are we still talking in british accents?
C: True.

(they clear their throats)

S: backpedal for a second. We are not critics.
C: and this is not a revue.
S: buuuuut, Hanna's performance was amazing and Clay McLeod Chapman's writing was superb.
C: This was our first time seeing the long running Pumpkin Pie Show, and I hear that this performance was a little different from their normal productions.
S: (back to british) Namely, the absence of Clay!
C: (ahem) the onstage presence, anyway.
S: Pip pip.
C: I want to mention that this production is traveling to Edmonton for the final stop of the Canadian Fringe Festival before returning to New York sometime this Fall.
S: Check out Horsetrade's website for any updates and details and whatnot.

(silence. We hear construction workers drilling into the walls of P.S. 122)

C: Pip pip.

I know who you are

Samantha W here.

After recieving Chris' first email I wrote back. We spent the day on gchat and made plans for coffee the following Monday. Luckily for me, I didn't have to wait that long to meet him. (teehee) He ended up sneak attacking me at P.S. 122 the very next day under the guise of seeing one of the shows that was a part of the undergroundzero festival. He walked in with a somewhat sheepish expression not unlike the one in the magazine, with the telltale Devil's hat atop his head. So I smiled and said, "I know who you are."

Long story short, we didn't have to wait until Monday to have our first date. We met, we laughed, we decided we didn't need to keep checking our TONY personals email. And we decided to join forces and blog together about the wonderful shows made available to us by the amazing people at Fourth Arts Block.

Clever words, to be sure.

Hola, amigos! Como estan Ustedes? Yo soy bien, gracias! No tengo un novia, y a veces estoy triste. Pero, Time Out New York Dice a yo es muy bueno! Ahora, todos las chicas de el East Village quieren "to bone" yo! Ok, I don't really speak spanish (yet I remain impressed with myself for coming up with that on my own!) and I'm fairly certain that all of the East Village ladies do NOT want to bone me because I was in a tiny back section of a magazine.

Now that we've cleared that up, I am the aforementioned, Chris: an equally excited participant in this lovely little FAB blog/dating experiment. Thought I'd drop a line and check in with you all before I start heading out to FABulous (get it?) dates in the near future.

It's been a week since the magazine with my goofy, incredibly young looking face graced news stands all over the city and I've had scarce response. The day began with a couple of goof e-mails from friends and co-workers suggesting that we date and offering up foot fetish stories. It appeared that this was going to be an embarrassing experience. So I decided to take some action regarding my self-esteem, and reach out to Samantha W. She was also being featured in the article and it seemed to make plenty of sense to share and comiserate with someone. My e-mail read as follows:

Hi Samantha,

I saw your profile in Time Out NY today and thought, "well there's someone I've got quite a bit in common with right there! I should e-mail her."
Then I thought, "Nah, Chris, you're creepy. your profile just went out too. wait until somebody contacts you!"
Then I ate breakfast
After Breakfast I thought, "Just e-mail her. what's the worst that happens? she gets to be a famous actor and holds a mysterious grudge against you, barring your professional career in the process."

So, at the risk of ruining my theatrical career, I reach out to you. Because at the very least, it'd be nice to know how someone else is handling being a famous East Villager for a day. And at the very most, well, I've already shared with you how dangerous my imagination could be.

Coffee?

-Chris D

It went over well! We saw Harry Potter yesterday and had a great time. So at least I won't be offering FABulous (nudge nudge) tickets to Fourth Arts Block performances to strange women on the street all the time. Now, there will be another character in this blog who I didn't make up! Hooray potential companionship!

First couple of shows are coming up in the coming weeks. I'll keep you all posted once they happen. In the meantime, au revoir!

-Chris D

Something to Look Forward To

This past Wednesday, Time Out New York released their most recent issue that featured a complete guide towards the places to eat, drink, shop, view, and generally "recapture cool" in the East Village. It's about time everyone else knew how great the East Village is and all the hidden wonders it has to offer.

Time Out not only highlighted this vibrant neighborhood, but also chose an artist from East 4th Street as one of their East Villagers to date! That's right, Chris, who is the associate technical director for the New York Neo-Futurists is single and searching with the help of Time Out. Chris will be going out on blind dates, and we thought that it would be great if he kept us in the loop as to how his romantic adventures in the East Village were going by joining our blog.

We are going to find Chris some fun events and performances to see right here on East 4th Street, with the help of our fantastic members. After the date, Chris will write on this very blog all about his date and all about his East 4th Street cultural experience.

We at FAB are really excited that Chris is letting us in on his East Village escapades, and we hope that you all enjoy reading about his adventures. Perhaps he'll give you some good ideas about what you should be coming to the block and seeing. At least you know you can look forward to a new blogger and his clever words right here on the FAB Feed.

PS 122 & DTW Announce Seasons

Our fellow East Villagers, PS122, have announced their upcoming fall line-up and it is sure to be eclectic and interesting. There are definitely some must-see stuff, especially the band LOW who will be collaborating with Morgan Thorson. To see the whole line up, check out PS122's website.

Dance Theater Workshop also announced their full season a couple weeks ago including Tere O'Conner, Anna Halprin (and friends), and Faye Driscoll (go to calendar to see the full line-up and dates). I have to say that I am extremely excited to see that Yasuko Yokoshi will be presenting work there in March 2010. She last showed Reframe the Framework (DDD) at the Kitchen in 2008 and I know she showed in the work in progress performance at BAX, but it'll be nice to see what she has in store for us this time. Definitely worth checking out.

Millenium Film Workshop: a film haven for the LES

Since 1966, Millennium Film Workshop (http://www.millenniumfilm.org/)has opened its doors to non-commercial, "personal cinema" makers, giving them a refuge to learn, craft, edit, and exhibit their work with minimal cost. Millennium had the pleasure of being on the cutting edge of this phenomenon and has not looked back since.

The East Village was an ideal place for something like Millennium in the mid-1960s. The area was the hub of counter-culture life and political activity and a place that would present the highest culmination of art and film would fit right in. The kind of cinema presented would be referred to as "personal cinema", coined by now Executive Director, Howard Guttenplan: "I called it 'personal cinema' early on and I think that might be a better description and a more precise term. It's very personal, usually made by one person, free to investigate a wide range of ideas, subject matter, and forms. This work relates more closely to the art world than to traditional movies."

Millennium has been able to help bring this form of film-making into the foreground. In the 1940s, the concept of personal films was practically unheard of. However, during WWII, hand-held cameras were developed to shoot combat, and after the war people were still embracing 16mm as a way to expres your own personal experience.

After a few moves and directors, Millennium has spent 35 years on East 4th Street with Howard Guttenplan as the executive director. Guttenplan taught himself many of the administrative skills required as well as finding time to make and show his own "diary films", personalized archivings of his days in NYC as well as overseas. These films have been exhibited around the world and the Museum of Modern Art has described Guttenplan's work as "spontaneous, immediate celebrations of color, texture, and design."

MOMA also began showing avant-garde film in 1968 in its Cineprobe series as well as the Whitney Museum, which began showing films in 1970. Until these two leading museums in contemporary and experimental work, Millennium was the only space exclusively devoted to showing new experimental work. Guttenplan still pushes community interaction and keeping Millennium's open-door policy in tact to this day.

This is a prime example of the way East 4th Street Cultural District approaches art cultivation and distribution. We embrace the freedom of creation and are interested in supporting the exhibition of art without censorship. The right to explore, discover, succeed, and fail are respected and buoyed here on this block. It is not an easy thing to make happen, but we believe in safe havens for the arts and wish to continue making that more and more possible so people may make the art they want with positive effects.

Blogs to Blog About

Hey there readers
Here are some blogs that we have enjoyed as of late:

East Village Podcasts
Tenement Museum
JZ Bich

They're great
They're informative
They're fun
They're local
They're blogging!

Check out what they have to say and then come to the LES and
check out what they (and us, of course) have to offer.

Enjoy!

Sorry to not be writing so diligently, but a whole lotta stuff has been going on here in our tiny office. We are now officially in our new office which is so quite beautiful! I am currently watching people admire it from the outside which is great because we could use a little love.

The month of June is pretty wild since we are in the middle of our three street closings for Meet the Streets. The first, NYC Street Festival of Young Artists & Leaders produced by Downtown Art, was a great success and everyone had a great time. The second, ART Meets the Street, started off great, but was unfortunately rained out. However, Agrupación Lubola Macú and Tambores de Nueva York (presented by Teatro IATI) refused to be deterred by the rain and decided to have an impromptu parade complete with painted dancing women. Check out the Media page on the Fourth Arts Block website and you will find some awesome Meet the Street photos.

We have also been plugging away at planning Pride Goes East with the Lower East Side Business Improvement District. We are so excited because not only are we going to celebrate all over the Lower East Side and East Village, we're going to do it with Sarah Palin, pedi-cabs, shopping deals, theater, and a kickin after-party. You definitely don't want to miss out on the full week of Pride happenings, so get the low-down and we'll see you around the block.

More to come on the way!!! Thanks for reading

Meet the Street in Full Swing

Here at Fourth Arts Block, we are in full planning mode to get everything pulled together for the Meet the Street Festivals. For three weekends in June, we will be hosting art, family, performance, games, food, and shopping out in the open of the block in the sunny summer afternoons. June 6 is devoted to Teens art and creation chock full of teen bands and shows presenting their own work. June 13 is geared toward adult art with theater, dance, and music performances all afternoon long. June 27 is all about Pride in NYC, and we're showing our Gay Pride here on the East Side with cabaret shows, films and a costume sale. This is in conjunction with Pride Goes East, which will be a weeklong celebration with tons of events from not only FAB, but the Lower East Side Business Improvement District (more of that to come!).

We are really excited about these festivals because they will not only help you get to know what we have to offer on East 4th Street, but you can find a new neighborhood to connect with. The Lower East Side is the home of innovative and renegade artists and these weekends are meant to celebrate that. So stop by to watch some short films, make some chalk art, eat some great food, see some performing, shop our delightful boutiques, and see what summertime with the arts is all about.

We're Under Construction!

Hello Hello!

We're just writing from our out-of-office office while eagerly looking forward to moving into our slick front office. But for now we work next door in Teatro Circulo's office on the Fourth Floor. However, you can catch us downstairs on Fridays from 5:00-7:00PM sitting at the ticket booth waiting for you to come around and buy some cheap tickets to great shows! Check out our homepage to see what shows are going on sale for that Friday and then be sure to come around.

In the meantime, we will be working diligently on our Meet the Street Festival that is happening on three Saturdays in June. Each Saturday will have a different theme and is meant to introduce you to all of our multi-faceted ways on the block. There will be food and music and games and family fun during those sunny days, so please! be sure to come around East Fourth Street and see what we've got cookin'.

Welcome to the FAB Feed!

Hello readers! Welcome to Fourth Arts Block's very first blog. In case you don't know who we are, Fourth Arts Block is a non-profit organization that represents the East Fourth Cultural District. We help to keep the performance venues open and operating by promoting their work while aiding the east village community with green initiatives, neighborhood festivals, and leading centralized projects to advance the district.

So we thought by starting a blog we could keep you updated with all of our adventures and goings-on! Be sure to check out our website, www.fabnyc.org, to catch all the shows and creative opportunities the neighborhood has to offer. Coming up this week are two really special events: FAB Fridays and Fundraising in Style. FAB Fridays happen every Friday in May and June at 5PM and we sell hugely discounted tickets (as low as $9.00!) to local theater, dance, and art shows so that everyone has an opportunity to see the great stuff today's artists are creating. Fundraising in Style is happening this Saturday at NOON at one of our theaters (check out the information and RSVP to get in free HERE) and we'll be setting up tables from local fashion designers to sell their items. So come and peruse all the quality faire while sipping on some sangria this spring Saturday. What more could you ask for?

And be sure to keep your eyes peeled and your ears open about all upcoming FAB Fridays and our June festival, Meet the Street.