Rain Mountain Press
and the Bowery Poetry Club Launch
Poet Gil Fagiani’s Tribute to East Harlem
 A Blanquito in El Barrio

Sunday, August 1st / 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Bowery Poetry Club
308 Bowery / Houston & Bleecker Sts.

A Blanquito in El Barrio is no mere cautionary tale of a white man's descent into an inner city hell, but a tribute to the music, language and people of one of America's truly mythic neighborhoods, El Barrio, East Harlem. Gil Fagiani lived in East Harlem in the 1960s, first as an volunteer in an antipoverty agency, and later as a heroin addict, who after almost dying on a rooftop, succeeded in rebuilding his life and working for decades as a social work administrator and substance abuse specialist. Gil’s poems and translations have been published in dozens of anthologies, newspapers and journals. He has translated into English, poetry written in Italian, Abruzzese dialect, and Spanish. He co-hosts the monthly open reading of the Italian American Writers’ Association at the Cornelia Street Café, and is the Associate Editor of Feile-Festa: A Literary Arts Journal. First 15 people to arrive, receive a free Rain Mountain Press book! For more information, call 212-614-0505.

Mitsui Family Day with the Central Park

Tuesday, August 3rd / 11:00am - 12:00pm
East 110th St. Playground in Central Park

Michael Wimberly and Forces of Nature African American Dance Theater teach West African dance and rhythm in this highly interactive outdoor setting. Rock out without ever leaving your favorite Central Park playground this summer! The Central Park Conservancy celebrates its 21st year of FREE Sandbox Programs with Music, Stories, and Dance programs for kids 3 - 8 years old and their caregivers in 15 different Park playgrounds this summer. Sandbox Dance programs are co-presented with the Museum for African Art. No advance registration. For more information, call 212-860-1370.

SummerStage with Gil Scott-Heron
Co-presented with MfAA

August 5th from 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Marcus Garvey Park
Cost: $5 suggested donation

Gil Scott-Heron’s poetry and music is widely acknowledged as the matrix from which hip-hop and neo-soul emerged. His transgressive, politicized, spoken-word-meets-jazz recordings have been covered, sampled, referenced, deified and parodied by generations of artists. 2010 saw the release of I’m New Here, Scott-Heron‘s first release in thirteen years. SPIN called the album, "not so much a comeback as a testament to spiritual resilience."

Rooftop Films / El Museo Present: "Waste Land"

Saturday, August 14, 2010 / 8:00 pm - 11:00 pm
El Rufo @ El Museo del Barrio
1230 Fifth Avenue / 104th Street

A wonderfully resonant documentary that chronicles artist Vic Muniz’s experience in Jardim Gramacho, the world’s largest landfill located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Muniz photographs and collaborates with an eclectic band of catadores, or self-designated pickers of recyclable materials as they recycle their lives and society’s garbage. Walker, who gained fantastic access to the entire process, offers stirring evidence of the transformative power of art and the dignity that can be found in personal determination. [Dir. Lucy Walker, U.K./Brazil, 2009; 98mins. In Portuguese with English subtitles] After-party in El Rufo! Admission: $10, or FREE for El Museo members. Space is limited! Purchase your tickets at www.rooftopfilms.com. El Museo members, please RSVP 24 hours prior to showtime to Jillian Rodriguez at 212-660-7103 or jrodriguez@elmuseo.org. In the event of rain, screening will be held indoors.

The Speakeasy @ at 1220 Fifth Avenue

Wednesday Nights Through August 18th
From 6:00 – 9:00 PM
Museum of the City of New York
Fifth Avenue / 104th Street
(Rain or shine!)

During Prohibition (1919-1933), New York City’s speakeasies were home to drinking, dancing and the swinging sounds of the city’s Jazz Age, and there were over 32,000 establishments. Today, the tradition lives on at the Museum of the City of New York. Visitors to The Speakeasy @ at 1220 Fifth Avenue will be secretly admitted with one FREE drink ticket and treated to tours of current exhibitions, including Meet Flapper Jane. Enjoy our Fifth Avenue Terrace with spirits of the era, live music, DJs, an antique car show, and other special events throughout the summer. Light fare by Great Performances available for purchase. Each week in July, 2 tickets to Shakespeare in the Park will be raffled off courtesy of the Public Theater. Be sure to put in an appearance. Or else. Spread the word – discreetly – and tell them Jerry sent you... Tickets sold online and at the door. For more information, visit www.mcny.org.

East River North Renewal, Inc. Presents
The 4th Annual East Harlem Multi-Cultural Festival

Every Saturday Through Sept. 26th
From 12:00 NOON  to  6:00  PM
@ La Placita de La Marqueta
115 & 116 Street and Park Avenue

For more information and participation, call
Albert Medina:.  212-427-3130
Celia Ramirez: 212-427-8716
Email: eastrivernorthrenewal@juno.com

Retro/Active: The Works of Rafael Ferrer

Through Sunday, August 22nd
Las Galerias de El Museo del Barrio
1230 Fifth Avenue / 104th Street
Admission: Fees Vary

Curated by Deborah Cullen, Director of Curatorial Programs, El Museo del Barrio. In the late 1960s, Puerto Rican-born Rafael Ferrer became internationally renowned for his guerilla art actions in New York and Philadelphia. In the 1970s, he was known for assemblage sculptures, kayaks, and tents. Since the 1980s Ferrer’s intensely colored paintings, prints, drawings and public sculptures have reflected his intelligence, sense of humor, and Caribbean perspective. The exhibition is part of El Museo’s FOCOS series, highlighting the achievements of mature, under recognized artists.

Photos by Angelo Rivera, Photographer

Since February 2007, parishioners from Our Lady Queen of Angels Roman Catholic Church in El Barrio have protested the closing of their spiritual "home" by the Archdiocese of New York by holding a Sunday morning mass each week. Join Carmen Villegas and other worshippers to support their efforts to reopen a beloved 121-year-old parish that has served thousands East Harlem residents.