In September this year, I attended PORCHFEST, a uniquely Ithaca kind of event. I had heard about it for years, but had never had the energy on a Sunday afternoon to actually go downtown and experience it.
No, those people in the photo are not ooohing and aaaaahing over the porch, it's the musicians on the porch they are excited about. My vocal improv group, Ephemera, sang on the steps of one of the porches. People wandered by, some stopped to listen, others kept walking. There was a map and schedule showing who was playing where, and the streets were closed and busy with families, older folks, strollers and dogs, wandering from porch to porch in search of music.
Chris' band played. There were goofy acts, bad acts, funky, folk, and jazz bands. People who fancied themselves performers who really should never, and some of the more well known and fabulous local musicians.
Ithaca can at the same time be wonderfully and maddeningly earthy, filled with more crunch than a case of granola. Porchfest is just one more crunchy manifestation of my artsy-fartsy hometown. I'll be back next year, as probably both performer and spectator.
No comments:
Post a Comment