Garden Gala Approaches, Radio Series Airs

We are rapidly approaching the end of the semester and that means that the Garden Gala is just around the corner.  Most of the work we have put in to this point has put us in a position this week to where we should be focusing on last minute touches.  Yesterday, we had our last on campus fundraiser.  Our table in the breezeway ended up doing pretty well, we made over 110 dollars.  We were able to sell some shirts, a lot of baked goods, and spread the word about our event.  This time we finally learned to be more aggressive in our sales pitch and consequently, we were able to sell more goods, we didn't have to rely on getting pied in the face very much to raise funds. 

Speaking of the event, our music line-up is all but set.  We have not gotten a confirmation about Baby Boy, so he is not accounted for in the schedule.  If he does contact us at the last minute and wants to perform, we have a slot for him.  Basically, there are 5 acts and the first three each get a half hour starting at 5.  The last two bands each have a 45 minute set list, starting at around 7.  Ideally, there will be some down time in between acts, as we have announcements to be made about the raffles and silent auctions.  I was asked about possibly getting a song list together but the bands have been difficult to get that information from.  Our classmate Calvin has Haint Blue's first album which is all the songs they will play, but Bobby E. Lee and the Sympathizers are planning on playing all unreleased music and they have not gotten me a song list. 

The radio series is officially underway, and the final edits sounded very good from last Friday.  I liked the fact that they were all different because it showed the creative abilities of each group.  I particularly enjoyed partaking in the radio series.  While it was a lot of work to get it perfected in such short time, it was really fun trying to create a narrative and piece together the audio.  I decided not to speak on the radio but here are some thoughts on the pieces themselves, and on the process as a whole.  In reading and listening to the interviews from people in the Industrial peninsula you really got to understand and connect with the people.  They endured a lot of hard work and a lot of death, and speak about both as if they're a topic like the weather.  Never have I heard so many people nonchalantly discuss falling into an acid pit or being diagnosed with Leukemia.  But the one thing that remained constant is that they loved where they worked because of the people they worked with and because the labor provided them a means to a better life.  The people from these industrial communities were very level headed and very down to earth.  In terms of the process, I really enjoyed working with Jonni and Shard'a.  I think working with the other groups and collaborating and critiquing was cool because it feels like we had a part in the whole series, not just one day. 

Radio Series and Live Performers

A week ago from today, Katie and I attended the CCBB meeting to show our face in the community and let them know about our event.  We wanted to go and talk to community members from Brooklyn to let them voice their opinions and concerns with the event.  One lady, our very own Pat Wills voiced a concern about parking at the 2640 space.  One thing we should think about is maybe renting out a lot, or putting directions about where parking might be available on our Facebook page and on some of the promotional materials.  Other than that the meeting went pretty well and our feedback was apparently more positive than it had been in Curtis Bay.

Another part of the process that is being worked out right now is the radio series.  As we stand, Wednesday is almost complete.  Shard'a is writing the outro, and I just completed the introduction.  The outro should help segway into Thursdays material and Shard'a will keep that in mind.  Jonni will be 'prettying' up the piece and it should be complete by the end of the week.  Once the radio series is finalized I can focus more on the event planning aspect of the project.

On that front, we've officially gotten our first community member to agree to perform at the event.  The group Double Impact, is a high school sister duo, managed by their father and they've have agreed to play from 6-630. Were waiting to hear back from Baby Boy, another local performer.  Its important to have community members perform at the event because it brings more members to the event and its another way to connect our event to the community.  As of now we have 5 acts playing.  Basically were allotting 30 minutes for the first 4 acts, and 45 minutes for the two band acts, giving them more time for set-up and break down.   The tentative line-up is: Jenny, Jason Reid, Double Impact, Baby Boy (not confirmed), Haint Blue, and Bobby E. Lee and the Sympathizers to finish off the evening.  The next step is to communicate with the rest of the group about an actual schedule. Time has to be allotted for announcements including raffle winners, silent auction winners, and the showing of our indiegogo video. Once I confirm with the rest of the group the schedule I can ask the bands for a set-list.

Radio Scripts starting to gel together

This past week our class had its baked goods and t-shirt sale under the breezeway next to the commons.  After seeing how unsuccessfully our first attempt to connect to the students in the arts and crafts sale, this time, we were a little better prepared.  First of all, we had much more people helping out and stopping by so we could physically interact with more people.  Our location was also much better as the traffic in the breezeway, and our positioning under the breezeway saw much more action then on Main Street in the commons.  Our set-up was also more professional looking.  We actually had promotional material out that we could give to people that weren't interested in buying anything, but wanted to know more about the actual project.  The t-shirts seem to be too expensive for the passing student, the baked goods sold in spurts, but Cody selflessly getting pied in the face repeatedly, clearly was the big hit and rose lots of money.  All in all our second go around on campus was much more successful and we were able to raise over $150.

On the other front, our radio series is taking off and the script writing is the next step.  In our meeting with Marc on Friday, we really hammered out another edit, or at least the plans for another edit, so that our scripts can start to gel and create a tension filled, interesting, coherent narrative.  My group is right on track with where we need to be.  Jonnie, Sharda, and I will be meeting on two occasions this week both during AMST 422 class time to exchange more edits and try to piece together a great story.   Our next step should be actually finding all the audio clips and beginning to put them together so we can hear where ambient sounds should be placed in, or where a change needs to be made in the script.

Lastly, the Garden Gala itself.  Since I have been so focused on the radio series, I havent been as involved in the event planning for the past week or two.  That being said, our music lineup is starting to take shape as we currently have 4 acts, and another pending.  Bobby E. Lee and the Sympathizers, Haint Blue, Jason Reed and Jennie Williams have all decided to join us for a great show and we are also currently trying to have some students from the local high school MC the event and even do some performing of their own if they feel comfortable.  We are also still in the process of finding donations for the event.  We have received positive feedback from local businesses in Fells Point, and we have currently received almost 10 donations.  Cody and I are planning on going back down to follow up with some of the businesses this coming Thursday. 

What went wrong: Radio Series day three

On Wednesday, May 14th Sharda (From our partner class) and I will be introducing our topic on the Marc Steiner show.  In the arc of our story, Wednesday focuses on the deindustrialization of South Baltimore and what that eperience was like for many residents that lived and worked in the industrial parks for most of their life.  What was once a strong community was flooded with 'outsiders' looking for factory work before World War II.  After the War, the economy wasn't surging and the industry in Curtis Bay, Brooklyn, and Fairfield felt the full effects.  Many people went without jobs and racism and segergation played a large role in what little jobs were available.  Through the voices of the community members, Sharda and I will tell the story of a once strong community who were gradually separated between the War itself and the reactionary economic struggle that became overwhelmingly present after the war.  The purpose of our piece isn't to lament on the fact that these poor people have endured so much.  Were not trying to put these communities on a pedestal or highlight their shortcomings, we're saying this to illustrate how a community can face hard times together and still come out for the better when its all said and done.  Through hearing the voices of the people, listeners will get a real sense of the amount of pride and love these community members once had and still have for the place that they owed most of their childhood and adulthood.  While many people joke about how bad of a place these areas are but you can hear in their voices the love and respect they have for the area, the community, and one another as being a part of this forgotten, yet resilient area.

In terms of committee work we have made some good strides in the donation side.  Cody and I went Fell's Point last Thursday and walked around to businesses handing out our ASK forms as well as collecting a few donations.  Most gift cards, to this date, we've received over 125 dollars worth of gift cards, a batch of fresh baked muffins for the event and a very nice (and expensive) women's spring sweater.  Today marks the second of a three day on campus fund raiser for the Filbert Street Garden.  A quasi T-shirt and bake sale, we hope to at least get an idea of the response from UMBC students.  Unfortunately today is a terrible day and thunderstorms are present in the area for the duration of our allotted time, we might need to reconsider how we approach the UMBC community if this fundraiser fails to raise more awareness, if not necessarily the money (although both would be ideal).  Anyways, I hope anybody that stopped by and grabbed some rice crispy treats understands that the mallow man from ghostbusters isn't as marshmellowy as the ones my mother bakes. 

Donations Donations Donations

As we head into the month of April our fundraiser becomes to focal point of our class.  This week a lot of the focus is on sending emails to businesses and asking for donations for the event.  Just to start, I emailed ten businesses in Fells Point and inquired about another 15, with no luck.  A few of the restaurants actually have closed down and I made a note of that on our ASKS spreadsheet.  It seems me and Cody have lots more businesses because Fells Point is such a popular and congested part of Baltimore.  Another interesting pattern that I noticed while researching these businesses is that a lot of Mexican or ethnic foods don't have websites, but rather just reviews on yelp or urbanspoon. This unfortunately means that their emails are not available.  Tomorrow and Wednesday Cody and I will sit down together and cover as many businesses as possible, after which we will take to the streets to follow up in person.

Additionally, along with the donation inquiries, on Friday, some of the students from our class met with students from our partnering classes and Marc Steiner to talk about the week long radio show we will be producing for the week prior to the event.  A lot of good communicating took place and we laid out our strategy.  We agreed that we wanted to highlight a lot of the issues that people living in the industrial communities like Sparrows Point, Curtis Bay, and Brooklyn endured during the industrialization and de-industrialization periods of the area.  In doing this, we walk a fine line between painting the area in a bad light, and showing their perseverance and strength as communities.  One point that Marc kept reiterating was how he wanted the students and the community members to be engaged in the conversation the whole show, not just Marc and the community members. However the most effective radio series must create tension to bring in listeners and keep their attention.  We need to find a way to create tension without stirring up anger or ill-will.

Lastly, as stated in the previous blog, two of our bands have committed to the event and are starting to promote the event themselves, this will help us spread the word even more.  One thing that our class needs to address is the possibility of having 'gambling' (I use that word lightly) games or a spinning wheel at the event.  If we were to do this, we would need to contact the city permits office and inquire about what it takes to get the proper paperwork and permits.  Personally, I know the wheel has been a huge hit at previous events Ive been involved with.  That being said, the crowd at the event will be noticeably different and there wont be as much alcohol consumption, and less of a raging party atmosphere so people may be less inclined to gamble.  All in all I think our fundraiser is starting to take shape and all the pieces are starting to be put together. 

 In the coming week or two, the event planning committee needs to sort out pretty much the entire schedule and functionality of the event.  We need to start making a master list of what we have, and what we need to make this event a smooth and functioning fundraiser.  In terms of the culutral documentation project, I recently became aware of two brothers,  Bud and Stanley Stupi, both of whom worked at W.R. Grace Davison in Curtis Bay and could possibly be two contacts to give a more narrative voice to my last edit. 

(Hopefully) Rekindling the rivalry of two Baltimore folk bands

After some technical difficulties I had to finally create a new blog.  Unfortunately somehow my computer deleted the old blog.  On the upside, I created a new better name for my blog and will pick up with a lot more focus on the actual event planning side of the class.  I am pleased to say that we have officially locked down to musical folk acts to come to the event.

This video chronicles the hilarious rivalry between my brothers band and our teacher, Dr. Nicole King's husbands band the barnyard sharks.  I will also try to contact the sharks to see if they would be willing to rekindle the rivalry between these two up and coming bands.  As for now, Both Bobby E. Lee and the Sympathizers and Haint Blue have agreed to play for us.  An extra bonus about getting these bands is that the music scene of Baltimore is a reasonably small circle and artists in the same genre typically know of one another.  This will be a important avenue for us to address because it's just one way we can promote our event, the Curtis Bay and Brooklyn communities, as well as the Filbert Street Garden to the greater Baltimore area.

 I have also tried to contact the person who knows about getting things like a spinning wheel but have yet to get a response.  I will hopefully be in contact with them by the end of the week.  Another place I will be asking donations from actually just occurred to me as a good resource.  My Uncles all own a large John Deer Retail chain and would potentially be able to donate lots of garden equipment to be won or raffled off. They are entrenched in the agricultural landscape of the Delmarva area and would probably be interested in donating towards our cause.