What do music, chili peppers, bamboo, wine, watermelon, ice cream and Eeyore the donkey from Winnie the Pooh have in common?

They all have festivals devoted to them in Austin or nearby towns. In fact, there are so many festivals of all kinds in the Austin area that it is difficult to keep track of them. The Austin American-Statesman apparently gave up trying to keep count back in 2004, judging by a recent visit to the festivals page on their current website a quick count there reveals there were more than 50 festivals in existence then, and the compilers of the list noted that those were just some of the festivals.

Other festivals have appeared since then. The first-ever Pachanga Latino Music Festival, for instance, was held on May 31st of this year. The second annual Ice Cream Festival will take place on August 9.

Of course, everyone knows about the Austin City Limits Music Festival and the South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals. Those events feature what Austin has become known for around the world; great live music. Tens of thousands of music lovers flock to these events to see the international, national and regional acts that they showcase. These events bring in huge amounts of money to the Austin economy. In fact, SXSW is Austin’s highest money-making public event, as reported by Wikipedia.

There are many more music festivals in the Austin area as well. The Old Settler’s Reunion in nearby Driftwood, Texas attracts some of the premier national bluegrass and Americana acts, as well as many of the best regional Texas music groups and songwriters. This festival happens every April and attracts thousands of music fans to the beautiful grounds at the Salt Lick Pavilion and Camp Ben McCulloch.

The Reggae Festival, also in April, and the Austin Celtic Festival in November are just two more of the events held in Austin that feature music as their main raison d’etre. Of course, many other festivals include music in their programs as well. Some of these include Viva Cinco de Mayo in late April/early May, the Austin Fine Arts Festival, at the beginning of April, and the Old Pecan Street Fall Arts Festival in late September.

This latter event began more than 30 years ago to provide family friendly, free admission venue to collect arts and crafts from local and national artists and artisans, experience live music, theater plays, comedy, magic, poetry, film, parades, and take part of a long standing Austin tradition. More than 300,000 people attend this event every year, and festival promoters estimate it generates more than $43 million for the local economy.

Another long-standing, grass-roots festival is Eeyore’s Birthday Party which occurs every year in late April at Pease Park. According to Austin American-Statesman writer Anita Powell. The party has grown considerably since its inception in 1963 by a group of University of Texas students. The free-spirited celebration usually features Maypole dancing, costume contests, a hippie queen pageant, food, birthday cake and entertainment by local bands. This festival, perhaps more than any other, reflects the spirit that Austin is famous (or infamous) for and that inspired the unofficial slogan for the city: “keep Austin weird”.

What about bamboo, wine, watermelon and chili peppers? The Bamboo Festival is presented at Zilker Botanical Gardens in late August every year and features “all things bamboo”. There are at least two important wine festivals in the area: the Texas Hill Country Wine and Food Festival in early April and the Austin Wine Festival in late May. The Chili Pepper Fiesta is held in the town of Elgin, just east of Austin, on the second Saturday in September. The Luling Watermelon Thump in June garners national attention every year with its watermelon seed spitting contest.

All these festivals reflect what the city of Austin has been about through most of its history. It fosters and encourages creativity, diversity, freedom of expression and the celebration of the hard work and enterprise of its citizens.

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The Twin Rivers Media Festival is the first weekend in May every year in Asheville, NC. All proceeds from the festival, after promotional and other expenses, go back to the film makers and media artists. Next year is Twin Rivers Media Festival’s 15th season.

The festivals judges begin selecting films in March and April and continue right through the festival’s official dates, during the first weekend in May, where the finalists are screened in two hour intervals throughout the weekend. The independent media festival typically draws around 150 viewers at each screening or so, for a total of over a thousand or so visitors overall. “The Twin Rivers audience really appreciates the media arts, and this festival gives them a chance to see stuff that might not otherwise be available. We get entries from all across Europe and Asia, as well as all over the Americas, and it’s some of the best in the world,” says Carlos Steward, the festivals founder and driving force.

With 400-500 entries coming in from some of the best independent media artists working all over the world, Twin Rivers focuses on substance instead of glitz, and strives to be more eclectic than the typical film festival. In addition to featuring some of the best independent documentaries, short drama and feature films being made anywhere in the world today, The Twin Rivers Media Festival also offers categories for artists working in CD multimedia, audio media, commercials, internet media and websites. There are even special categories such as “Made on a Mac,” or for projects that deal with outdoor, conservation or environmental themes.

Over the years, Twin Rivers and its predecessors have become extremely popular with independent artists on the West Coast and in film schools. A majority of the US entries come from California, followed by film schools such as NYU and Florida State, then the Southwest. Accomplished professional artists will often be invited to talk about their work and teach workshops. Among students and local budding artists, education is a major draw to the festival. Film makers and other media artist can network, talk about projects and exchange ideas in a supportive setting.

Stewards love of the media arts goes far beyond just film, and he wanted to make his festival more inclusive and open to any media arts. “These art forms are so similar and inter-related,” observes Steward, ” I wanted to do more for independent artists creating amazing work in media besides film.” In the early 80′s, Stewards vision was realized, and a media festival in upstate New York was born. Since then, he has been involved in festivals in states across the country, and most recently has settled in Asheville, North Carolina, where the Twin Rivers Media Arts Festival continues to grow and expand. “Asheville has an amazing community who are very supportive of independent media,” says Steward, “It allows great exposure for artists from the U.S. and other parts of the world.”

As a film student at Florida State University and a documentary film maker in Mexico and Central and South America, Steward learned first hand how difficult it is to get independent film to audiences. “Underground media festivals are a great way to get things shown that normally would not be seen by a very wide audience. That’s where the idea for creating my own film festival began, and this current incarnation here in Asheville is the best so far. “

Asheville offers other advantages, in that although the festival celebrates art from all around the globe, the entire event is organized and produced with local talent. Film judges belong to and are credentialed by MAP (the Media Arts Project) of Western North Carolina. Judges for audio and screen writing come from various professional studios in and around Asheville. Steward believes Asheville to be the perfect community to produce a grassroots media arts festival. “I have been all over the world, and Asheville has one of the most amazing pools of local talent I have ever seen,” notes Steward. He tries to involve as many local artists as possible to ensure that the festival has a true community feel and has many art forms represented.

With 102 World Premiers and 8 North American premiers, the Twin Rivers Media Festival provides some of the best independent screenings to be found anywhere. Jamie Hester, a fan of the festival and regular at The Courtyard Gallery’s Friday night “World Cinema” series commented on some of his favorite entries from last year: “I really enjoyed ‘Fix’ by Tao Ruspoli, and ‘Karearea’ by Sandy Crichton was amazing.” Jarrett Leone, a Twin Rivers volunteer noted, “I liked ‘Camp Woz,’ by Jarrad Kritzstein, and not just because of the name. I also really loved ‘Ancestor Eyes’ by Kalani Queypo, the Native American film maker from California.”

The Twin Rivers Media Festival is not your typical film festival. This amazing showcase of some of the brightest international media artists manages to deliver world class talent without being the least bit pretentious. No Hollywood starlets walking down red carpets into fancy screening venues here. At The Courtyard Gallery, home of The Twin Rivers Media Festival, you are more likely to find yourself in a cozy chair or couch surrounded by one of the most diverse collections of work by local and international visual artists, or sit out in the courtyard itself and enjoy the secluded outdoor screening area.

There are a multitude of reasons artists choose to enter Twin Rivers. Many are interested in the highly popular film categories such as feature film, documentary or short drama. This gives competitive film makers a chance to see how their project stacks up against 100-200 entries from some of the worlds best. Other categories are less competitive than other festivals, and draws entrants who may feel they have a better chance to garner rewards for their work. The top placing winners receive a unique hand-made trophy or plaque made by Mexican artist Cynlos.

Although Twin Rivers is a Labor of Love, and consumes most of Steward’s time from March to early May, he believes it’s well worth it. “Getting a really outstanding entry from an unknown film maker just blows everyone away. This year, one of these was ‘Rabia’ a student film by Muhammad Ali Hasan, about a young Islamic women that straps explosives around her waist and then shows her previous life in flashbacks. It is an amazing little film. Film makers and media artists need audiences to appreciate the enormous work that goes into their projects. Some of these projects are labors of love that can take a decade to make. Being able to bring these products to an appreciative audience is really a wonderful thing to see.”

Jack Moe has over one million words in print in online journals, web magazines and traditional magazine and newspaper publications. He has a Masters in Journalism.

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Organizing Your Fair And Festival Calendar

When you reach the level where you are setting up at many different festivals, fairs, and flea markets than you need to plan well to make sure that you get into the events that you want to get into and that you choose the best fairs for your product. If you plan on participating in several shows as a vendor or performer than you need to get organized. Participating in more than one festival, flea market, or fair can be a great opportunity if you are a vendor to have a chance to test out new markets. For a performer or event vendor you’ll have the chance to win over new fans and build your base. Planning ahead and choosing your festivals wisely is key in organizing your festival calendar. Follow these organizational tips to set up your fair and festival calendar and increase your chances of success on the festival circuit.

Plan Ahead

When organizing your calendar it is wise to plan ahead. Make sure that you book your events ahead of time so that you can be assured that you have a vendor booth at the festival of your choice. If you are a performer you’ll want to send in your audition tape early or contact the event organizer so that you’ll be able to perform during a certain festival. You don’t want to wait until the last minute because things do get full. Since the best fairs and festivals get booked up to a year in advance, it is a good idea to hop on the bandwagon and book your space ahead of time. This can be difficult since you may have to put down a large deposit for an event several months or even a year ahead of time, but this is the only way to guarantee a spot at a good event. You’ll want to plan around the festivals that you want to vend at and make sure they don’t have any conflicting dates. You should also count travel time into the equation. You’ll have to travel from one fair to another and if they are back to back you’ll need to replenish your stock before hitting up the next festival. Make sure that you can make it from one to the other and get enough stock in between. It’s not worth it to sign up for one of them if you won’t be able to make it in time. Logistics are very important when coming up with your festival and fair calendar.

Choose The Right Festivals

When you are creating your calendar, you’ll want to choose wisely about which festivals to vend at. You need to pick the festivals and fairs where you’ll have the best base to vend your product. It can be helpful to talk to other vendors about it before hand so you know what kind of crowd it attracts. Take this into consideration when you are choosing festivals. This is especially important when you have to choose one festival over the other in case of conflicting festivals. It can be hard to decide if you haven’t visited either festival or set up at either one, but take into account the amount of people that generally go to the festival. You can also use other indicators like the location, price of a space, and the length of the festival. Try to ask around as much as you can to determine which festival you should put on your calendar.

More information about different fairs and festivals calendar in USA states you can be found at http://www.fairsandfestivals.net

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Every year one entertainment event in Toronto’s Beach neighbourhood attracts huge worldwide attention: the Toronto International Beaches Jazz Festival. Lido Chilelli, a local entrepreneur, is the person who came up with the idea and who keeps organizing the event year after year, and he definitely had to be included in the Beach article series.

I met Lido at his private home / office located on Queen Street East. The office was buzzing, mail was just being delivered, and important news from sponsors was just coming in. I realized I had to be speedy to catch this busy man in a few free moments.

Born and raised in Toronto, Lido has been living in the Beach for 25 years. His two children attended neighbourhood schools and are active in local sports and culture. Of Italian heritage, he originally grew up in Downsview and studied urban geography at York University. His early work experience included a stint with a special events tour company that would take visitors to NFL games, provide souvenirs for the Grey Cup as well as the papal visit. Event management has long been in Lido’s blood. He ventured forth to become an entrepreneur and opened a bar / restaurant called “Lido’s in the Beach” that was in operation for 17 years. Lido adds that he chose the Beach neighbourhood because it is a close knit, unique community with a wide Torontonian appeal.

He liked the neighbourhood so much that he wanted to open it up to the rest of Toronto. So he got to work, hired live bands, put on some jazz music and dancing at his restaurant. People from all over Toronto started flocking here. Lido’s drew thousands of people into the Beach neighbourhood.

Based on this experience Lido took his ideas to the next level: he concluded that there should be a jazz festival. He said “We have the park, we have the musicians, and we have the music lovers.” All the ingredients were there. Lido admits he knew nothing about festival organization; he simply used his common sense. In 1989 the first Beaches Jazz Festival was kicked off. It was held in the park – Kew Gardens – and lasted for two days with an attendance of a couple of thousand people. The great thing was that the festival was free, and its popularity exploded virtually overnight. A trip to the park to see some live jazz was the perfect family outing. Lido describes the setting in the park as “a recipe for a musical love-in.”

The residents wanted more, so he decided to develop an activity during the week and that is how Streetfest was born. Streetfest came into being as an original event showcasing bands between Woodbine and Beech Avenues. During the first few years it was held from 7 to 11 pm, and the roads were still open to traffic. The event’s popularity spread like wildfire, people were dancing on the sidewalks and spilling out onto the streets. Queen Street was finally closed off to road traffic in 1995, and as Lido says “The rest is history”.

The local impact of the Beaches Jazz Festival is enormous: Lido recently commissioned an economic impact study which concluded that the Beaches Jazz Festival directly or indirectly attracts about $38 million every year to the City of Toronto. For many local businesses it is the best time of the year. This year the Beaches Jazz Festival will generate over 120 million media impressions, and during 2006 the website had 25 million hits from all over the world. The Beaches Jazz Festival has become a tourist stop for people from all over the world and provides a tremendous boost to local hotels and restaurants.

But not only business people love this event, local and international music aficionados alike have fallen in love with this festival: in a recent ECOS/ Toronto Star Poll the Beaches Jazz Festival was voted Toronto’s favourite music festival. Now in its 19th year, musicians come from all over the world. They love the crowd and the area because it offers so much fellowship and a really special atmosphere.

The costs of putting on a free festival are funded almost exclusively through corporate sponsorships. Less than 10% of the budget is covered by funds from public sources. Lido adds it has become increasingly challenging to find sponsorships; particularly this year he has noticed a change in the corporate marketplace, and some corporations are moving away from sponsoring community events. Lido commented that it is a challenge every year to put the festival on because things like policing, insurance and garbage removal cost more. Every year it gets harder.

He calls the festival a labour of love; it is “like a baby that you care for”. He concludes when you are in the arts that’s the way it is. Next year the festival is going to celebrate its 20th anniversary and Lido sighs that “even after all these years essentially you are still a starving artist”.

Getting a street festival off the ground is not easy, and Lido adds that you have to be sensitive to the needs of the local residents. Working with the businesses and residents involves an educational process, and all the stake-holders need to find a good way of co-existing. What worked in Lido’s favour was that he himself is a resident of the neighbourhood, he is part of the community and works with the neighbourhood all the time. He would find out right away if something needed adjusting.

Lido works with a staff of 12 employees and about 200 volunteers. The Beaches International Jazz Festival Society is a non-profit organization that gets its funding solely through corporate sponsorships. But Lido’s organizational and promotional talents are not limited to the Beaches Jazz Festival: for 2007 his event management company, Beach Towel Productions, will handle a whole series of other events:

- The 3rd Annual Barrie Waterfront Festival featuring buskers, music, street theatre, fireworks and other activities.
- The 3rd Annual Distillery Blues Festival, highlighting Rhythm & Blues at Toronto’s Distillery District
- The 5th Annual 95.3 New Country Canada Day Festival, including food, arts & crafts and free concerts at Sunnyside Beach. http://www.country953.com
- The 10th Annual Toronto Fiesta, with more than 50 bands performing on St. Clair Avenue West near Landsdowne.
- Parti Gras! at the Distillery – Toronto’s very own “Mardi Gras” party, complete with live music, New Orleans style cuisine, street performers, artisans and a fashion show.
- The 19th Annual Beaches International Jazz Festival, featuring over 70 bands.
- The 2nd Annual Y108 Picnic in the Park where Y108 presents Canada’s premier up and coming bands at Gage Park in Brampton.
- The 2nd Annual Wasaga Beachfest, featuring Canadian performers, arts & crafts and a children’s play area in Wasaga Beach.
- The 16th Annual Beachfest – MIX 99.9 – showcasing top level Canadian bands, arts & crafts and a children’s play area at Sunnyside Park.

All the special events that Lido organizes take place in the busy summer months from May to September. He says you have to be really organized and work together with a good team of people to make it all happen. This year the Toronto International Beaches Jazz Festival will be held from July 20 to 29 and will be kicked off with Parti Gras! – a New Orleans style celebration in the Distillery District. The Ovation of Jazz will be held on July 25, 2007 at the Balmy Beach Club as the official launch of the Beaches International Jazz Festival. It is a tasteful event offering ample opportunity to rub elbows with the Who’s Who and Future Stars of the Jazz industry!

The TD Canada Trust 2007 Jazz Workshop and Lecture series provides a number of workshops such as “Afro Cuban Rhumba”, “The Art of Jazz Singing”, jazz composition workshops and others more. Streetfest serves up a whole smorgasbord of live music, from the finest Big Band, Jazz, Rhythm & Blues and Soul in Canada to an international collection of Acid, Bebop, Columbian, Dixieland, Flamenco, Folk, Funk, Latin, Reggae and Samba performers. The biggest stars are featured on the Main Stage on the Saturday and Sunday of the event.

Queen Street has been hopping east of Woodbine, and every year the festival gets bigger. At the moment discussions are underway about expanding the programming to the area immediately west of Woodbine. The merchants in that area have indicated an interest in becoming part of the festival, and even last year there were a couple of bands playing there on the street in front of local businesses.

Lido Chilelli has become a fixture on Toronto’s entertainment scene, and for his work in the community Lido has won numerous awards from community organizations, the city and the province, including the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. He was also honoured as the Lion’s Club’s ‘Lion of the Year’. He has been featured in a variety of national magazines and is a founding member of the Community Police Liaison Committee for the Beach.

One project that is dear to Lido’s heart is fundraising for the Toronto East General Hospital. The Beaches Jazz Festival raised $200,000 for the Hospital and built the brand-new maternity ward at Toronto East General. Lido and his organization work with the hospital on a regular basis.

His work day is packed, a standard work day goes at least from 9 am to 6 pm. Much of his job involves organizational duties in-house and meetings out of the office. The average work day has about one or two meetings, sometimes there are three or four. He says he has good staff members that he can rely on to help him get all these events off the ground.

From left to right: Rico Ferrara: Artistic and Stage Manager; Lido Chilelli; Diane Wilson: coop student from George Brown College, and Pat Carpignano: Operations Manager.

With almost 20 years of experience and diverse events throughout Toronto and Southern Ontario, Lido Chilelli is definitely the go-to man to bring together free music, special events and fun for the whole family.

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions(http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences & interesting life journeys, interviews with travellers and travel experts, cross-cultural issues, and many other features.

Susanne has recently published a series of FREE travel ebooks about destinations such as Spain, Cuba, Mexico, Sicily, New York City, Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Nova Scotia and many more. Visit Travel and Transitions – FREE ebooks(www.travelandtransitions.com/ebooks.html)”Life is a Journey – Explore New Horizons”.

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