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SUMMER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION 
SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 2008 / 5PM-SUNSET
FREE / RAIN OR SHINE

BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO SOCRATES SCULPTURE PARK'S 7TH ANNUAL SOLSTICE EVENT TO WELCOME THE SUMMER AND CELEBRATE THE LONGEST DAY OF THE YEAR!

- "Pagan Rights" musical performance by My Barbarian
- "Cinema On Air" interactive sound and video "drive-in" by free103point9 and Electronic Arts Intermix
- "Drum Circle" by JustinJustin and the Alé-Alé Drummers
- Soulstice Ritual by urban shaman Mama Donna
- Solstice artmaking workshops presented by Materials for the Arts, The Noguchi Museum, Queens Museum of Art, Free Style Arts Association, and Socrates Sculpture Park
- Transformation! Face Painting by Agostino Arts

Socrates Sculpture Park will present its seventh annual Summer Solstice Celebration.  This FREE event celebrates the beginning of summer and the longest day of the year with performances, music, art, and food.  Visitors can take part in free Solstice artmaking workshops, have their faces painted, enjoy music, picnic in the Park, or just watch the fun! 

My Barbarian will present "Pagan Rights," an open-air musical performance that celebrates the spirituality movements of the 1970s through a series of theatrical vignettes in which the players represent a Tarot-reading commune, separatist tree-huggers, an Egyptocentric cult, and Wiccan druids, among other eccentric group identities.  The three singer/actors Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon and Alexandro Segade will perform soaring harmonies and comedy routines over a pre-recorded orchestra reminiscent of the progressive pop of the psychedelic era, accompanied by live music from flute player Giles Miller and guitarist Tim Koh, backed by mask-wearing dancers and giant cardboard puppets.  A sincere spectacle, "Pagan Rights" is a thoughtful, and fun, exploration of the hippie diaspora, tracing counter-cultural histories as a means of making sense, and fun, of the present day.  "Pagan Rights" debuted in 2005 at the Evidence Room Theater, LA, and has been performed at venues such as the Hammer Museum, LA; REDCAT, LA;  Underground, Drake Hotel, Toronto; Torpedo, Oslo, Norway; and Participant Inc., NY.

free103point9 , in collaboration with Electronic Arts Intermix and Socrates Sculpture Park, invites visitors to join them for a summertime "drive-in," leaving the car at home and incorporating audience participation. "Cinema On Air" will be an evening of projected silent video works, selected from the EAI Collection, including Vito Acconci, Barbara Buckner, Dennis Oppenheim, Martha Rosler, Wolf Vostell, and Jud Yalkut and Nam June Paik; accompanied by two simultaneous sound performances from Damian Catera, Ferrum Virgo, ben owen, and Matt Wellins heard through radio heaphones. Take a seat in the park, tune-in to either of the two live soundtracks, watch the works in silence, or sample all three experiences. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own radios and headphones. A limited number of radios with headphones will be available on site.

JustinJustin and the Alé-Alé Drummers will also be in attendance, performing "Drum Circle" with emphasis on crowd participation.  Alé-Alé Foundation is an artistic movement founded by JustinJustin that includes Drummers, Brazilian Samba Dancers and Capoeiristas.  The Alé-Alé Drummers actively perform throughout the Metro Area with a vast array of talented musicians and special guests.

Mama Donna (a.k.a. Donna Henes) is an internationally acclaimed spiritual teacher, popular speaker, and award-winning writer specializing in multi-cultural ritual celebrations of the cycles of the seasons and the seasons of our lives. Her joyful celebration of celestial events have introduced ancient traditional rituals and contemporary ceremonies to millions of people in more than one hundred cities for thirty-three years.  For a fourth consecutive year, Mama Donna will attend Socrates' Summer Solstice Celebration to present her festive Soulstice Ritual.

Kids can participate in creative artmaking workshops throughout the event, presented by Socrates Sculpture Park, Materials for the Arts, The Noguchi Museum, Free Style Arts Association and the Queens Museum of Art; or have their faces painted by Agostino Arts , Transformation! Facepainting.

Food will be available for purchase.  The Park offers the perfect setting to have a picnic and enjoy the view as the sun sets over the Manhattan skyline. 

Socrates Sculpture Park is grateful for the support and generosity of Con Edison. 

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York City Council. 

Special thanks to the City of New York, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Queens Borough President Helen M. Marshall, City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, City Councilmember Eric Gioia, and the City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation, Commissioner Adrian Benepe.
 
Special thanks to Plant Specialists, Inc.

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