The new and unique Southern Maryland Blue Balkony Festival cannot happen without you...
Sponsor now! Call 301-743-3040 ext 5 Today
The Indian Head Center for the Arts, in cooperation with the Town of Indian Head, requests your Sponsorship of our Southern Maryland Folk Fusion Festival: the Blue Balkony Festival. This unique festival is first in a series of annual festivals to be held at the Pavilion in Indian Head, MD as part of the comprehensive revitalization of the region.
Sponsorship Opportunities for the Blue Balkony Festival:
$5,001 and up! – VIP sponsor
$1,001 to $5,000 – International sponsor
$501 to $1,000 – Official sponsor
$150 to $500 – Community sponsor
All sponsors receive recognition on our web site, news releases, on-site signage, on-site program guide, electronic newsletter and radio.
WHY SPONSOR the Blue Balkony Festival?
Increase visibility for your business by having your name and logo on all Festival’s programs and flyers, including newsletter to be distributed internationally and to all Embassies in DC (for sponsors over $1,000).
Show your employees and clients your dedication to the region and society in which they live and are dedicated to their well-being and education. Add attractive benefits to your positions.
Keep your clients entertained and get an opportunity to meet representatives of other sponsoring organizations and network in a fun, enjoyable environment.
Boost your sales by getting the attendees of the festival interested in your company and take an occasion to showcase your products, services and projects (for sponsors over $500).
Get new clients and recruit new employees.
Give your employees an occasion to be involved in Art programs, express their creativity and increase their imaginative potential. This will allow your employees to keep connected with the community and maintain a high level of satisfaction in their living and working place.
Enhance the spirit of initiative of your audiences and their willingness to invest in original projects and products.
Get free tickets to the festival for you or your employees (2 tickets for Community Sponsors, 5 for Official Sponsors, 10 for International Sponsors, 20 for VIP sponsors)
Get free access to the Black Box Theatre for galas, VIP meetings, conferences, inaugurations of new products or projects, and parties or networking events (for VIP sponsors).
The Southern Maryland Blue Balkony Festival is to be held on September 20, 2008 at the Village Green and Pavilion in Indian Head, MD. It was born from our desire to address local minorities and to create an opportunity for musical dialogue between African-American Blues artists from Southern Maryland and Roma (Gypsy) artists from Washington DC, NY and Serbia. It aims at providing citizens of Maryland, Virginia and DC with a fun and original approach to Blues and Gypsy music and dances and culture.
African-Americans and Roma (Gypsies) have in common a similar history of discrimination and oppression. Roma are considered the black people of Eastern Europe and have limited access to education, work and health system. Slavery in the U.S. and in Romania both ended in the late 19th century. It is in that period that the first Roma emigrated from Romania to the United States, importing their culture and their music. In parallel, African-Americans were developing their own original American music and slowly winning recognition among the white majority, leading on the path to emancipation. Today, Blues is an integral part of the American cultural heritage and Blues bands are flourishing around the country, both among African-American people and the white population. Gypsy music keeps fascinating more and more people, including stars such as Madonna who has invited to perform as first act for its upcoming Hard Candy tour our dear friend and amazing 8-string guitar master, Vadim Kolpakov, who would otherwise be participating in the Blue Balkony Festival. Nonetheless, we have the extreme pleasure to be receiving on our stage the Serbian Gypsy group “KAL” (“black” in Serbian), who will come especially from Serbia to perform at our Festival. We will collaborate on this project with Voice of Roma, the major Roma organization in the U.S., with the Serbian Embassy in Washington D.C., which will provide us with the publicity for the event, and with Madam’s Organ Blues Bar, which will host our fundraising night on August 21. Yet, we are still looking for further donations and sponsorships in order to make this event possible and to ensure the appearance of the KAL, the Balkanics, Petra Gelbart, ACME Blues Company, Little Bit a Blues Band and Blue Smoke Band.
The Blue Balkony Festival provides:
high-quality artistic innovation and educational experience for all ages and all social groups.
a forum for attendants to meet, discuss and reflect upon their community and their participation in the preservation of their heritage.
a platform for local businesses to inform current and potential clients on their business, products and projects.
Giving the region international visibility, this Festival will mark the apogee of our efforts toward the social and economic development of Indian Head. By offering international high-quality Art events, the region is increasing its potential for businesses and tourism. Besides empowering local artists, we are working on building strong and skilled new generations by improving their creative potential and spirit of initiative. Through entertainment, the Indian Head Center for the Arts is quickly becoming the cornerstone of artistic, social and economic development for all generations and all ethnic groups in Southern Maryland.
We need your support to bring this exciting festival to Indian Head! Please consider a generous position on the ladder of contributors.
The Performers
KAL, coming from Serbia
Musicians: Dragan Ristic - vocals, guitar, shargjia Dragan Mitrovic - accordion Vladan Mitrovic - accordion, backing vocals Djordje Belkic - violin Dragan Runic - double bass Neat Junuzi - percussions
A Serbian-based Roma music group, KAL, has become an important new voice in the fight for Roma rights, with their eponymous debut album (Tango Records, 2006). KAL blends an unlikely combination of Middle Eastern, Argentinian, Turkish, Indian, and even Jamaican influences, musical genres that the band has absorbed into its repertoire.
KAL were formed by the Ristic brothers, Dushan and Dragan, to confront the prejudices and clichés the Roma face. The Ristics grew up in Central Serbia where they lead, every summer, the Amala Summer School (www.amala.com), a two week gathering at their home village in Valjevo where students from across the world come to learn Roma language, music and history.
Petra Gelbart
Originally from Czech Republic, Petra Gelbart is in the final stages of an ethnomusicology Ph.D. at Harvard University, where she has assistant-taught music history, Czech conversation, and led a tutorial in Romani. She is a member of the Russian-Romani ensemble VIA Romen and has volunteered for several Romani NGOs.
Petra Gelbart, also a specialist in Gypsy traditional music, has performed traditional and original Roma songs vocally and on the accordion at venues such as the California Herdeljezi Festival, Hungarian House (NY) and the The Ida Kelarova International Festival at Svojanov Castle, Czech Republic.
The Balkanics
Varol Saatcioglu (keyboard, vocals, bagpipe) Tzvety Weiner (vocals) Jeff Suzda (saxophone, clarinet) Daniel Rozas (clarinet) Len Newman (bass, rhythm guitar, tambura) Bryndyn Weiner (drums, vocals)
The music of the Balkans they play is so interesting and challenging that they make everybody get on their feet. The instrumentation that they use is typical for most wedding bands popular today throughout the Balkans. The clarinet, the saxophone, the keyboard and the bass/rhythm guitar — all modern electric instruments of the West — give this music of odd modes a very peculiar sound. It is truly appealing to younger crowds because it’s loud, exciting and very driving, even somewhat hypnotic. They are the only band of its kind in the Washington, D.C. area.
Little Bit a Blues Band
A D.C. favorite, Little Bit A Blues, which combines Warner Williams' warm vocals and Piedmont guitar picking with Jay Summerour's harmonica. Warner is a native of Takoma Park, Md., and has been part of Washington's blues scene since the '50s. Jay is a veteran of the Starland Vocal Band and the Cambridge Harmonica Orchestra. The pair has played the Smithsonian Folklife Festival and the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival. They opened the American Roots 4th of July Festival on the Mall. --excerpt from dcblues.org
Williams and Summerour began playing together during the early 1990s, sometimes calling themselves “Little Bit of Blues.” They have been featured in concerts, on television and radio, and at festivals across the country, including appearances on the National Public Radio series Folk Masters, at the National and Lowell folk festivals and on the National Mall during the American Roots Fourth of July celebration.
Guitarist and songster Warner Williams of Takoma Park MD is one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Piedmont blues--an Eastern seaboard style that incorporates fiddle tunes, ballads, country and popular songs, ragtime, and gospel. With a jaunty rhythmic finger-picked guitar-style and an eclectic repertoire that ranges from blues to honky-tonk, jazz crooning to children’s songs, Warner Williams is an old-style community entertainer of national significance. He is joined by Maryland native Jay Summerour on harmonica and backing vocals. Together they conjure up an historic Piedmont duo like Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee as they make their own way on the blues highway. --Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Michael James "Blues" Baker and Blue Smoke Blues Band
Blue Smoke Blues Band originated in 1989 with the meeting of Mike Baker and Dan Milkman. Mike Baker was a folk guitarist and singer in the Laurel area. A mutual friend, Dominic Vigliotti had been counseling Mike through a tough time that he had been having since he had blinded in a swimming pool accident. Mr. Vigliotti suggested that Mike meet a colleague of his from Rosso Bros. Music named Dan Milkman. With lots of coaxing from both Dominic and Dan, Mike Baker and Dan Milkman formed a blues group named Blue Smoke Blues Band.
The band consisted of Mike, Dan and Bill Falk. Bill Falk had previously played with Dan in a local rock band called Bleeding Heart and the Delta Devils. They added a bass player by the name of Rob Cooper from the Next Step band. Their first performance was booked at a Laurel club called The Round Table. From that point, the next gig was at a local Laurel club called Delaney's Pub. The band was surprised by the supportive crowd that showed up at the gig. The owner, Gino, told the band at the end of the night, that he had the biggest night ever. For two years, the band performed weekly at Delaney’s Pub in Laurel. These were the Thursday Night Blues nights. Each Thursday night that Blue Smoke performed was packed. Within that period, the band gained high recognition throughout the Baltimore-Washington corridor. They performed at such clubs as: The Full Moon Saloon, Armadillo's, Jett's Vegas Lounge, The Grog and Tankard, Dead Eye Saloon, The Baltimore Blues Festival, Baltimore's Art Scape Festival, The Laurel Main Street Festival, Concerts in the Park for the City of Laurel, and Columbia, Md, 4th of July Festivities.
The band has now been together for sixteen years. Core members remain Mike Baker, Dan Milkman, Leo Aspiras and Bill Falk. The band utilizes a rotation of musicians including Pat Day on harmonica, Jimmy Orr on keyboards, bass players Barry Novacell and Steve Shaw and drummer, Kim Martin.
ACME Blues Company ACME Blues Company is a high-energy electric blues band from the Washington DC area. Their mix of traditional and contemporary blues music has an original sound that always fills the dance floor. This band has gained a reputation for delivering highly charged and memorable performances all around Virginia, Maryland and DC. The band features Waverly Milor on harp and lead vocals, Steve Remy on electric guitar and lead vocals, Steve “Wolf” Crescenze on bass, and Chris Ruckman on drums, and our newest addition, Zach Sweeney on electric guitar. Acme plays originals and covers going back through the history of blues music.
Multiple Wammie Award Nominees! 2007: Best Blues Band 2007: Best Blues Male Vocalist (Waverly Milor) 2006: Best Blues Recording ("I Think I Made It")
Waverly Milor -- Harp & Lead Vocals In addition to playing harp, Wave is the lyricist for ACME’s wide range of originals. Wave is an active member of the DC Blues Society and plays with bands such as Blues on Board, Daryl Davis Band and Tornado Alley. Wave has jammed in such cities as Pittsburgh, Asheville & Wilmington, NC, Portland (OR), Cookeville (TN) and in Copenhagen, Denmark. In Oct. 2005, Wave performed at the 25th Annual King Biscuit Blues Festival with Richard Johnston in West Helena, Arkansas.
Steve Remy -- Guitar & Vocals Steve is one of the founding members of ABC and has over 25 years experience playing guitar (both lead and rhythm) for several bands from Phoenix, Arizona to Washington DC to the Eastern Shore of Southern Delaware. Steve brings the blues alive with his fiery licks, and in his playing, you can hear influences of Freddie King, Albert Collins, Tommy Castro, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan just to name a few. Steve plays from his heart and soul.
Chris Ruckman -- Drums Chris, a.k.a. Topher, has performed with CMLC, the Velvet Alley Blues Band, the Red Brown and Blues and others. Topher knows how to sound good, and he ought to because he has a PhD in acoustical engineering. His influences include Vinnie Colaiuta, Chester Thompson and Billy Lee Lewis.
Steve "Wolf" Crescenze -- Bass Guitar & Vocals Steve started playing bass in the DC area in the 1960s, most notably touring with Sassafras Tea. His playing and love of the blues began in the late 60's with such influences as B.B.King, Paul Butterfield, John Mayall, Eric Clapton and Cream. Recently, Wolf has performed with Big Boy Little, Linwood Taylor, Clarence “The Bluesman” Turner, The Skyla Burrell Band, One Bad Jack and DrMove.
Organization details Name: Chesapeake Bay Floating Theatre t/a Indian Head Center for the Arts, Black Box Theatre Address: 4185 Indian Head Highway P.O. Box 1098 Indian Head, MD 20640 Tel. number: 301-743-3040 Contact: Peggy Palmer, Executive Director Contact number: 301-848-8267 Organization Mission
Chesapeake Bay Floating Theatre, Inc a Maryland 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation, manages the Black Box Theatre at the Indian Head Center for the Arts, in Indian Head, MD.
The Indian Head Center for the Arts is a forum for the grassroots development of artistic expression in Indian Head, Charles County and the surrounding areas.
The venue and its programs offer aspiring professional artists and arts organizations a bridge to the established cultural community of the Greater Washington Metropolitan area.
In addition to a full season of professional theatrical productions, the Center's programs include weekly blues jam sessions, held on Wednesdays all summer, the Stage Training Apprentice Mentor Program (STAMP) and summer theatre camp, and the Blue Balkony Festival.
CBFT’s objectives: CBFT’s primary mission is to promote the Arts in Southern Maryland and to encourage community development through education programs, and by performing and promoting Art events and theatre performances. Furthermore, the organization aims at giving international outreach and visibility to the Southern Maryland region by attracting arts and entertainment consumers to the area and by upholding a reputation for providing, innovative, high quality professional performances and education. The long term objective of CBFT is to develop the region as an arts friendly cultural community and tourist destination, comprised of a culturally sophisticated audience and professional productions. Children are the future consumers and producers of arts in the area, and their educational development is a focus of the IHCFTA. The children are given an active social role and are provided with the necessary tools to apprehend the world with critical eyes and with a creative mind able of resolving problems and moving towards the betterment of the region. CBFT is involved in creating dialog between generations and between cultures, ensuring the unity of the community around a common interest: a safe enjoyable place where children and adults alike can learn, create, share experiences, participate in the community life and enjoy international high-quality Art.
The Indian Head Center for the Arts is looking toward the future of Indian Head as an arts-friendly community flourishing in Southern Maryland. It will provide all generations and all ethnic groups in Indian Head with affordable high quality Art performances and events, including the Blue Balkony Festival. Because our children are fundamental instruments of this future, the Center has taken a role in the education of the youth of Charles County through Art-in-Education programs and theatre summer camps. Far beyond simple entertainment, the Indian Head Center for the Arts participates in stimulating vitality and interest in Indian Head. In time, the theatre will attract business and shops and will extend its reach to further audiences from Washington DC, Alexandria and beyond. The numerous volunteers, from all around the county, that help us at CBFT and the IHCFA show the shared desire of the local population to find its rebirth in Arts and Culture. CBFT’s Board of Directors Spike Parrish - President Evelyn Hungerford, Vice President Ed Rice, 2nd Vice President Rob Benson, Treasurer Jewell Bragunier Pearl "Sam" Ziesing Brenda Bush John Bloom Mary Kevin Welch Peggy Palmer (Executive Director)
