The Savage Wonder Festival cometh
Today's finally the day!
Folks,
We’ve been yammering on and on about the Savage Wonder Festival of Veterans in the Arts for about four months and, well, TODAY’S THE DAY.
And the weather is supposed to be beautiful.
OK, I’m actually writing this Saturday night. I’ve just come back from our pre-festival dinner at Oceane Vineyards which was nothing short of unbelievable. About 70% of our performers were able to make it in time - sorry Amy Sexauer who is hovering in the air somewhere in the northeast still - and Oceane Vineyards was the perfect place for everyone to mix and mingle, collaborate and take in some of the most breathtaking scenery in the Hudson Valley. Did I mention you can park at Oceane Vineyards and get a shuttle to the festival?
I got goosebumps watching Derek Stoner and Gethen Jenkins do small, impromptu sets, especially when Derek and Gethen’s fiddle player collaborated on a song. Then there was seeing the magical relationship between Buck Bolyard and Shairi Engle as they plotted and planned their set tomorrow. Or Buck and Mason Rodrigue fanboying over Dave “the Bullet” Smith. Watching Scott Mann and Derek Stoner hang out. Or Leilani Squire being all sneaky and incognito and Doc Oliver coming in jet lagged and smiling. Seeing Mason and Jesus Daniel Hernandez swap hacking stories. Or seeing Elize McKelvey and Dex talking all Marine-ish. It was surreal to see these folks that we’d been promoting finally all here in the flesh, meeting each other and becoming family.
You don’t want to miss what’s about to occur.
The festival kicks off at noon. The outdoor portion shuts down at 8pm. That’s eight hours of music, dance, poetry and films. Of course, at 7pm, Scott Mann’s filmed play Last Out starts and goes until about 9:30pm with a Q&A after. All told, about ten hours of veteran artists flexing their words, music, and visuals. Dave Smith, the Guinness Book of World Record-holding Human Cannonball will get shot out of his cannon twice - first one around noon, second one around 6pm.
Tickets are available at the door or online. They are still just $5.
Now, there are two things I haven’t mentioned until now.
Did you know we have a silent auction going on? That’s right - from an authentic Afghan black powder pistol to a custom drawing by Dennis the Menace artist Ron Ferdinand, we have a bunch of enticing items that should appeal at all price points.
Not geographically close but still want to be part of the action? You can watch our livestream! Starting at 2pm EST, we will be showing the live performances on the 680-seat indoor main stage of the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center. Don’t wait for the pictures or video to follow - come join us live!
If you are geographically close, though, we look forward to seeing you. If Saturday night’s pre-show dinner was any indication, today is going to be the start of something very special.
See you soon,
Chris