Second Annual East Village Arts Festival at Tompkins Square Library

Program cover for the Second Annual East Village Arts Festival The New York Public Library's second annual East Village Arts Festival will kick off Saturday, December 1 and run through December 15. Throughout those two weeks, there will be all kinds of performances, workshops, displays by local artists, and visits from local organizations.

We are also collaborating with area galleries for our first-ever Gallery Walk. Please stop by the Library after November 23 for a flyer, which you can get stamped at each gallery you visit. Participating galleries will have flyers available during the festival as well. Visit at least four galleries between December 1 and 15, and you can enter a raffle for some fabulous prizes! 

Take a look at the events listed below, and stop by to check them out! 

 

 

Saturday, December 1 at 11 AM
Drag Queen Story Hour with Rev. Yolanda: Drag Queen Story Hour brings drag queens and children together for a magical hour of storytelling and crafts, in celebration of gender diversity and dress-up! In this popular children's literacy program, drag queens read stories and help kids make and decorate their own crowns. For children of all ages.

Saturday, December 1 at 11 AM
How to Haiku: A Workshop: Get started with haiku or sharpen your skills. Indoor discussion followed by outdoor poetry composition. This workshop will be held in our second floor community room. Registration opens Saturday, November 17. Led by Jeffrey Rabkin. 

Saturday, December 1 at 1 PM
Walking Tour of the homes and venues of gay and lesbian writers and artists in the East Village. Led by library manager Corinne Neary and local street photographer Michael Paul. 

Saturday, December 1 at 3 PM
Bilingual Poetry Reading: Curated by Marta Lopez-Luaces. Poets: Ruth Danon (USA),  Alberto Valdivia Baselli (Peru), Inmaculada Lara Bonilla (Spain). 

December 3 and 12, 4 PM-6 PM; December 8, 3 PM-5 PM 
Information table from the Educational Alliance.  Educational Alliance brings together, and partners with, diverse communities in Lower Manhattan, offering individuals and families high-quality, multi-generational programs and services that enhance their well-being and socioeconomic opportunities.

Monday, December 3 at 4 PM
3D Doodling for Teens and Tweens: 3Doodler is a 3D doodling pen that allows you to create objects from drawing in the air or on surfaces. Come join us as we create physical structures from 3Doodler pens! 

Monday, December 3 at 5 PM
Music Performance: Acoustic singer / songwriter Chris Michael.

Monday, December 3 at 5:30 PM
The Art of Dance: Move your body to the music! Have fun while you create art with every move you make! No requirements, everyone welcome. Bring a towel or an exercise mat. Come in comfortable clothing.

December 4, 6, 11, and 13, 4 PM-6 PM 
Information table from the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation (GVSHP): The GVSHP was founded in 1980 to preserve the architectural heritage and cultural history of Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo.

Tuesday, December 4 at 6 PM
CANCELED. This program has been canceled due to unforseen circumstances. We will try to reschedule at a later date. Anything That Burns You: A Portrait of Lola Ridge, Radical Poet. With author Terese Svoboda. Anarchist, feminist, and experimental poet Lola Ridge grew up in New Zealand, wrote bad girl poems on the Lower East Side, and led a wild life in the Village. When she died in 1941, the New York Times said she was one of America's most important poets.

Wednesday, December 5, 3 PM-5 PM Music Performance: Chamber Jazz. Musicians: Rocco John Iacovone- Sax, Jack DeSalvo-Guitar, Phil Sirois-Bass, Ras Moshe Burnett-Flute/Tenor Sax, Lee Odom-Clarinet 

Wednesday, December 5 at 3:30 PM
Children's Hanukkah Craft: Come make a free holiday craft! We will supply all materials. 

Wednesday, December 5 at 4:30 PM
Art Opening for the Sixth Street Youth Program: Artists will be displaying their work, a community mapping project where they are exploring the history of different places and establishments in the community.

Wednesday, December 5 at 5:30 PM
This is What Happened: An Art as Experience DREAM REMIX from Mike TaylorDreams are the stories we tell ourselves every night. Everyone writes these stories, all the time. What happens in a dream is an actual experience you have, while asleep, that affects you and informs you and speaks to you about your life. Come by for the live Remix of audio recordings created in October.   

Thursday, December 6 at 4 PM 
Bird Art Open Studio with Washington Square Park Eco Projects: Try your hand at biological illustration with bird species you can find in New York City such as the Red-tailed Hawk, Rock Dove (aka pigeon), Magnolia Warbler, White-throated Sparrow, and more. We will provide the bird specimens and art supplies. Open to all ages and abilities.

Thursday, December 6 at 6 PM
Bit by Byte: Keeping it Together in Digital Theatre Archives: Although theater is inherently live, most of the work of creating it happens in digital environments. How will libraries preserve the scripts, designs, and publicity in the next century when so little is being originally produced on paper? Billy Rose Theatre Division Curator Doug Reside will discuss digital theater archives from around the country, how they are constructed, and what they reveal about theater history.

Friday, December 7 at 3:30 PM 
Children's St. Nicholas Day Craft: Come make a free holiday craft! We will supply all materials.  East Village Arts Festival pink text logo

Friday, December 7 at 5:30 PM 
Central Park Love Song: Wandering Beneath the Heaventrees: Stephen Wolf, a neighborhood author who lived on East First street from 1976 to 2000, will tell about his recent book, Central Park Love Song  and share his Lower East Side experience.

Saturday, December 8 at 11 AM
Jewelry Making: A Workshop:  Led by award-winning local jewelry artist Joan Reinmuth, this class will apply complex ideas by using up-cycled elements, simple tools, and techniques. Bring your own lost broken jewelry pieces or dig through Joan's curious collection. Registration opens Saturday, November 24. 

Saturday, December 8 at 1 PM
Walking Tour of the homes and venues of gay and lesbian writers and artists in the East Village. Led by library manager Corinne Neary and local street photographer Michael Paul. 

Saturday, December 8 at 3 PM 
Beyond Group: Jazz Explorations and Improvisations: Cheryl Pyle: C flute / alto flute,  Michael Eaton: Soprano sax, Claire de Brunner: bassoon, Jamie Baum: alto flute, Gene Coleman: bass flute.

Saturday, December 8 from 3 PM - 4:45 PM 
The Seasons of Tompkins Square Park: Slide Projection of 58 images by Ana Marton

Monday, December 10 at 1 PM 
Matinee Movie: The General (1926; 79 mins.): Directed by Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckmann, Eddie Cline. Consistently ranked among the greatest films ever made, Buster Keaton's The General is so brilliantly conceived and executed that it continues to inspire awe and laughter with every viewing. Silent movie.

Monday, December 10 at 3:30 PM 
Children's Santa Claus Craft: Come make a free holiday craft! We will supply all materials. 

Monday, December 10 at 4:00 PM The Nylon Wound Guitar Trio will perform original arrangements and compositions of classical, pop &contemporary classics, including the first performance of Tre-Blue by Joseph Parisi.

Monday, December 10 at 5:30 PM
The Art of Dance: Move your body to the music! Have fun while you create art with every move you make! No requirements, everyone welcome. Bring a towel or an exercise mat. Come in comfortable clothing.

Tuesday, Decmber 11 at 5 PM Members of the Library’s Writing/Performance Lab will read their work, including excerpts from various short stories, memoirs, and other works. Facilitated by Armand Ruhlman. 

Tuesday, December 11 at 6 PM
Live Music by Chris Rael and Church of Betty: New York's progressive world pop orchestra since 1988. Trained in India, Chris writes and sings English songs with South Asian and other international flavors, such as Indian sitar and tabla, African percussion, bowed strings, and double reeds. 

Wednesday, December 12 at 2 PM
GVSHP Curator Tour of Andy Warhol: Endangered Species at the East Village Ukrainian Museum: In iconic silkscreened colors, Warhol's 1983 "Endangered Species" series sheds a fascinating new light on his legacy, using his platform to raise worldwide awareness for endangered wildlife. In a guided tour of these works, we will learn about how this series came to be and explore Warhol himself. This event is provided by the GVSHP. Registration required, using the above link. 

Wednesday, December 12 at 3:30 PM 
Children's Holiday Cards Craft: Come make a free holiday craft! We will supply all materials. 

Wednesday, December 12 at 6 PM
Live Music: The Art of the Album. Wilco's 2001 album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot will be performed live, in its entirety, by Gerritt Reeves. 

Thursday, December 13 at 2 PM 
Shakespeare Reading: The Tompkins Square Library Shakespeare group will read scenes in our first-floor reading room. 

Thursday, December 13 at 3:30 PM 
Children's Kwanzaa Craft: Come make a free holiday craft! We will supply all materials. 

Thursday, December 13 at 5 PM 
Music Performance: EL&G Guitar & Voice: EL&G is a duo combining the talents of vocalist Elizabeth Luthringer and guitarist Gregory Askins. They will be performing classical arias from the Baroque and Romantic era, as well as a large variety of popular and jazz standards.

Thursday, December 13 at 6:30 PM 
Lecture on East Village photographer Peter Hujar: His Life and Art: Anthony Del Aversano, Public Programs Associate and Educator of the Morgan Library and Museum, will tell about Hujar’s effervescent creative spirit and profound influence on the East Village art scene.  

Friday, December 14 at 3:30 PM 
Children's Omisoka origami craft: Come make a free holiday craft! We will supply all materials. 

Friday, December 14 at 3:30 PM 
16mm Film Screenings: The LES on Film. We will screening two 16mm films from the reserve collections of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The Godfather Comes to Sixth St(1975; 25mins.) Dir: Mark Kitchell presents what happens to a neighborhood on the Lower East Side in New York City when a Hollywood film crew takes over the area to film part of The Godfather, Part II. Includes interviews with the residents, film director Francis Ford Coppola, and members of the block association. The Heart of Loisaida (1979; 30 mins.) Dir: Bienvenida Matias and Marci Reaven shows efforts on New York's Lower East Side to revive abandoned buildings through the work and persistence of the local, predominantly Latino residents.

Saturday, December 15 at 2 PM 
A Music Collaboration: Singer Lyudmila Krivorutskaya and Pianist Svetlana Levina: The program will feature ancient Russian romances, lyrical songs, serenades in Italian, psalms, and songs in English and Hebrew performed by Lyudmila.  Svetlana will perform classical works by famous composers of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Visual arts displays from local artists, including: 

Ana Marton

Agnieszka Hołda

Blake Sandberg

Jenn Cacciola

John C Fields

Joseph Owen Zurhellen

Lucille Krasne

Mark Panzarino

Mark Roggemann

Meagan J. Meehan

Sabina Mollot

The students of the Sixth Street Youth Program

Washington Square Park Eco Projects