For Immediate ReleaseSeptember 29, 2009
Contact: Noreen Shanfelter,
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Carrie Gorn, , 215 480 7423
Ruth Reichl, Queen of Food, Kicks Off Eighth Annual First Person Arts Festival
22 Events with Nationally Renowned Authors, Artists and Filmmakers
Take the Stage from November 3 to 8
PHILADELPHIA (September 29). – First Person Arts(FPA) announces the eighth annual First Person Festival of Memoir and Documentary Art with headliners Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine, Rita Mae Brown, author of Animal Magnetism and 40 other books, and Sara Lee Guthrie, daughter of Arlo and granddaughter of Woody Guthrie.
This year’s festival runs from November 3 to 8 and includes 22 different events highlighting personal journeys, accounts of social activism and extreme adventure and explorations of the human/animal connection. Most events will be presented at the Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine Street in Old City. Tickets and a full schedule of festival events are available online at Discounted tickets are available if purchased before October 25, although some events are expected to sell out sooner.
Parallels between the 1930’s Depression and the recent free-fall of our economy prompted collaborations with artists and scholars who will discuss the Great Depression, give voice to it through songs of hard times, and resurrect a New Deal writer’s project on regional food traditions.
The stellar line-up includes appearances by best-selling and award-winning journalists and authors, documentary film premieres, and performances by musicians, solo artists, and the best storytellers in the region.
“This is our most exciting festival to date,” said Vicki Solot, founder and executive director of First Person Arts. “We have national artists of renown coming to Philadelphia, yet we are retaining our commitment to showcase home-grown talent and present stories that bind us together – stories by people from all walks of life.”
Food, Glorious Food
On October 26, a week before the festival’s official start, Ruth Reichl will speak about her fascinating life in food and sign copies of the new Gourmet cookbookGourmet Today, during a preview dinner at Supper Restaurant. Supper Chef Mitch Prensky will serve up his own delicious take on the Gourmet Today recipes with a four-course dinner with wine. Other Festival artists will also attend and be seated with the guests.
Foobooz Burger Cruise, a walking tour ofselect center city gastropubs led by Arthur Etchells, author of the popular food blog Foobooz, is an opening-night offering on November 3. A family-style buffet prepared by Jack’s Firehouse will accompany Pat Willard’sAmerica Eats! book presentation on November 4 at the Painted Bride. Willard’s book is based on an unpublished manuscript of a Workers’ Project Administration (WPA) food project that used out-of-work writers (e.g. Eudora Welty and Ralph Ellison) to chronicle “group eating” events such as rodeos, cemetery cleaning parties, and possum dinners. Willard revisits sites from the original manuscripts that pay homage to those traditions. That night, First Person Arts will also open the Festival Speakeasy where festival-goers can gather and mingle with artists and First Person Arts staff throughout the festival.
Sadia Shepard recalls her search for her roots in India’s ancient Jewish community in her memoir, The Girl From Foreign and her documentary In Search of the Bene Israel. On November 8, Shepard will present both at an event that will include tabla music and a buffet fromEkta Indian Restaurant, evoking the cultural and culinary aspects of her journey.
Nationally Renowned Authors
Two best-selling authors will be discussing their lives and work on Saturday, November 7. Rita Mae Brown will read from and discuss her memoirAnimal Magnetism, in which she shares her love for all animals great and small. Brown has had a lifelong relationship with animals (dogs, cats, hounds, horses, birds, foxes, cattle) and lovingly demonstrates the love and ESP that humans and animals can develop for one another. Brown has also “co-written” a popular mystery series with one of her cats.
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist and bestselling author, Mark Bowden will participate in a Q & A and book signing and discuss his life’s work. Bowden is known as a creator of spellbinding stories about epic events. He will talk about how he investigates major news events and turns them into page-turning non-fiction.
Laughing Out Loud
On Saturday, November 7,A.J. Jacobs, contributing editor at Esquire, will detail his hilarious exploits as a human guinea pig, which led to his latest book The Guinea Pig Diaries. In it Jacobs details his “experiments,” including his embarrassingmagazine assignment to pose nude (except for his glasses). Audiences can come in fine voice (or not), when Brian Raftery,author of Don’t Stop Believin’: How Karaoke Conquered the World and Changed My Life and local music writer and karaoke hostSara Sherr provide anevening where karaoke rules on November 6. On November 5, audiences will also revel in the chutzpah of filmmakers and political activists, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, with Yes Men Fix the World. The duo, whofabricate announcements and impersonate corporate figures at news conferences and other events to tantalizing outcomes, will take audiences behind the scenes for some of their most successful hoaxes and offer ways for those in attendance to effect change in their own neighborhoods.
Music Events
Two events will highlight personal connections to music. On November 4th, Sarah Lee Guthrie, daughter of Arlo Guthrie and granddaughter of Woody Guthrie, will perform songs by her grandfather with her husband Johnny Irion and the storytelling folk duo Kim and Reggie Harris. The program, Songs for any Depression, will focus on how music helped tell the country’s stories and effect change during the last great economic upheaval.
The festival closes on November 8 with a screening of Still Bill, a documentary onthe life of Bill Withers, the musician who defined a decade of music with songs that have stood the test of time, including Lean on Me, Just The Two of Us, and the legendary ballad Ain’t No Sunshine. The screening and discussion with the filmmakers will be followed by a live performance of Withers’ classics by Johnny Ingram and local R&B artists.
Social Justice Takes Center Stage
Social justice issues will be highlighted in two back to back events on November 8. The first event features a video conference and Q & A with writer Kenneth E. Hartman, who is serving a life sentence in California without possibility of parole. He will read excerpts from his memoir, Mother California, about his life in prison. Hartman recently had an Op Ed piece published in the New York Times.
Following the Hartman event, a documentary by William Kunstler’s two daughters,Disturbing the Universe, will make its Philadelphia premiere. This documentary takes a hard but personal and loving look at Kunstler, the 1960’s and ‘70s premier activist lawyer. Local Civil Rights lawyer David Rudovsky joins Emily Kunstler afterwardto discuss the film and William Kunstler’s complicated legacy.
Showcasing Local Artists
Since its inception, First Person Arts has provided a forum for local artists through a growing number of platforms. First Person Arts StorySlams, the wildly popular storytelling events, and First Person Salons, which showcase the most exciting memoir and documentary artists working in Philadelphia, have become major year-round events. On November 7, the winners of the monthly StorySlams will compete for the title of “Best Storyteller in Philadelphia” at the annual GrandSlam. At the Salon du Festival on November 5, four local artists who were selected for this special salon will present new memoir and documentary art in various media.
Special Art Exhibits
The festival will feature two on-going art exhibits. Shelter will open November 4 and run through December 31. This multi-media exhibition was created by artists collaborating with ten Philadelphia homeowners whose homes were renovated by Rebuilding Together Philadelphia. Volunteers for the organization help prevent homelessness by making repairs to preserve homeownership and revitalize low-income communities. This project was conceived and curated by Marianne Bernstein. The exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Painted Bride Art Center.
Work created by artists who spent a day in “The Welcome House” prior to the festival will also be on display. The Welcome House is a 10 x 10 foot glass cube that will be built in Love Park. From October 4-13, artists will take daily residencies in the structure to record their experiences and create new work based on their interactions with passersby. The Welcome House was conceived and curated by Marianne Bernstein and is presented in collaboration with InLiquid.
Reporters and editors note. This release covers most, but not of all the events. For more detailed information including a chronological capsule of events for listings purposes, high res photos and a press kit including one page summaries of each event, go to or click on the links at the start of the news release.
Presenting sponsors of the 2009 First Person Festival include Philadelphia City Paper, Red Tettemer, and Harmelin Media. Supporting sponsors include Philadelphia Brewing Company, Embassy Suites Philadelphia, Drexel University, XPN, Tub Gin and Janney Montgomery Scott.
About First Person Arts
Founded in 2000, First Person Arts transforms the drama of real life into memoir and documentary art to foster appreciation for our unique and shared experience. First Person Arts believes that everyone has a story to tell and that sharing our stories connects us with each other and the world. First Person Arts supports the development of memoir and documentary work by artists from all walks of life and provides opportunities for their stories to be heard in programs throughout the year. For more information, visit .
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