It’s a celebration of many cultures within the heart of one
culturally diverse neighborhood, blogspot readers!
Today, SouthSide took a trip to the vibrant community known
as Rogers Park to attend the last day of ifs 9th Annual Celebrate Clark Street
World Music Festival. And what a unique family-oriented, music festival
experience it was for this reviewer! Confined to four city blocks between Morse
and Estes along Clark St, this community was not alive with the rich sounds of
music from different corners of the world. Stages located at Morse (on the
south) and Estes (on the north) featured performances ranging from reggae/ska
to electric cumbia as well as dance and Japanese drumming demonstrations to
entertain the fest goers. And what goes great with music but food, of course!
The festival was filled with the yummy aromatic smells of outdoor cooking
amidst the balmy mid-July summer day, blogspot readers. It was a foodie’s
paradise to sample the sizzling as well as the spicy (or at times the super
spicy) and sweet cuisine such as tortas, tacos, funnel cakes and pina colada
Acapulco style (a refreshing pineapple drink in which you could sip right from
the inside of the pineapple). There were also fun activities for kids of all
age from art and crafts and face painting at the Art Lot, carnival games and
etc ...vendors featuring fragrant homemade soaps, colorful handmade silk
dresses, jewelry and more ...community services to keep the residents of Rogers
Park healthy, well-informed or entertained like dance classes or Taiko
drumming. Yes, blogspot readers, there was SO much to see, do and participate
throughout the day at Celebrate Clark St festival.
Here are some of the highlights from SouthSide’s time at
Celebrate Clark Street World Music Festival...
After spending some time listening to the lively Duranguense
music by the group Sangre Michoacana (photos above) at the Morse stage, this reviewer watched
a dance demonstration by Glenwood Dance Studio (http://www.glenwooddancestudio.com) and of
its current participants, blogspot readers. From Jazz to ballet and tap, this
dance studio has classes for all ages and for all skill levels in all styles of
dance including musical theatre and hip hop which means you don’t need to have
prior dance experience to attend a class or two. And if you have a busy
schedule (and who doesn’t these days), Glenwood offers what they call “drop in”
classes – where you can take classes that fits around your schedule. During the
performance time, the dancers did the opening number to the musical Cabaret as
well as Jazz and their popular dance class “Britney Spears” where you can learn
choreographed dance moves popularized by this pop artist. Besides dance
classes, Glenwood Dance Studio also has “BeMoved” and Yoga classes which
combines dance and exercise into one. Check out the website for class
information and schedules, blogspot readers. |
| Cumbia Machin |
Meanwhile at the other end on Estes stage, the lively sounds
of Japanese drumming could loudly be heard above the festival crowd noise,
blogspot readers. Students of Tsukasa Taiko not only entertained the crowd with
precise movements and rhythms (at times drumming as one) but also educated them
about Japanese culture and festivals through the art of drumming. That’s the
mission of this community arts program. By teaching and performing at events
like Celebrate Clark St they can “...preserve, develop and pass on the
traditional concepts of Japanese art as a cultural legacy...” while at the same
time utilizing these concepts to expand and evolve the Taiko art form. During
their time on stage, the students demonstrated the different stands of drumming
used throughout different regions of Japan and/or festivals as well as
performed songs like “Wild Horses” and “Ocean Wave” which did feel like the
crashing waters against the rocky shore. It was truly an amazing performance,
blogspot readers, and this reviewer highly recommends visiting their site http://www.taikolegacy.com
or “like” them on Facebook for Tsukasa Taiko’s upcoming scheduled appearances.
In between the music performances, SouthSide took time out
to chat with 49th ward alderman, Joseph Moore (top photo) – who was out and
about shaking hands and/or chatting briefly with fest goers to thank them for
attending this family-oriented event. “...[it’s] a wonderful coming together of
people with many cultures from across the world...” in which he noted how
diversely unique this particular neighborhood festival is when adding “...I
think there’s no other fest like it in Chicago...” And this reviewer
wholeheartedly agrees, blogspot readers. Over her eight years of covering
Chicago’s active summer festival season, she has never seen and/or experienced
anything like what she did on Sunday at any other festival. Before leaving to walk around again, Alderman
Moore thanked her for attending and giving it some publicity on her blog. Then
she met political candidate Denis Detzel (bottom photo)who is currently running for IL State
Representative of the 14th District which includes Rogers Park. He’s all for a
new government and term limits as well as job creation that will put more
people back to work and so much more. Even though not fully prepared to
interview this candidate, SouthSide’s in the works on scheduling a special in
depth One On One blog article with Mr. Detzel for next week, blogspot readers.
In the meantime, you can visit and learn more about Denis Detzel at
http://www.denisdetzel.com.
Back to the music, blogspot readers, and SouthSide arrived
just in time to feel the rhythmic combination of Rumba, reggae and more by
local band Nu Bambu (http://www.nubambumusic.com). And she could clearly see why this group
was popular with the crowd. During their performance on the Estes stage, Nu
Bambu attracted a lively crowd of all ages and dancers through their blend of
different music styles and rhythms and multilingual edgy lyrics. Essentially,
Nu Bambu doesn’t only entertain with such of a flavorable sound, blogspot
readers, but also creates a unique combination that’s deemed beyond danceable
but too contagious not to. There’s too much hip swaying rhythms to merely stand
still and watch them perform. “Baile ...baile...” that’s your command to dance
along with them. What a party in the middle of Clark Street amidst the vibrant
blasts of rumba or cumbia enticed many to dance either where they stood or in
front of the stage! SouthSide highly recommends checking out this
cross-cultural band known as Nu Bambu at their next scheduled appearance ...and
be prepared to wear out your dancing shoes, blogspot readers.
SouthSide ended her time at Celebrate Clark Street with
another popular cross-cultural local group that also attracted a large
gathering even while setting up to perform, blogspot readers. Honing in on its
mission statement, “...our music reflects how we feel about the world and
what’s possible...”, Funkadesi (http://www.funkadesi.com) and its music combines a unique
mix from many corners of the world such as Indian Ragas, reggae, Latin,
African, funk and so much more performing on stage. And what a cultural
explosion of sound does this local group make, blogspot readers, which didn’t
many within the crowd long to feel the melodic vibe flowing and surrounding
them. It’s energizing! It’s contagious featuring the kind of vibrant culturally
sounded music that makes you want to dance. There’s no standing still when
Funkadesi hits the stage. So be prepared to wear out your dancing shoes with
this local band wherever they perform next, blogspot readers. The music is
always a crowd-pleaser especially at music/festivals like Celebrate Clark
Street and SouthSide highly recommends checking out this world fusion musical
group. 
Well, time to say “goodbye” to Celebrate Clark Street World
Music Festival, blogspot readers. This reviewer had a fun time ...see you next
year, Rogers Park!
Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide
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