Mummer Tradition in Philly

Mummers tradition dates back to 400 BC and the Roman Festival of Saturnalias where Latin laborers marched in masks throughout the day of satire and gift exchange. This included Celtic variations of “trick-or-treat” and Druidic noise-making to drive away demons for the new year. Reports of rowdy groups “parading” on New Years day in Philadelphia date back before the revolution. Prizes were offered by merchants in the late 1800’s. January 1, 1901 was the first “official” parade offered about $1,725 in prize money from the city.

Come out this New Years day and celebrate the tradition with us YoCos and Philadelphians and celebrate the new year:
The Fancy Brigades
South Philly Stringband (Last Year's Winners)

The Mummers parade is a celebration of the New Year but is serious business in Philadelphia. Clubs work on the costumes and practice all year for their one day in the sun (…wind, rain or snow). There are many lively discussions over the scoring by the judges and adherence to the complicated set of rules the marchers must follow when being judged. String Bands are judged on their musical presentation as well as the costumes. Seeing and hearing a String Band performing live in the parade is a one-of-a-kind experience.

The 2010 Mummers Parade will still go from South Philadelpia and climax in Center City. A few changes will be made in reagrds to the start of the parade and the march from South Philadelphia.

Parade starting points:

Comics will line up from Washington to Morris Fancies will line up from Morris to Snyder The String Bands will from at Shunk Street. The Fancy Brigades at will form at Oregon Ave.

Performance Areas of the Parade:

Shunk Street Methodist Hospital Washington Avenue Pine Street The Doubletree Hotel the Union League City Hall where the Comics, Fancies, and String Bands are judged The Fancy Brigade Division performs indoors at the Pennsylvania Convention Center for their judging. There are two shows one is for the families at 12PM and their judged show at 5PM. Click here to obtain more information about the Fancy Brigades and the Fancy Brigade Finale.

Watch this Mummer's video!

Carol Hannah - Project Etsy

We were perusing Etsy as usual and stumbled across Carol Hannah's Etsy shop! If you love Project Runway like we do, then you saw Ms.Whitfield on last season's show and her beautiful dresses!! Now we, the real people of America can buy her designs online through Etsy!!

Check out the shop!

Beer-tober

This time of year is amazing, not only is there great weather but great food and beverage. This time of year when the leaves change color, and the mornings are cool I know Wawa will soon bring back their hot turkey hoagie, oh and its also the best time of the year for beer. Octoberfest and Pumpkin ales are two of the YoCo's favorite adult beverages during Fall/Winter. Check out this great article about the best fall beers to indulge in and upon.

Finally, Milkcrate Cafe

The long awaited coffee shop on 400 E Girard Ave has finally arrived. We mentioned this back in July but the time has come. The former location of canvas coffee, is now home to a much needed coffee/record shop; Milkcrate Cafe. Check it out here and read more. A review to come soon1

Joules! Pedal me into town

We love bicycles in all of there forms, we also like being lazy on occasion as well. Why not be lazy while on your bicycle? No; why not have someone cycle you around and only for 18 easy payments of $999.99 you can have your own cycling buddy, (names Joules) take that Lance.

Can I put my cell in your column?

We are not big fans of Excel, or mostly anything that Microsoft creates, but it only takes a creative mind to make art in one of the most boring applications ever made. Microsoft Excel art, Shazaam!

The Magic Garden's - South Philly

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens is a folk art environment, gallery space, and nonprofit organization that showcases the work of mosaicist Isaiah Zagar. Located at the site of Zagar's largest public mosaic installation, the Magic Gardens includes a fully mosaiced indoor gallery and a massive outdoor labyrinthine mosaic sculpture. The installation, primarily consisting of found objects and contributions from the community, covers half a city block with myriads of tile, texture, and color. A walk through the labyrinth will reveal sculptures from Latin America and Asia, bicycle wheels from local South Street shop Via Bicycles, Zagar's hand-made tiles, and mirrors of every shape and size.

There will be a Mosaic Workshop with Isaiah Zagar this weekend!

Learn Isaiah's techniques, and help him build a public mural from start to finish, in this two-day mosaic mural workshop. Visit: www.phillymagicgardens.org/programs.php for more information.

In the year 93?

In many respects 1993 seems like a short time ago but on further thought it was almost 17 years ago now. Rendering us without a cell phone, computer, internet, and GPS amongst many other technological marvels we take for granted. Check out these great ads from the year of 93' from AT&T. Crazy how accurate they were since we currently have most of what they predicted.

Bad slice of Piazza

Well as we predicted we feel the downfall has started.
Yes we predicted it but did we really want it to happen? No.

The Piazza is not only a great social and gathering place but has allowed many small independently owned Fishtown and Kensington businesses to thrive and get lots of attention. For example; Bambi Gallery, Fresh Melt Water, and Fabric Horse have received great exposure and large increases in business. On the negative side The Piazza still has yet to fill the empty commercial spots and still has some duplicate stores from Liberties Walk, like the Delicious Boutique.

We feel that the first step in the downward spiral was canceling the wildly popular Sundae on Sundays at the Piazza. The Lee Jones dj/music event has been free and packed with people since the Piazza was finished being constructed. Sundae could actually get credit for exposing The Piazza to a large amount of people that would not normally venture out to it's 2nd and Germantown Ave location. Sundae has brought hundreds of people to The Piazza every Sunday for weeks now, all for free. This has spurred more artists renting tables in the courtyard, huge sales of food and drinks at Vino (formerly the official Sundae after party spot) and has increased awareness for all of the shops there. So what’s the problem?

A few weeks ago the official partnership between Vino and Sundae ended.

The business that Sundae brought to Vino’s after party helped keep the venue free and fun. Unfortunately that has ended, either from complaints from the other bars/restaurants losing Sunday business to Vino or just cause Sundae had done it's job of bringing the people into the Piazza and management now felt it was time to dump them. Whether it was for those reasons or for some unknown ones we feel it's a greedy mentality that has forced Sundae to the new club/restaurant on Delaware Ave. known as Octo. The vast open bar with a tropical feel is a great place for Sundae to switch to, it's not as easily convenient to get to, and is considerably smaller than the Piazza courtyard, but it's fun non the less and always crowded on Sunday.
So we feel as we did before; The Piazza management is only concerned with making money. Canceling Sundae before the agreement they had along with it's questionable half occupied commercial spaces can only lead us to believe that the Piazza will be a barren desert when cold weather arrives. This is much like Liberties Walk is and has been for years now. Liberties Walk started off the same way, and due to extremely high rent and lack of foot traffic in cold weather and daytime hours, 6 independent businesses closed up shop within a year in and half. We feel many of the small shops will do the same once their free monthly rent deals expire (especially since the Piazza and Liberties walk are run by the same people).

Only time will tell, but the recent addition of Tony Danza living at the Piazza apartments just seems like another gimmick to draw attention and will soon end much like Sundae. We really hope all the negative points we brought up don't occur, but if managed correctly, the Piazza and Liberties Walk can boost the neighborhood appearance, and business, along with bringing the much needed cleanup of Girard between 2nd and Front. Rumor has it that high-rise condos, a dog park, and a Wholefoods Market will soon appear on that corner of 2nd but we can only cross our fingers...

Hide your Sundae

Like most Sundays we hit up Sundae. This Sunday at the Piazza Del, Lonely, and Sean Thomas will be spinning starting at 4:30pm. Don't forget to bring your adult carbonated beverages either! Just an FYI the Piazza Gestapo are cracking down on open bottles, so David Blaine your drinks in coffee cups or waterbottles. Get there early and you can watch the Phils vs. Mets at 1:10 on the big screen. If the weather holds up WhizWit will be making an appearance at the artists tables selling some hot T's. See you Sundae!

Comic Art?

The YoCoPros have always been big fans of art, especially comics, which unfortunately don't get that great of a wrap, or somehow get overlooked as an art-form. Check out this great article about 21 Great Comic Artists that changed the game. If you are unfamiliar with them or comics in general, we suggest you hit up your local store or Brave New World on 45 North Second Street and learn more about them. Also check out the yearly gathering of comic nerds at ComicCon.

In an Art Slump, Graffiti is Free

When times are tough, you don't spend when you don't have to. There's sufficient graffiti in London to keep art collectors entertained, which is causing them to shy away from works by Banksy. Larger auction houses have cut down on the Banksy works they are carrying, and some of the regional auction houses are canceling their urban art specialist sales.

It's hard to tell if Banksy is disappointed. The artist, who was born in Bristol (west England) keeps his (her?) identity a secret. So, if you see some weirdo crying in a corner over the next few weeks at a pub in Bristol (or, maybe, London), ask if it's Banksy. It could be cooler than finding Waldo.

Prices for pieces by Banksy have plunged this year, with failure rates on the rise. Auction houses are now sufficiently nervous to hedge their bets, carrying little (or no) inventory by the artist and canceling auctions that may not deliver.

In general, contemporary art auction selling points are down 30 percent to 50 percent – about as much as your 401(k). The top houses – Christie's, Sotheby's, Bonhams and Phillips de Pury – didn't carrying any of Banksy's work in their June or early July auctions. This year, 76 Banksy paintings and prints have come under the gavel, with 30 of them (almost half) not selling. The highest price reached was $230,500 at a New York Sotheby's event. Last year, the top price for a Banksy piece was $1.9 million at Sotheby's RED charity auction in February.

New Antiquarians of Our Generation

"It was probably inevitable. Consider the example of new-vintage merchants like J. Crew Liquor, the men’s wear store housed in an old TriBeCa bar. Or Freemans Sporting Club, the “gentleman’s” clothing store created by Taavo Somer, the architect and restaurateur responsible for Freemans, the taxidermy-bedecked hot spot on the Lower East Side. The recently opened bar at the Jane hotel, created by Eric Goode and Sean MacPherson, is a mash-up of an English country estate, the set of “The Royal Tenenbaums” and an interior landscape imagined by Joris-Karl Huysmans, the author of “Against Nature,” the 19th-century decadent’s manifesto.

Valerie Steele, the director of the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology, offered a different explanation. “It’s way more than anti-modernism, this sort of deep spelunking into the past,” she said. “It’s not aspirational and it’s not nostalgic. It’s a fantasy world that is almost entirely a visual collage. It’s a stitched-together, bricolage world, an alternative world.”

“Authenticity is such a fed-up idea,” she continued. “But collecting these old things, it’s like there is an aura attached to them. It’s not some prepackaged product being foisted on you by a big corporation. Too bad it’s going to be commodified. Everything in the fashion world gets hoovered up.”

Marketers, in fact, are already paying attention. Steven Grasse, chief executive of the advertising and branding agency Quaker City Mercantile in Philadelphia, said he recently sent a sample of a new product, a vintage-styled liquor called Root, to a few retro-loving bloggers like Hollister Hovey. " - PENELOPE GREEN

Get yourself some vintage finds:

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/index.jsp
http://www.etsy.com/category/vintage

Indie Craft Documentary - Meet the Director here in Philly!!

We YoCos LOVE a good book...and this book really shows the great "Rise of DIY!!" The whole book is a collection of essays that other YoCoPro's in the business of making and promoting Handmade Crafts, share their stories of how they got started in the handmade world.

Our good friends at Art Star (located at 623 N. Second Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123) are working together with Buyers Market of American Craft,www.americancraft.com.

Come meet Faythe Levine, director of the indie craft documentary, “Handmade Nation.” There will be a Q&A following the screening, moderated by Kris Stewart, editor of NICHE, the magazine for independent art retailers.

Saturday, August 1st, 6-8pm
@ Pennsylvania Convention Center, Room 103, 1101 Arch Street, Philadelphia

Purchase Tickets @ Art Star for $5
or buy tickets at the door (seating is limited so we recommend getting them now)

Working Potters Series: Using the Internet as a Marketing and Sales Tool for Your Pottery Business

This months Ceramics Monthly magazine has a great feature on "Working Potters..." One if these Potters is living and working right here in Philadelphia!!

Naomi Cleary is the Gallery Assistant and NCECA Coordinator for The Clay Studio which is located in Old City. She also teaches Ceramics there, and sells her work in the shop.

The article featured in the magazine is a great piece written by the artist who is down to earth and real about living as an artist and being successful!! Naomi's witty character and valuable knowledge makes her a great resource in the young craft community here in Philly.

Here's what I mean:

"I have had varying experiences at craft fairs. Some have been great, with crowds that understand craft and the handmade object. One in particular still haunts me. I was placed next to a woman selling hand painted signs that read “Welcome to Margaritaville” and “Jersey girls don’t pump gas.” I did not return for the second day of selling."

To read more of the article pick up your copy today - or follow this link:

http://ceramicartsdaily.org/ceramic-art-and-artists/naomi-cleary-working-potter/

Come out and Support Non-Profit!!

>Click here to view an online preview of the exhibition

BRIDGETTE MAYER GALLERY CELEBRATES EIGHT YEARS IN PHILADELPHIA WITH BENEFIT EXHIBITION SUPPORTING NON-PROFIT, BACK ON MY FEET

BENEFIT: JUNE 5, 2009 6:00 - 8:30PM
Exhibition will run through July, 2009

Philadelphia, PA, May, 2009- In celebration of eight years in Philadelphia, the Bridgette Mayer Gallery is holding a Benefit Exhibition to honor the non-profit group Back on My Feet. Back on My Feet promotes the self-sufficiency of Philadelphia’s homeless population by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. The benefit will feature 100 10" x 10" panels by gallery artists, Philadelphia artists and Back on My Feet artists, ranging in price from $500-$1,000. Proceeds from the event will go directly to the non-profit.

The Benefit opening will be held on June 5th, from 6:00pm to 8:30pm at the Gallery, located at 709 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106.

The 4th in Philly

The annual Sunoco Welcome America! festival, is happening this Saturday July 4th!! Expect some brilliant fireworks displays, delicious dishes, cultural events and the largest free concert in America!!

Starting July 2-5 the City of Brotherly love hosts millions of residents and visitors for a celebration of the nation’s birthday. The morning of July 4 begins with traditional ceremonies on historic Independence Mall, followed by a parade through Historic Philadelphia (new route!) with bands, flags and pageantry reminiscent of an old-fashioned Main Street, USA parade. The YoCo's will be there!! Then in the afternoon, the “Party on the Parkway” will feature activities, games, food and entertainment for the whole family, set in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Ben Franklin Parkway. The original headliner announced was Sheryl Crow...but now we've been told that The Legendary Roots Crew will be there too!!!! You KNOW that will be amazing!!

The music and fun will be followed by an amazing fireworks grand finale set against the dramatic Art Museum.

Join the YoCo's in celebrating what every Philadelphian already knows – that the best place to celebrate America’s birthday is here, in Philly aka America’s birthplace.

Michael Martin, Subway Graffiti Artist Iz the Wiz

In the 1970s and ’80s, chances were good that anyone traveling the New York subways rode at least once in a car emblazoned with “Iz the Wiz.” Cryptic but euphonious, often abbreviated to the ultraminimal Iz, the signature could be seen all over the subway system: fat capital letters spray-painted on a door, below a window, across an entire car or even along the full length of a train.

Iz the Wiz was a legend among graffiti artists, by almost all accounts “the longest-reigning all-city king in N.Y.C. history,” as the graffiti Web site at149st.com puts it. In other words, Iz put his name, or tag, on subway cars running on every line in the system more times than any other artist.

In August of 2003 he self-curated a solo gallery exhibition in New York City showcasing his legal artwork.

Michael Martin — Iz the Wiz — died on June 17 in Spring Hill, Fla., where he had moved a few years ago. He was 50. The cause was a heart attack, said Ed Walker, who is working on a biography and documentary of Iz the Wiz. The YoCo's will keep you posted on when they are expected to be released.

Buy Some Vintage

So there is this GREAT vintage shop here in Philly, that also happens to have a great website to shop on too - which is just a bonus, because instead of you hunting all the vintage shops, flea markets and thrift shops Plaid Pony Vintage does all of that for you, and puts all their great finds into categories that are easy to search through. Categories include: men and womens clothing, housewares and accessories.

Check out the website!!

Their ETSY page: www.plaidponyvintage.etsy.com

TWITTER: http://twitter.com/plaidpony

The Weekend

Other than the Wheat Beer Extravaganza we mentioned yesterday, a lot more is going on as we near the 4th of July (Which by the way the Roots are playing at for free at Penn's Landing!) This weekend is the Philadelphia Independent Film Festival (PIFF) in NoLibs and at 941 Theater, also the Bicycle Film Festival which is taking place at the Moore College of Art and Design along with a special Bicycle Exhibit. Also taking place on Saturday is the Big Art Show #11 at the 941 Theater, unfortunatly it was canceled due to the PIFF but they are having the Philadelphia Independent Craft Market on July 12th. Penns Landing is having a ton of events this weekend which include Taste of Philly all weekend, Angie Stone Concert tomorrow at 7:30 and fireworks later that night. Sunday as usual will feature the Sundae Concert at the Piazza, featuring Medina but since the recent death of MJ they will be spinning MJ tunes all night and day.

Should be Fun, and very hot!