Photo by Dan Barton.
Oo Gallery will be hosting the launch party for the book on Saturday, June 11 between 6-9 p.m., during which party-goers will be treated to a first-listen of the CD. Some of the photography featured in the book by Rhinebeck resident Andy Milford will be framed and hung on the walls for sale. O-Positive stayed in the neighborhood to have their book designed and printed by graphic designer Carla Rozman and Tri-State Litho in Kingston. The gallery will also show a special screening of the O-Positive mini-documentary by Maciek Godlewski. Also to be seen is the trailer for Fightville, a new documentary by Petra Epperlein & Michael Tucker, which will be shown at Rhinebeck’s Upstate Films on June 25.
Only a limited quantity of the books has been printed, which co-organizer Denise Orzo referred to as a “future collector’s item.”
A noteworthy point, said Oo Gallery owner, artist and festival co-organizer Kevin Paulsen, is that it’s exclusively funded through private donations. “We are not affiliated with any politics, organizations, institutions, controversy or interests; anything.” said Paulsen. “We try as an organization to keep it just about exchanging art and music arts for the art of the medicine and health. We all agree with that. We are doing this because we think it’s a good thing to do. It exposes people to art, but it also gives people the chance to get their teeth cleaned.”
After the booming success of the first festival garnered glory on Huffington Post and in Business Week, Paulsen reported that the businesses which participated last year or stayed open through typical “closed” hours did exceptionally well, and this year even more organizations and uptown businesses have agreed to climb on board or even increase their levels of participation.
Last year’s festival drew record numbers of warm-blooded bodies to the Stockade District for the celebration of music, arts and health. Co-organizer and artist Joe Concra said that this year’s festival will see much of the same art, music and other performances that made the inaugural O+ so interesting, however some art will be pasted first on plywood for easier removal rather than directly on building walls. There will be more visual performing arts by Linda Mary Montano who hosted last year’s eight-hour “Glandathon,” and likely more music performances as well, said Concra, explaining that submissions are coming “way quicker than last year and [there are] a lot more of them.” Concra said there will be no overlap by the same genres of music. “You want the festival goers to have choices, but not have to choose between the same things.”
The Maine-based Reserve Nurse Corps as well a possible dentist from Berkeley, Calif., will be participating to “scout it out” to possibly introduce O-Positive festivals to their regions.
This year’s theme is simply “exchange”, an open-ended theme which can be taken as literally or figuratively as one chooses, said Concra.
This year’s festival happens to coincide with Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, which begins Friday evening at sunset and concludes Saturday evening. Concra did not feel that the holiday would interfere with attendance or participation, however, and cited that the festival is intentionally scheduled for Columbus Day holiday weekends in order to partake in a three-day span.
Dr. Art Chandler, the festival medical liaison, said that there is a “groundswell of heightened interest from new volunteers.” Chandler also explained improved approaches people can expect. “The Institute for Family Health has expanded on their commitment to be present to register participants as they present to the clinic and enroll them in their fee for service medical system which has sites from Brooklyn to Kingston at a sliding scale rate according to their income,” said Chandler. “There will also be a concentrated effort at the clinic to directly provide participants with specific information on how to access all types of community resources from free health screenings to discount laboratory work as well as the availability of a variety of counseling and alternative and complimentary care. Consultants for those community services will be personally available at the clinic.”
Chandler said that it’s about recognizing the needs of the patients through demographics before they reach a 911-ready state. “By providing access to ongoing services and preventive resources we hope to keep them healthy, happy and able to continue their journey contributing to the beauty and bounty of our community and society as a whole that only the arts can do.”
Interested parties are encouraged to visit the website to either donate or submit their name and information for volunteering at opositivefestival.org.
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