All that jazz
Sep. 30th, 2007 09:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mojosmomI did go to see Helvetica on Thursday. Fascinating little film, and nice to know that a documentary about a typeface can sell out! It was interesting to hear the different attitudes towards the ubiquity of the font, and learn how it was created. Funny how something considered brilliant and innovative when it first appeared now gets little respect in some quarters.
The weekend has been fabulous. We have had simply glorious weather, sunny, low to mid-70s, perfect for hanging outdoors. And since there were two neighborhood festivals this weekend, that was a very good thing!
First up, the (we hope) first annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival. There used to be al ot of jazz in Hyde Park. But with shifting demographics and the advent of urban renewal, many of the locations that hosted it disappeared. Now it's back with a vengeance, thanks to the Committee to Restore Jazz to Hyde Park, now the Hyde Park Jazz Society. They've been sponsoring the Sunday night jazz programs at the Checkerboard Lounge, and this year, as part of the Hyde Park Cultural Alliance, they held what will likely be the first Hyde Park Jazz Festival.
The day started at the DuSable Museum, and then moved on to venues all around the University of Chicago Campus. The Midway Plaisance Skating Rink was turned into a stage! There were some glitches. The first event I went to (the first at the Plaisance) was so late getting started that I had to leave before it began in order to get to a program I really wanted to hear. I stopped briefly on the way to see the beginning of the Muntu Dance Theater's performance, and thence to the Quadrangle Club (the University's faculty club - building designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw) to hear Dee Alexander. It was lucky that I left plenty of time. I got there twenty minutes before it started and was seated toward the back. I learned later that they had to turn away 150 people!
I dashed out during the applause because I knew that my next stop was going to be in demand. Two for Brazil was playing at Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House, and, seating being very limited, it was "first come, first served". With nearly an hour to go before the scheduled performance, I got one of the last tickets. But people who came later still stood in line, hoping for a miracle. And some of them got it. The organizers decided to try to accommodate as many people as possible, and split the planned one-hour set into two half-hour sets.
I've got a feeling they'll be looking for bigger venues next year!
In the evening, there was a bash at the Hyde Park Art Center, with four different artists performing. Once again, the place was packed. All the seats were taken, people were lining the walls, sitting on the floor, spilling out the doors of the performance space into the hallways. And outside. They used the main exhibit room on the first floor, which has five large garage-style doors. Thanks to the warm weather, they were able to open a couple of these, which made it much more comfortable inside as well as allowing a spillover crowd on the sidewalk:
There was an after-party/jam session from midnight to 2:00 a.m. at the Checkerboard, but I started to fade about 11:00, so went home to bed. Besides, I had the cable guy coming "between 8 and 10 a.m."
The whole event was a smashing success!
Today was the 57th Street Children's Book Fair, which is more than just books. They've got storytellers, and musicians, and a great variety of museums and neighborhood organizations come out to entertain and educate the kids. I figured I'd go and take some pictures, which I did, but, despite the fact that it was a Children's Book Fair, I also came home with some books. I know that comes as a great shock to you all! ;-)) A good time was had by all.
The weekend has been fabulous. We have had simply glorious weather, sunny, low to mid-70s, perfect for hanging outdoors. And since there were two neighborhood festivals this weekend, that was a very good thing!
First up, the (we hope) first annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival. There used to be al ot of jazz in Hyde Park. But with shifting demographics and the advent of urban renewal, many of the locations that hosted it disappeared. Now it's back with a vengeance, thanks to the Committee to Restore Jazz to Hyde Park, now the Hyde Park Jazz Society. They've been sponsoring the Sunday night jazz programs at the Checkerboard Lounge, and this year, as part of the Hyde Park Cultural Alliance, they held what will likely be the first Hyde Park Jazz Festival.
The day started at the DuSable Museum, and then moved on to venues all around the University of Chicago Campus. The Midway Plaisance Skating Rink was turned into a stage! There were some glitches. The first event I went to (the first at the Plaisance) was so late getting started that I had to leave before it began in order to get to a program I really wanted to hear. I stopped briefly on the way to see the beginning of the Muntu Dance Theater's performance, and thence to the Quadrangle Club (the University's faculty club - building designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw) to hear Dee Alexander. It was lucky that I left plenty of time. I got there twenty minutes before it started and was seated toward the back. I learned later that they had to turn away 150 people!
I dashed out during the applause because I knew that my next stop was going to be in demand. Two for Brazil was playing at Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House, and, seating being very limited, it was "first come, first served". With nearly an hour to go before the scheduled performance, I got one of the last tickets. But people who came later still stood in line, hoping for a miracle. And some of them got it. The organizers decided to try to accommodate as many people as possible, and split the planned one-hour set into two half-hour sets.
I've got a feeling they'll be looking for bigger venues next year!
In the evening, there was a bash at the Hyde Park Art Center, with four different artists performing. Once again, the place was packed. All the seats were taken, people were lining the walls, sitting on the floor, spilling out the doors of the performance space into the hallways. And outside. They used the main exhibit room on the first floor, which has five large garage-style doors. Thanks to the warm weather, they were able to open a couple of these, which made it much more comfortable inside as well as allowing a spillover crowd on the sidewalk:
There was an after-party/jam session from midnight to 2:00 a.m. at the Checkerboard, but I started to fade about 11:00, so went home to bed. Besides, I had the cable guy coming "between 8 and 10 a.m."
The whole event was a smashing success!
Today was the 57th Street Children's Book Fair, which is more than just books. They've got storytellers, and musicians, and a great variety of museums and neighborhood organizations come out to entertain and educate the kids. I figured I'd go and take some pictures, which I did, but, despite the fact that it was a Children's Book Fair, I also came home with some books. I know that comes as a great shock to you all! ;-)) A good time was had by all.
