Arts Alive LI Festival

THE ARTS ARE ALIVE ON LONG ISLAND!

2nd ANNUAL, MONTH-LONG “ARTS ALIVE LI” FESTIVAL KICKS OFF ACROSS LONG ISLAND ON SEPTEMBER 27 

It’s back!  Long Island’s annual Arts Alive LI Festival returns this October as a month-long showcase of Long Island’s many art, entertainment and cultural attractions.  Presented by the Long Island Arts Alliance (LIAA) and Bethpage Federal Credit Union, the Festival takes place from September 27, 2013 through October 31, 2013.  From visual, musical and performing arts, to community festivals and epicurean delights, Arts Alive LI is a tribute to Long Island’s arts and entertainment world and will take place on stages, in galleries, at film houses, and in neighborhood restaurants across Long Island’s Nassau and Suffolk counties.   

Long Island families and visitors to the region are invited to attend and participate in the 35 + signature events, many offered for free.  For a full calendar of events and to purchase tickets, visit www.artsaliveli.org.   

“We are thrilled to have been able to attract and line up such a broad and impressive selection of performers, venues and events for this year’s Festival,” said Theresa Statz-Smith, Executive Director, Long Island Arts Alliance.  “Long Island has so much culture to share; it’s an extraordinary place for creativity and inspiration, with ‘art-ventures’ – for children of all ages!  We hope people will come out and explore all the region has to offer.”

Highlights of Arts Alive LI 2013 events, which take place during October, National Arts and Humanities Month, include:

The Arts Alive LI Classic Series: Broadway Star Melissa Errico performing at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts; Brazilian Artist João Luiz performing at the Heckscher Museum; Jen Chapin in Concert at the Patchogue Theatre; Latin Soul, presented by the Sol Y Sombra Spanish Dance Company; Landmark on Main Street presents An Acoustic Night with Lou Gramm: The Voice of Foreigner; The Vixens of Broadway! Starring Betty Buckley at the Bay Street Theatre; the Gold Coast International Film Festival presented by the Great Neck Arts Center; Staller Center for the Arts presents David Sedaris and the inaugural event of the festival is the Nassau County Museum of Art’s Long Island’s Finest: Fine Arts, Fine Food, Fine Wine & Fine Company with guest artist Alex Katz. 

The Arts Alive LI for Families:  The Sag Harbor American Music Festival; the 2013 Long Island African American Heritage Parade and Festival; the Jamboozi Festival at Vanderbilt Museum; Viva L'Art at Hofstra University Museum; Cinema For Kids: Gustafer Yellowgold presented by Cinema Arts Center; Elska Plus Arctic Animals presented by the Long Island Children’s Museum presents; and the Craic Festival’s Stoked Fest – a “best of kids” films series. 

The Arts Alive LI for Foodies: A series of events for people with a passion for the culinary arts that include chef demonstrations and tastings featuring Long Island’s finest food, wine and beer.  Four events in the series are co-produced with Edible Long Island and feature some of the region’s finest “farm-to-table” restaurants such as Roots Bistro Gourmand presenting a Fall Feast menu and an introduction to the farm-to-table concept. Market Bistro in Jericho, along with Brooklyn Brewery presents The Quarterly Carousal – A Celebration of Beer, Food and Stories. Attend “Artisanal Cheese 101” at Sayville’s American Cheese Shop. It’s a taste testing of artisanal cheeses paired with local wines and beers - perfect for a sunny October afternoon.  Sample Mirabelle in Stony Brook at a Wine Flight and Hors d-oeuvres tasting in the Mirabelle Lounge.  The festival’s official Closing Event includes dinner at Quogue’s famed Stone Creek Inn and the performance “Other Desert Cities” by the Hampton Theatre Company in the Quogue Community Center.  All guests will enjoy an after theatre “talk balk” session with the actors. 
Also featured in Arts Alive LI for Foodies is A Taste of Port Jefferson; Healthy Snacking for Kids with Debby Sunshine; Vegan American Princess at the Sid Jacobson Jewish Community Center; and Long Island’s Finest: Fine Arts, Fine Food, Fine Wine & Fine Company at Nassau County Museum of Art.

“This year’s range of events is simply outstanding,” said Linda Armyn, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy, Bethpage.  “Bethpage is an ardent supporter of the arts on Long Island and we are very happy to once again partner with the Long Island Arts Alliance to bring this unique Festival to fruition and help enrich the lives of so many Long Islanders and visitors to our home.”

This past June, the Long Island Arts Alliance also spearheaded a poster contest, challenging artists of all ages from pre-school to professional to design a poster, depicting what the Arts on Long Island mean to them.  Third grader Oroboghene (Orobo) Ogbovoh, from the Gotham Avenue School (Elmont Union Free School District) won the overall Grand Prize and was awarded an Apple mini-IPAD and a $500 gift certificate donated by Arts Alive LI presenting sponsor Bethpage Federal Credit Union.  All first, second and third-place winning contest selections will be included in the Arts Alive LI 2013 commemorative poster series on display throughout the Festival.  The winning students will also be recognized formally at the Arts Alive LI 2013 launch party in September.

Arts Alive LI and its year-round companion website, ArtsAliveLI.org, were created to promote Long Island as a culturally vibrant, diverse, inclusive place where people want to live, work and visit.  At ArtsAliveLI.org, visitors will find news about ongoing art and cultural events taking place throughout Long Island, as well as Festival-specific calendar information, including facts about festival performers, venues and partner organizations.  This year, the site will also include a valuable new resource - Arts Mkt, for budding artists looking to find information on available Long Island-wide art classes and workshops as well as opportunities for professional artists to exhibit or enter their work in contests.   Website visitors can also learn about an “Artist of the Month,” which profiles local Long Island artists.   The “Artist of the Month” for the Festival is world-renowned colorist Stan Brodsky. The “Stan Brodsky Retrospective” is on exhibit at Heckscher Museum through the festival until Dec. 1, 2013.

“Every sector of our cultural and economic landscape benefits from Arts Alive LI,” observed Statz-Smith. “Long Island is so much more than “a suburb’ of New York City, but its own ethnically rich and vibrant region, chock full of cultural venues, nightlife, downtowns, landmarks and activities for all ages and interests.”  

The Second Annual Arts Alive LI October Festival 2013 is presented by the Long Island Arts Alliance And Bethpage Federal Credit Union with additional support from Long Island Community Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, and Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism/I LOVE NEW YORK, through Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative. 

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