Stroudfest 2008

The Second Annual Stroudfest 2008 took place throughout the town of Stroudsburg, PA on Saturday August 30th. The day began with a 5k marathon and continued with numerous bands including Nancy and Spencer Reed*, Jazz Juice*, Jonah Smith, Pocono Duo, Stasis*, The Mark Williams Band*, and The Patchwork Quilt Fallacy. Additional entertainment was provided by The Beledi Dance Theatre and roaming musicians including The Lost Ramblers. A variety of food and art was also on display including the works of Laura J. Salazar* and The Calypso Designs of Mitzi S. Mager.

The Forwardian Arts Society became involved in this year’s festival by offering an event entitled, “In Writing” featuring an opportunity for writers and those who love the literary arts to share new work along with their thoughts on the variety of topics that inspire them to share. Stephanie Nash*, Frances Davis*, and Alex “Charlie” Carpenter were the participants in this month’s event. It is hoped the next “In Writing” event will be held Saturday October 4th at 2pm. The location is yet to be determined.

The Second Annual Stroudfest 2008 concluded with the live Auction of the 15 fabulous five foot trout from the Tales and Scales project designed to enhance local awareness of environmental issues. The statues were placed in various locations throughout Monroe County, PA and numerous people joined in the fun of following maps to locate each one. The auction itself was very exciting as bidding for each statue began at $200 with some selling for more than $1000. The event proved to be a wonderful way to raise fund so further endeavors to enhance environmental awareness can be pursued.

There were quite a few people attending the festival and it would be nearly impossible everyone who is a part of The Forwardian Arts Society in this article. However, I have mentioned the names of those of whom I took pictures of in our gallery. Please Explore The Stroudfest 08 Website for more information about this and future festivals. You’ll find more photographs at The Forwardian Arts Society Stroudfest 2008 Gallery at myspace.com/forwardian_arts.

(*) denotes members of The Forwardian Arts Society in good standing and are considered Our Good Friends.