A Stroudsburgian Festive Day

The 7th Annual Stroudfest event took place throughout the town of Stroudsburg, PA on Saturday August 31st. The little town swelled as its streets filled with music, art, and festival lovers while numerous vendors, art related venues, and musicians shared their talents and merchandise with those who visited the municipality during the day. A variety of musical and aesthetic tastes of visitors ranging from the pedestrian to the upwardly mobile were greeted by like minded artists and artisans making this year’s Stroudfest a thoroughly enjoyable one.

I began my day casually strolling around the town as I’ve arrived at the festival while vendors and musicians were placing the final touches upon their preparations. I “officially” began my festival excursions at The Soho in the Burg www.facebook.com/BackstreetStudioAndArtGallerie located in the Newberry Building on the corner of 6th and Main Street. The gallery is the jewel in the crown of the newly established Stroudsburg Art District. The owner, Andrea Robbins-Rimberg, had set up a modest table that struck anyone familiar with the venue as a sharp contrast to the elegance often found in the beautiful work within the gallery. However, the beauty of the work presented at her table gave ample indications of the high caliber of creativity that was just beyond its doors.

A few steps away from Ms. Rimberg’s table was another spot where fellow member of the art district had his work on display. Andrei Protsouk www.facebook.com/AndreiProtsoukArt whose gallery is located at 7 North 6th Street and presents images containing a signature style many local art lovers eagerly greet compositions and hues they immediately recognize as his. It is from this point I began to walk around town with my camera. We captured quite a number of images together until our ears (if cameras have ears) caught the sound of music coming from an alley found between Josephine's Fleur-de-lis www.facebook.com/pages/Josephines-Fleur-de-lis/292592820756374 and The 14KT Outlet’s Fine Jewelry Design www.facebook.com/The14ktOutlet upon the festival’s Music in the Park Stage.

Throughout the Summer months,  a concert series known as Music In The Park were presented by The Stroudsburg, PA Downtown Stroudsburg Business Association (aka The Jacob Stroud Corporation) www.facebook.com/pages/Downtown-Stroudsburg-Business-Association/242126962482288?ref=ts&rf=168378193176439 and The Sherman Theater www.facebook.com/ShermanTheater?fref=ts. A number of musicians performed presenting a wide variety of musical styles. The festival served as the Series’ Finale as several bands took its stage throughout the day. I happened upon the first of these bands which was Merchants of Groove-Unplugged www.Facebook.com/merchantsofgroove featuring Paul Lyons on Guitar and vocals and Joey “Hotbox” Simon on harmonica. I have seen the entire band perform at previous events I’ve attended and never failed to enjoy the energetic aspects of their musical approach. However, as an acoustic duo, I discovered a new dimension to their outstanding talent as each bluesy chord struck brought the attention of each audience member to the raw essentials of each song.

As their set came to a conclusion, I resumed my journeys through the festival fully intending to partake of the bands who were yet to grace the Music in the Park Stage. They included Nicole Donatone and The Hawks www.facebook.com/NicoleDonatoneMusic, Matt Abell and Friends www.facebook.com/matt.abell.505?fref=ts, The Don Mayer Band, and Flyin Blind www.facebook.com/flyinblind. I have heard many of them prior to the event and looked forward to hearing them that day. However, the multitude of vendors, events, and friends I encountered made this an impossibility.

Among the many vendors I met were Sandi Duffy of River Rock Collections sandii@ptd.net whose necklaces and other piece of jewelry were made from rocks found near the many rivers residing near Ms. Duffy’s home and ShaDy River Designs www.facebook.com/shadyriverdesigns whose tie dyed apparel summoned the festival hippie shirt I was wearing to meet its cousins. I also visited Melon Gift www.facebook.com/melons.gift?fref=ts who will have their Annual Fun Dog Show on Saturday September 28th at The Stroudsburg Intermediate School in Stroudsburg, PA, and Kitchen Chemistry www.facebook.com/pages/kitchen-chemistry/245276232196 who makes some really good bakery items offering samples of tasty morsels of which my Dr. says I can’t eat (I didn’t see him at the festival sooooo).

I also saw some Face painters and visited Artists Olaf Sigurdsson www.facebook.com/pages/Olaf-Sigurdsson/176853655722160 and Shawn Queenan www.facebook.com/pages/Shawn-queenan/255381301155533, the new Prime at Stroudsburg Studios www.facebook.com/primegallery who will hold a Photographic Artists’ Reception beginning at 6pm for their exhibition titled, “Simplicity” on Saturday September 21st. I met up with some employees of The Blondie Salon www.facebook.com/pages/Blondie-Salon/130150355049 and Condoms Galore www.facebook.com/Condomsgalore who offered me one for free. Heather Hays Design www.facebook.com/heather.hays.79677?fref=ts was included among the many I’ve met. She creates a version of Bonsai Trees called Kokedama which are round moss like plants that are hangable with little eyes attached to them. Someone nearby referred to them as “Bonsai Balls.” And then there were some several civic organizations such as The Latino American Alliance of Northeast Pennsylvania www.facebook.com/LAANEPA.ORG, Youth Infusion, Inc www.facebook.com/pages/Youth-Infusion/160271014056, and The Garden of Giving www.facebook.com/GardenForTheNeedy sharing their visions of how to improve the quality of life in the community.

Eventually, my walk and visitations led me to the sound of music which the streets were alive with. I met up with Blues Guitarist Randy Bigness who was playing some kick ass songs with a few of his friends. They were performing across the street from The Sherman Theater. After their set, I visited other areas but came back to see the Jimmy Smith Band. The band was great but was made even greater when my high school classmate, Tricia Ann Fellman, took the stage with her incredible voice adding to the musical delights of the day.

As I continued my travels of the day, I listened to large number of musicians of a 50’s and 60’s Doo - Wop band playing along a thin stretch of sidewalk near the Shoppes on Main complex. They were known at Joey and the T-Birds www.facebook.com/pages/Joey-and-the-T-Birds/154428035574 and the crowd they attracted made the space of the sidewalk all the more thinner. There was hardly any room for dancing but many made use of the area for that purpose the best they could. It was a lively performance and was enhanced by the guest performance of J. T. Carter who has written many of the songs from the era including “Sixteen Candles” sung by The Crests with Johnny Maestro. Mr. Carter later took the stage in a solo performance who crooned his way from one song to another except for the moments he remained quiet when a pretty girl walked by.

On a whim, I left the excellent performance to follow one of Mr. Carter’s quiet moments which led me to Studio 8 located at 8 North 6th St where The GiGi and Company Dance Studio www.facebook.com/pages/Gigi-Company-Dance-Studio/200927543295977 was about to perform a recital featuring the students of Jeannine “Gigi” Quinones. The performance provided a gentle respite and contrasted well with the rest of the going ons throughout the town. Studio 8 also houses the For ArtzSake Gallery www.facebook.com/pages/For-ArtzSake/197412433691630 who represents artists of nationally and international renown and is a part of the Stroudsburg Art District.

As the performance concluded, a presentation was made regarding a nonprofit support group called Ally's Boxes of Support. It was inspired by a 6 year old Kindergartner whose heart’s desire is to feed hungry and starving children. There was a quiet pondering as Ally’s mother shared the story of how her daughter approached her with the idea of simply taking empty boxes and filling them with food so other children could have something to eat. Their simple goal is to feed one child at a time and those who wish to support their endeavors can learn how to do so by exploring their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/pages/Allys-Boxes-of-Support/350541955064844. After the presentation was over, I moved toward the town’s Courthouse Square located on 7th Street where the main stage of the festival resided. I arrived too late to see the band known as Old Man Brown www.facebook.com/OldManBrownMusic to perform but I did manage to partake of the music played by The George Wesley Band www.facebook.com/pages/THE-GEORGE-WESLEY-BAND/167673483410 who preformed some really excellent Reggae (Mon) and McClain and Her Brooklyn Band www.facebook.com/msmacsully who presented some soul searching Jazz made all the more explorable through the sultry trails marked by her enchanting voice.

Along with the great music, there were also a good number of food vendors throughout the festival. They included The Tea Room Restaurant www.facebook.com/pages/Tea-Room-Restaurant/123100441123890 located at 564 Main St., Grandpa Pete’s Bagels www.facebook.com/grandpapetes.bagels?fref=ts located at 548 Main St., and Earthlight Natural Foods located at 933C Ann St. I took a few photographs of their culinary delights and they still make my mouth water when I look at them days later. You’ll find more photographs taken during the 7th Annual Stroudfest Event on Saturday August 31st in The Stroudfest 2013 Gallery at www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151865462385421.1073741847.636000420&type=1.

The day proved to be a great one to spend in town. There were lots going on with music from over 10 bands playing some incredible music, over 150 vendors selling some interesting things and/or sharing some information, food of all kinds, and great opportunities meet up with friends one hasn’t seen for a while or to make new ones. There were also some side festivals but not as many as years before. At least, I didn’t notice that many of them. I kind of wish I did because, as good as the official Stroudfest was, I find the little independent festivals a bit more interesting as they’re created with a much smaller budget and tend to feel less geared toward creating commerce. Or, it could be just something about something being “unofficial” attracts me. 

The 7th Annual Stroudfest event was organized and presented by the Sherman Theater as one of the festivals it formulated which is designed to honor the town of Stroudsburg, PA. Sponsors of Stroudfest 2013 included Blue Cross of NEPA, East Stroudsburg University, United Way, Gray Chevrolet-Cadillac, and others. The theater also presents The Pocono Raceway Festival which takes place in June. In addition to the festivals, The Sherman Theater presents numerous concerts, theatrical productions, and other events throughout the year. You can learn more about The Sherman Theater and all it has to offer the community by exploring their Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/ShermanTheater?ref=ts&fref=ts.