Tonight! Tuesday, September 7th from 9:30 – 11:30 pm

The first Tuesday of every month is Mind Power, a two-hour freestyle obstacle course open to MCs, producers, poets and singers who wish to sharpen their ability to spontaneously create while helping to unify a gifted music and freestyle community looking for space to be embraced.

During this workshop, different exercises are given as challenges to the group by the new host, Flex Matthews. As the exercises are introduced, every participant takes his/her turn at freestyling about the given topic or exercise.

• • • • • • • • • Date: Starting September 7th, then Every First Tuesday of Every Month
                • Time: 9:30 pm – 11:30 pm
                • Cost: $10 Suggested Donation
                • RSVP on Facebook

Tonight! Tuesday, September 7 from 6:30pm – 8:30pm

Join fellow film fanatics at BloomBars for a screening and discussion of Farmingville (2004, 79min) by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini. We will be joined by Andrea Delgado, policy analyst for The Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA) who will provide her input into the discussion, and describe what the LCLAA does to aid Latino/a trade unionists in the US.

About the Film: “Farmingville”

“The shocking hate-based attempted murders of two Mexican day laborers catapult a small Long Island town into national headlines, unmasking a new front line in the border wars: suburbia. For nearly a year, Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini lived and worked in Farmingville, New York, so they could capture first-hand the stories of residents, day laborers and activists on all sides of the debate. This timely and powerful film is more than a story about illegal immigration. Ultimately it challenges viewers to ask what the ‘American dream’ really means.”

• RSVP on Facebook!

This event is a collaboration with POV, the award- winning independent nonfiction film series on PBS.

Even though it’s a holiday weekend, we have a jam-packed schedule lined up! Hope to see you at one, or many, of the following classes & performances.

Friday

• Wandering Souls presents: Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night at 7:30 pm
• Rock Bands perform at 9:00 – 11:00: Noah’s Ark was a Spaceship, Dance for the Dying, and John Wayne Hero.

Saturday

• Say hello to BloomBars at the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm!
• Kick off a relaxing holiday weekend with some refreshing yoga! 10:00 am – 11:00 am.
• Or, kick off your holiday weekend with some Capoeira kicks and gingas, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Sunday

• After going out on Saturday night, avoid taking to the streets by watching Sunrise Cinema, 2:30 am – 6:30 am.
• Undo the damage from Saturday night by sweating it out in Pilates class, 10:00 am – 11:00 am.
• Seed the Sound welcomes musicians Huda Asfour, Nadim Khoury & Ayman Mabrouk, 8:30 – 10:30 pm.

Join us every Monday from 7:30 to 8:15 am at “Poetry in the Morning” to share original poetry, read pieces by others, practice on a mic, and get feedback in a supportive space.

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If you’re working to improve your performance, check out our upcoming workshop with Regie Cabico:

High Wattage: Elements of Performing the Slam Poem with Regie Cabico

Two Day Workshop: Sunday, September 5th & Sunday, September 12th from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

How do we make performance choices that heighten the poem’s life? How do we live the poem and not simply read the poem?

Join HBO Def Poetry Jam veteran and 3-time National Poetry Slam finalist Regie Cabico for “High Wattage: Elements of Performing the Slam Poem.”

A slam text is your show stopper, your three minute solo play. In this two-session class, we will explore the vocal & physical techniques for audiences to see the poem.

From the professional slammer to the virginal journal poet, we will stretch your interpretation of your over-performed texts, and we will prepare you to kick your verses in the squint of the spotlight in a nurturing environment.

Attention will be given to the page including language, imagery, and craft. Bring a poem, no more than a page long, comfortable shoes & clothes, your body, and a packet of your emotional colors.

This 2-part class will take place on Sunday, September 5th and Sunday, September 12th from 4 pm to 7pm. Pre-registration is encouraged.

Register Online Now to reserve your spot & save $10 off door price!

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Here’s this week’s poem of the week! See you at the Workshop on Sunday, and on every Monday morning!

You bloom, we bloom.

* * *

Cloud

by Kay Ryan

A blue stain

Every week, we send out an update to our wonderfully supportive community.

Inside, you’ll find advance notice of upcoming events, additions to our BloomBars resident fellows, personal notes from artists, our latest videos, art and music news from around the world, and more about how BloomBars is growing in our neighborhoods.

If you’ve written down your email address while visiting BloomBars, chances are you already get the email – so keep an eye out!

To automatically receive this newsletter in your email inbox, please subscribe here!

In this week’s newsletter, Author, Illustrator, & BloomBars supporter Shane W. Evans Asks, “What Makes Your Dreams Bloom?”

Dear Friends of BloomBars, Growth… What is that? It is often a concept we associate with how tall something or someone is getting – “oh, look at how tall you have grown,” grandma says as she measures her granddaughter against the wall. Well, I have found that growth can take place in the spirit; it is something that you cannot measure, and the impact of an inch can truly mean a mile. That is where we are! We are at a stage where the growth of spirit has actually entered into that phase where growing pains start to take place. You remember that awkward stage around your teen years when some body parts started to ache due to the speed with which your body was expanding… Well, we hang in there because we know it passes. So many things have transpired – the ups and the downs, the highs and the lows, the lefts and the rights, the changes and the choices… Olu’s Dream has continued to quietly inspire and motivate. This little character speaks to the growth of spirit and the living forward of dreams, and this concept has spread from Mali in West Africa to Washington, D.C. We have seen Dream Studio connect community through the arts and through the dream in a dynamic way, a dynamic bloom in the “middle west.” Inspiring and inspired by all around us, the dream continues to grow. These roots reach out to BloomBars, and we believe beyond sight that the seed that has landed in Columbia Heights will prosper, grow, and inspire a community. We’ve been invited back to be one of six featured authors at the Kennedy Center’s 15th Annual Multicultural Book Festival. Last year, the event hosted close to 20,000 families and I literally did not stop moving for seven hours straight. One of the highlights was sharing Olu’s Dream on one of the Kennedy Center Stages and getting to share “The Dream Theme.” People were so inspired that Olu’s Dream sold out! So this year, we look to share the new illustrated works, My Brother Charlie written by Holly Robinson Peete and her daughter Ryan, Black Jack By Charles Smith, and of course, the cornerstone of the dream, Olu’s Dream, in an even more dynamic fashion. As was the case last year (and you have to see the videos), it would not be a BloomBars event, if we didn’t reach out to the community at large with the dream, so we have already scheduled meetings with four grade school classes in the D.C. school district and a night of music and special guests at BloomBars, and then on to the Kennedy Center. After that, we up to New York City to participate in the Brooklyn Book Festival. Let’s keep bringing these dreams to bloom… Many thanks to you all. Shane W. Evans Author/Illustrator/Artist/Musician/Humanitarian www.olusdream.com www.shaneevans.com Read more…

Can’t sleep, can’t drive? Watch movies til sunrise!

We hope this will provide a healthy and safe alternative to driving all the way out to Sterling, VA or Gaithersburg, MD. We hope to get some comedians for the first ½ hour like the last time, (And we’re taking applications). Nothing like a little laughter at 2:30 in the morning to wake you up.

All movies are chosen by the audience and include everything from indie films, to documentaries, to comedies, and dramas.

• Date: Starting Sunday, September 5th (also known as “late Saturday night”) and continuing the first Sunday of every month.
• Time: 2:30 AM – 6:30 AM
• $5 to $10 suggested donation.
• RSVP on Facebook!

We are also looking for insomniac volunteers to help us! Please email nilanga@bloombars.com if you can lend a hand.

Three Bands Rock BloomBars Friday at 9:00 pm!

Noah’s Ark Was A Spaceship is a four piece rock band from Omaha, Nebraska formed in 2004 by good friends Andrew Gustafson and John Svatos. The band has undergone several lineup changes until being joined by drummer Rob Webster in 2007 and guitarist Rick Black in 2009. Influenced by late 80’s and early 90’s alternative rock the band combines noisy guitars, fuzzed out bass and hard hitting drums in a simple songwriting fashion.

John Wayne Hero is a four piece rock outfit from Washington DC. Formed in 2007 as a declaration of love for DC punk, 90′s fuzz and loud guitars, post-rock, and thought-provoking lyrics, the band has quickly garnered a local following since, notably for their “raw and honest” live shows. They released their debut album on iTunes this past spring, and will continue to write, record, and perform new material through the remainder of the year.

Blend synth melodies with driving beats and ethereal electric guitars, and add to it a delicious layer of sexy and seductive female voice that you can’t help but sway to, and you have just a taste of the four piece rock/dance outfit called Dance for the Dying. The mission of the band is to channel music through their instruments that will suit the evolution of human experiences while supplying music that crowds cannot avoid moving to.

• Suggested donation of $10
• All ages welcome
• Show starts at 9 pm!
• RSVP on Facebook!

Celebrate Shakespeare!

Join BloomBars and Wandering Souls as we bring one the Bard to life  in Columbia Heights, for three Friday night performances. If you’ve never experienced a Shakespeare play live, this is your chance to get up close & personal.

Wit, music, romance and revelry are the food of love at this comedic feast of lovers and fools. One of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies – Twelfth Night – is a play about love in all its excess.  Merry deceptions, mistaken identities and yellow stockings abound in this lilting comedy.

Pay-What-You-Can Performances at BloomBars:

• Friday, September 3 at 7:30 pm
• Friday, September 10 at 7:30 pm
• Friday, September 24 at 7:30 pm
• Suggested Donation for all performances is $15
• RSVP on Facebook!

About Wandering Souls

Wandering Souls is dedicated to making the luxury of the arts more accessible to everyone! At the core of our mission is a belief that the arts can fuel our imagination, encourage our personal growth and help unite individuals and communities. Yet, the richness of the arts is often considered a luxury.

By bringing stripped-down, high quality, energetic performances to those who have little or no access we hope to break down that misconception. We hope to open the channels to engaging conversations, new experiences and– in the process– provide opportunities for a broader cultural exchange. 

Starts September 2nd at 9:30 pm!

Every first Thursday, celebrated flutist Arch Thompson will call on a listening audience to experience love for “Mother Earth” through his music and the music of special guests.

Arch is a strong advocate for the environment, and uses his music to help educate about the importance of clean air and being good caretakers of the planet.

According to Arch, “Every one of us is a flute waiting for life’s precious gift of clean air to fill our lungs, to feed our brain cells, give us life in abundance and keep our hearts pumping with the flow of blood through our bodies. I have learned throughout my life that music can vibrate the unseen core of the human soul.”

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Arch Thompson is a gifted flutist, composer/arranger and performer who upholds a rich and diverse musical tradition that extends from the shores of the Caribbean Islands and on to North, Central and South America.

Learn More about Arch Thompson’s distinguished background and preview his beautiful flute music.

• Date: Every First Thursday, Starting September 2nd!
• Time: 9:30 – 11:30 pm
• Suggested Donation: $10
• Learn More about Arch Thompson
• RSVP on Facebook!

Join us at BloomBars on Tuesday August 31st for a participatory performance art installation, screening of THE COAT HANGER PROJECT, Q&A with filmmaker Angie Young, and to take home your own copy of the film!

About the film:
“Since the passage of Roe vs. Wade in 1973, anti-choice forces have been making it their mission to dismantle women’s reproductive freedom. They came together, brilliantly strategized, pooled their resources, and slowly but steadily they have been implementing their attack. Their weapons: money, the legal system, the government, the media, the church, and – this is the scariest of all – you.”

Although legalized through Roe vs. Wade, abortions have become increasingly less accessible, due to restrictive state laws and a reduction in government funding. The Coat Hanger Project examines the current state of reproductive rights legislation and explores what life was like for women prior to Roe vs. Wade.

• Date: Tuesday, August 31st
• Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
• Donation: $10
• RSVP on Facebook!
• NOTE: This film contains graphic images. Viewer discretion advised!