Dear Friends of BloomBars,
I am grateful to say that it’s been a very busy couple of months for the Cornel West Theory. Between new music, more gigs, and some press, we’ve had plenty to keep us occupied as we keep pushing forward.
 Our first mixtape with DJ Underdog entitled “In Her Hands: Embryo Capital Volume 1” was released in July. It featured a handful of brand new songs — one song entitled “hustler’s boogie” was featured in the City Paper’s One Track Mind column.
This mix was the first of three and planned to coincide with our return to the Black Cat for the Sockets Records Tru Skool soundstage on July 31st. Other acts on the bill included DTMD, Diamond District & DJ Underdog. We had a lot of fun that night, and it felt great to be part of an all-D.C. hip-hop show at such an awesome venue.
Once we heard that Public Enemy was coming to town the next month, we took a chance and reached out to Chuck D about being an opening act. He had us on his radio show a while back to talk about our album “Second Rome,” and was very supportive of our efforts. After hearing from us, he kindly granted us an opening slot on the D.C. stop of their summer tour.
It was an honor to open for Public Enemy at the 9:30 club. It was a very exciting and surreal night for all of us. Getting to personally thank Chuck D for the opportunity and hand him a copy of our new mixtape was an added plus.
Between shows, it is a great comfort to keep coming back to BloomBars to practice during Open Rehearsal. BloomBars is an ideal environment for us to continue to develop our sound and we are grateful to have access to such a special place. Please keep the support for BloomBars coming, whether it’s at one of our rehearsals, at the Open Mic fundraiser at the Big Bear Cafe, or any of the upcoming performances & classes.
In the coming months, we plan to release the next two mixtapes in the Embryo Capital series with DJ Underdog on www.AllOurNoise.com Stay tuned on facebook & myspace and get on the email list for the word on news and shows…
 Until Soon, Keep Bloomin’!
Sam Lavine
Cornel West Theory
http://www.thecornelwesttheory.com
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This Week at BloomBars:
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night — Olu’s Dream Returns to BloomBars — Columbia Heights Community Marketplace — The Garden: Open Mic featuring Kriss Mincey — BloomScreen Indie Film Night: “Bronx Princess”
BloomBars’ Complete Schedule
View everything coming up this week! Classes, music, open mic, and more.
Bloom For Thought
Thought-provoking articles and videos about art, music, and creativity.
Bloom News
For the Love Of: Alaina — Volunteers Needed
Blooming Soon
Upcoming Film Screenings at BloomBars — Special Open Mic at Big Bear Cafe
Bloom TV
Tune in to watch musical, theatrical, and comedic performances, interviews, feature stories, and animation.
BloomBars Buzz Online
See what people are saying about BloomBars around Twitter, Facebook, & Flickr
Discovering BloomBars
There are several ways to connect with BloomBars and learn who we are.
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See Shakespeare’s famous comedy in person!
Celebrate Shakespeare!
Join BloomBars and Wandering Souls as we bring 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:
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Shane W. Evans returns to BloomBars on Friday
Shane W. Evans Brings Olu’s Dream Back to Bloom
Friday, September 10th at 9 pm!
BloomBars and author/illustrator/artist/musician/humanitarian Shane W. Evans celebrate Olu’s Dream.
Olu’s Dream’s roots reach out to BloomBars, and believe beyond sight that the seed that has landed in Columbia Heights will prosper, grow, and inspire a community.
Evans has been invited back to be one of six featured authors at the Kennedy Center’s 15th Annual Multicultural Book Festival 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.
Before the Book Festival, Evans & BloomBars will be reaching out to the community at large through meetings with four grade school classes in the DC school district and a night of music and special guests at BloomBars on Friday, September 10th at 9 pm.
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Visit BloomBars at the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace
Say Hi to BloomBars at the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace!
Saturdays, 9 am – 2 pm at 14th & Park
Every Saturday, BloomBars is lending a hand at the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace. In addition to buying fresh, local fruits and veggies, we’re coordinating local musicians and performers to entertain marketplace shoppers.
This week, Brent Peterson and Jodi McLaren will be performing. And be sure to say hi to the BloomBars volunteers in the BloomBars tent.
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Seed the Sound welcomes Kriss Mincey on Monday.
Monday, September 13th at 8:30 pm
The Garden: Open Mic features local and touring musicians — this week, the featured artist is Kriss MIncey.
Kriss Mincey is a songwriter aspiring to write classics that generations to come will experience and value. She hails from Baltimore, and is a third-year Public Relations/English double major at the University of Maryland. Go Terps!
She started singing in a high school choir and began writing only a year ago, but has already recorded and written for artists such as Novacayne, Johnny Graham, and E the Poet Emcee.
Promoting her debut EP “VintageBrand,” Kriss Mincey writes about love, when it’s real, and the real effects it has on us. You can download VintageBrand for free at her website.
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Discuss & View “Bronx Princess” on Tuesday!
Tuesday, September 14th at 6:30 pm
BRONX PRINCESS follows headstrong 17-year-old teenager Rocky’s journey as she leaves behind her mother in New York City to reunite with her father, a chief in Ghana, West Africa. Filmed over the tumultuous summer between high-school and college, BRONX PRINCESS tells Rocky’s coming-of-age story. By confronting her immigrant parents’ ideas of adulthood, Rocky reconciles her African heritage with her dream of independence.
After the film, we will be having a live discussion with Rocky via Skype Video, allowing the audience to directly interact with the film’s star and learn firsthand her involvement in the film.
This event is a collaboration with POV, the award-winning independent nonfiction film series on PBS
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BloomBars Weekly Schedule
This Week at BloomBars!
Here’s this week’s complete schedule. You can also stay updated on our Facebook Page |
| Wednesday: |
Tap Dancing Class
Bring your groove and hard-soled shoes! Learn the basics of this classic American art form to modern afro-beat, latin, funk, & soul music.6:30 pm – 7:30 pm |
| Salsa Dancing Class
Salsa Casino de Rueda is an easy-to-learn spin on salsa that is danced both as a group to universal calls and in couples.
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm |
| Thursday: |
Samba Class
Learn the dance of Brazilian Carnival with expert sambista Zezeh Zax.
7:00 pm – 8:00 pm |
| Improv Comedy Night
Live comedy that celebrates the funny things that happen when people show humanity on stage.
8:15 pm – 9:00 pm |
| Friday: |
Wandering Souls Presents: Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night:
Pay-what-you-can performances of Shakespeare, bringing the Bard to Columbia Heights.
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm |
Shane W. Evans Returns to BloomBars
BloomBars and Shane W. Evans celebrate Dream Weekend with music, books,
and more!
9:00 pm – 11:00 pm |
| Saturday: |
YogaOur certified instructor teaches yogis of all levels the yoga postures, synchronizing movements & the breath, and centering the mind & body.
10:00 am – 11:00 am |
| Capoeira
A unique martial art combining strength, cardio & music for a challenging, exciting sport!11:00 am – 12:00
pm |
| Sunday: |
Pilates
Strengthen your entire torso with intense concentration on the lower, intrinsic abdominal muscles.10:00 am – 11:00 am |
| Capoeira
Capoeria classes are now on Sundays, too! Be ready to get your ginga on twice a week.
11:00 am – 12:00 pm |
| Drumming Classes
Join DrumLady Kristen Arant and Ghanaian drummer/drum-builder Kweku Owusu for West African drumming classes, and learn how the drummers in Malcolm X Park do it!
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm |
| Seed the Sound: Artist in Bloom Terrence Cunningham hosts our weekly jam session to wrap up the weekend, featuring guests from diverse genres.
8:30 pm – 10:30 pm |
| Monday: |
Poetry in the MorningShare original poetry, read pieces by others and get feedback in a supportive space.
7:30 am – 8:15 am |
| Belly Dance – Danza del Vientre
Re-awaken your core muscles, strengthen your posture and shimmy out Monday stress. Learn the art of belly dance in a welcoming, encouraging environment. (Las clases son bilingues)
6:45 pm – 7:45 pm |
| The Garden: Open Mic
Along with a featured artist, anyone can take the stage to perform poetry, music, spoken word, dance, or anything.
8:30 pm – 11:00 pm |
| Tuesday: |
BloomScreen Indie Film Night
A different independent, issue-focused, or documentary film each week followed by a discussion with fellow film fanatics.
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm |
View our complete listing of upcoming events
at our Event Calendar.
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Protesters “tarred and feathered” the entrance of London’s Tate Britain
Gallery
Global View Feature:
In today’s world, there is a strong link between the arts and the free market economy. And this connection was never more apparent and vilified than when a group of protesters recently threw an oily substance and feathers on the entrance of London’s Tate Britain Gallery in response to the gallery’s acceptance of BP’s sponsorship in the wake of the Deep Horizon oil spill. Like the fate of British tax collectors before American independence, it was the tarring and feathering of an arts organization for accepting corporate sponsorship from a group that has demonstrated its preference for profit over safety. In addition, 170 artists signed a letter to the Tate protesting this partnership.
But beneath the obvious, a deeper question may have to do with why arts organizations are increasingly drawn to accept corporate sponsorship. In an economic recession where government funding for the arts continues to wane, more arts organizations are compelled to seek out and accept funding from alternative sources that most likely turn out to be corporations. The article’s author names us all as the shoulders the ultimate responsibility
lays upon because, “as much as we value art for its apparent “social legitimacy,” we let it face funding cut after funding cut. We like to think our culture, art and morals are somehow “above” economic considerations, that they somehow remain untarnished by the marketplace.”
“Now, the Tate has an opportunity to play a key role in this evolution, to fundamentally redefine the relationship between art and economics.” And if the demonstrators and artists hadn’t protested, would the Tate have felt the pressure to rethink how the arts are funded? But however we look at this situation and whoever we blame, it is time for a revolution in arts funding.
Read more about this issue at the Cornell Sun
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Global View:
Arts funding is getting a more positive spin in New Brunswick, Canada, where both main political parties have committed to supporting the arts and cultural sector. In its own way, it’s a revolution in arts funding because local content consumption is something we don’t always think of but are happy to embrace when given a chance — the key argument of the importance of investing in local arts and the ‘buy local’ message that we often use for various other things we consume can apply to the arts in any city, anywhere in the world.
In South Africa, the African Arts Institute and Artists Unite as One Campaign are using the arts to fight xenophobia through a showcase of short films, which will bring together aspiring young filmmakers and concerned citizens. This event reflects our very own Artist in Bloom Resident Fellow Hip Hop Pantsula’s (HHP) trip to Kenya to highlight xenophobia.
National News:
Ohio’s Governor Ted Strickland has designated the week of September 12th as Arts in Education Week. It may be specific to Ohio in this instance, but arts education in school curriculums and arts education weeks are increasingly being supported in other states nationwide. The article includes tips on how everyone can support and participate in the Arts in Education Week program.
Backyard Buzz:
Norman Scribner, founder of the Choral Arts Society of Washington, has been heading the group for over 40 years. The Choral Arts Society has grown from a small community choir to a well-oiled machine of a world-renowned chorus. Scribner is inspired by the music and creating a new piece of music. He has successfully kept the chorus alive through tough economic times and is planning to retire in 2012.
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Alaina, poet & volunteer, has organized a benefit Open Mic at Big Bear Cafe
by Molly Davis
Alaina is a poet, a performer, a volunteer, and a Pittsburgh native who, unfortunately for us, is soon to return to her hometown. On September 8th, she attended BloomScreen Indie Film Night to see Farmingville, one of the independent, socially-conscious documentaries that BloomBars is showing as part of our partnership with the award-winning POV series by PBS.
To Alaina, performing her poetry felt really natural, but she understands that’s not the case for everybody. And that, she says, is where BloomBars comes in.
“BloomBars provides this space that is at all times comfortable, inspirational, and encouraging,” she says about performing at The Garden: Open Mic.
Unfortunately, Alaina won’t be with BloomBars for much longer, but she’s throwing us a benefit at the Bloomingdale hot spot, Big Bear Cafe!
Big Bear Cafe will highlight BloomBars in its monthly “For the Love Of:” Open Mic. Join Alaina and BloomBars at Big Bear Cafe on October 29th, from 7:30 pm – 11:30 pm to enjoy performances by The Garden: Open Mic Co-Host Gowri K.
Read Alaina’s full story to learn why she felt it was important to return the love to BloomBars and get the details about the Open Mic Benefit Show at Big Bear Cafe.
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Vote for BloomBars as an Express Best of 2010!
“Free Music” and “Open Mic”
Thanks to everyone’s help in the preliminary voting stage, BloomBars has been nominated as a “Best of 2010″ for Open Mic and Free Music.
Please put in your vote for BloomBars to win these two categories and show your support for our programs. They’re both under “Arts & Entertainment” so it just takes a few seconds to complete the form- you don’t even have to fill out the entire ballot!
Vote Now: Best Open Mic and Best Free Music!
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Volunteers Needed!
Help BloomBars Blossom
Everyone from the program director to the newsletter editor to the myriad others who greet at our events and run the day-to-day functions of the space are volunteers who believe in what BloomBars stands for and its potential to foster growth in the community. And we can always use more help!
Our priorities include:
- Guitar Teachers for Guitars not Guns
- Contractors & Electricians to perform some repairs on the building
- Translators to convert our information into Spanish and assist Spanish-speaking guests & students
- Fundraising Ambassadors to ensure BloomBars can keep paying the bills for a long time to come
- Interns who have time to help with admin tasks during the day
And even if you don’t have the skills to be a contractor or electrician, we still need you!
View all our Volunteer Opportunities
If you are interested in lending some time to be a greeter at events, helping with web development, covering stories for BloomTV and The Weekly Bloom, helping organize events, or editing videos, please contact Nilanga at nilanga@bloombars.com
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Every Tuesday, we screen & discuss independent films.
BloomScreen Indie Film Night
Each week, join fellow film buffs for a screening followed by a discussion with talking points about the film.
We’re also working to bring in filmmakers, directors, and subject matter experts whenever possible to aid in discussions and answer your questions.
All films start at 6:30 pm unless otherwise noted, and have a suggested donation of $10. Here are the upcoming films:
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CipherStock
Thursday, September 16th at 9:00 pm – 11:00 pm
For three hours, musicians can set up on BloomBars’ stage and jam. Backline (drum kit, percussion, amps) is provided so all you have to bring is your instrument of choice! A microphone is provided for emcees to freestyle.
There’s no competition and no pressure, just musicians of all kinds engaging in free-form creative expression. This event is open to the general public to watch and participate!
Because BloomBars is a community stage, the only strict rule we must follow is: No Swearing! This is an all-ages event so please keep that in mind.
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Kids around the globe will draw their visions of peace using chalk.
Chalk 4 Peace
Sunday, September 19th at 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Chalk4Peace is a global event that encourages young people to draw their visions for peace in chalk.
The global campaign spread coast to coast across the United States, to Cape Town, South Africa and in places in Europe.
Last year, more than one hundred individually organized sites with authorized clearances chalked out their messages and visions for a more peaceful planet.
CHALK4PEACE is not encouraged as an anti-war demonstration; rather, it is a creative presentation for young artists of all ages utilizing the theme of Peace.
Bring yourself and your kids to BloomBars on Sunday, September 19th between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm to do your part to chalk for peace and let your creativity unleash a masterpiece on our sidewalk.
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Afya Ibomu talks about her newest book on September 18th.
Afya Ibomu Book Signing & Performance by Tamika Love Jones
Saturday, September 18th at 8:30 – 11:30 pm
Join BloomBars as we welcome Afya Ibomu for a signing of her latest book, The Vegan Soul Food Guide to the Galaxy and a discussion of nutrition and health. We’ll also be graced with a live performance by local musician Tamika Love Jones.
Afya Ibomu is the the CEO of NATTRAL.com, and Nattral Magazine, and has been a vegetarian since 1990. Afya is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor and holds a bachelor’s degree in nutrition. She recently released her third book, The Vegan Soul Food Guide to the Galaxy.
She is also the author of the Get Your Crochet On! pattern book series, that have sold over 20,000 copies. Afya is a celebrity nutritionist and crochet designer working with hip hop artists such as Erykah Badu, Common, Dead Prez, and Talib Kweli. She currently lives in Atlanta with her husband, stic.man of Dead Prez and their eight-year-old son Itwela.
Born and raised in Washington, D.C., the singer/songwriter Tamika Jones has finally come into her own. Growing up in poverty, Tamika turned to music as an escape from the harsh realities of drugs and violence that those around her so easily succumbed to.
Tamika has put in years of work performing around New York City and Washington, D.C. and her performance vitae includes but is not limited to Bohemian Caverns, Blue Note, Groove The Sugar Bar Peachez Café, Busboys & Poets, Café Nema, Twins Jazz, Posh, Duke’s City, and Republic Gardens.
Look out for event details on BloomBars’ Facebook Page!
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Open Mic artists head to Big Bear Cafe to spread the word about BloomBars!
BloomBars Teams Up With Big Bear Cafe
Wednesday, September 29th at 7:30 pm – 11:30 pm
bloom one, bloom all in support of BLOOMBARS
read a poem or play a song
tell a story
…we’ll sing along
vegan pies and sage burning
candles lit and windows open
come sit with us
for the LOVE of: BLOOMBARS
To spread the word and raise some money for BloomBars, we’re teaming up with Big Bear Cafe (1st and R St, NW) later this month for a collaborative open mic night to benefit BloomBars!
Enjoy a cup of Counter Culture coffee, some organic Rishi tea, and the talented musicians and performers from BloomBars while in the welcoming atmosphere of Big Bear Cafe.
Our honored featured guest is singer, writer, lover, host, BloomBars volunteer, activist, daydreamer, songwriter, and friend, Gowri Koneswaran! Be there at 7:30 pm to get your latte ready in time for the show and sign up for your performance on the list.
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Bloom in Your Room
We know that you can’t spend all your life at BloomBars (although it seems like some of you try!). Tune into BloomTV and experience our growth and creativity.
BloomTV gives artists a louder voice and issues larger platform. BloomTV is the video network of BloomBars. Get involved -Interns, Correspondents, Editors, Videographers needed. Email: julie@bloombars.com
This Week on BloomTV:
The Columbia Heights Media Project’s presence at Columbia Heights Day was a huge success!
Armed with six Flip cameras, we interviewed over thirty individuals about their experience here in the neighborhood and their thoughts on the community. Long-term residents were represented as well as new faces and the diversity of their perspectives reflect the complexity of our interaction in this time and place.
A huge thanks goes out to everyone who joined the effort in community interaction! We would like to especially thank Elva Anderson, a novice media-maker, Columbia Heights resident of nine years, and mother of two who took a camera to the festival grounds completely on a whim and interviewed festival vendors, attendees and even a few politicians!
See more of Elva’s interviews with local political candidates and learn more about the Columbia Heights Media Project!
Special Thanks to BloomTV Correspondent & Artist-in-Bloom Julie Espinosa, and Columbia Heights Media Project participants Elva Anderson, Jonathan Branch and Jack Harrison.
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 Columbia Heights resident Elva Anderson filmed attendees of Columbia Heights Day.
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Donate to BloomBars & Help Us Bloom!
BloomBars is completely supported by the community. We rely on you to keep our programs running and our bills paid.
Interested in donating?
We leave it to you: learn more about who we are and what we do, then decide if we have value to you. And if you want this work in your community to last, it will have to mean more than a deduction in tax.
If you’re short on cash when you visit BloomBars, please make your donation now via Paypal.
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Show Us Your BloomBars!
 We know that you’re capturing some of the magic that happens here… Share the love!
Add photos to our Flickr photo pool, and we will choose the best to hang on the walls of BloomBars. The top 25 photos each month will also be featured on our website.
This week’s photo is by flickr user BWKP. Thanks for contributing!
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We Hear You!
Thank you to our supportive community for all your interaction, questions, and feedback!
Keep up the chatter, and let us know what you think of BloomBars on Twitter and Facebook.
 Facebook Comments of the Week:
Scott M. Phillips:
i love bloombars. awesome space. where else can i see a great movie after 3am for free on big beautiful screen.
 Twitter Comments of the Week:
@xtinagood:
Just added @BloomBars to best of DC list. Check out their Sunrise Cinema-movies start 2:30am late Sat/early Sun.The perfect afterhours scene
@citysearchdc:
A better option than driving home drunk Saturday night? A 2am movie at @BloomBars: http://bit.ly/bLbL0y
@creightonc:
Hey DC insomniacs: “Can’t sleep, can’t drive? Watch movies til sunrise!” 2:30am to 6:00am first Sun of the month http://bit.ly/9ILQ4I
@chelseydc:
@GwydionS You can find them on twitter (@social14) AND a portion of the tab will go towards @BloomBars w/ their special card! Win-Win! #HH
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BloomBars is a not for profit arts organization that seeks to unite and  inspire communities through the arts while nurturing artists committed to serving the community. With events, classes and programming around music, visual arts, film, dance, theater, and more, our goal is personal and collective growth.
We strive to create a larger platform for grassroots artists to have their voices heard across the globe. BloomBars redefines the traditional perception of a bar: we don’t serve alcohol and encourage all ages to attend our events, to create more meaningful human connections.
Learn more about BloomBars’ mission and vision.
Got an idea for BloomBars? Want to get involved? Contact us on Facebook or Twitter.
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