THE NINTH ANNUAL ARTS ON THIRD FESTIVAL
Date: September 23, 2007
Place: East Third Street (between Union and South Fifth Avenues)
My notes:
This year there were two stages of live entertainment, food courts, a children's play area, and sports demonstrations rounded out the extravaganza. Headliners included The Main Ingredient, jazz saxophonist Andre Ward, flutist Jan Leder, Collective Flow, and pioneer rapper Doug E. Fresh.
I didn’t stay long enough to catch any of the onstage entertainment. However, I did witness a street revival moment, when I heard the bluesy rhythmic pulse of the Turnstyle Jumpers. I saw them for the first time last year. They were back at ground level, communicating with the crowd, not only with their instruments, but also with their voices. The crowd, felt the funky Delta-like rhythms, and many did the proverbial head nod of affirmation to keep on going. The band was given their ultimate sweet reward when people began to move in a way that one woman told me, “My daddy would be having a fit seeing me dance like this on a Sunday, since he’s a preacher!”
