Author: Rudy Panucci (Page 94 of 581)

The PopCulteer
June 5, 2020

I try to keep politics out of PopCult. I realize that my place in the world of journalism is to write about toys and comics and movies and TV and music and not bog down my readers with real-world problems.

I try to provide an escape from the news.

But what I write about is the broad umbrella of Pop Culture, and I really can’t ignore what’s affecting so much of this country. Give me this one post to say some things that need to be said, and then I’ll go back to covering trivial stuff for your distraction.

I believe and support #Black Lives Matter. I hate that race continues to be an issue in this country. We fought a war over this more than 150 years ago, and we made the mistake of reconciling with the cancerous racist forces that tried to destroy this country instead of eradicating them when we had the chance.

We need to set history straight and tell the truth about the Civil War. We need to respect our black citizens and allow them the dignity which is rightfully theirs.

And we need to police the police.

I believe that most police officers are good people who want to protect and serve and preserve law and order for all people.

However, I believe that there are some police officers who joined the force for the wrong reasons. In my life I have encountered sociopaths, psychopaths and obviously racist police officers, and I’m an old white guy who isn’t usually on their radar as a target of abuse.

It’s obvious to anybody who’s watched any of the dozens of videos posted over the last week of blatant examples of police brutality during protests that there are a large number of dangerous armed lunatics out there who are gainfully employed as policemen.

Driving through crowds, pepper-spraying peaceful protesters, firing rubber bullets at the press, shoving 75-year-old men down and threatening anyone who tries to help him—these are not the actions of people who aspire to be public servants. These are the actions of thugs and petty tyrants.

We all know that there’s a problem. I can offer up one solution.

We need to give every police officer in the country a psychological screening. I know that they get screened before they get hired, but it’s clear that the criteria currently in place is woefully inadequate. There are reports that some law enforcement agencies actually reject applicants if they score too high on intelligence tests. That is not what we need to be doing.

We need independent psychologists to evaluate whether or not an officer is worthy of carrying a badge and a gun. It’s the only way to rid the police of the stain of dirty, violent cops. The bad cops have to be purged, and should never be allowed to work in law enforcement again.

Police departments have to be more proactive and recruit more officers of color. We need more equal representation on our police forces.

While we’re at it, we need to do something about the “brotherhood” that causes otherwise good policemen to cover up for their racist and mentally-disturbed fellow officers.

The death of George Floyd was a murder. It was carried out by four police officers. The one who knelt on his neck until he died could not have done so without the assistance of the other three. Had one of those officers pulled his weapon and taken out Floyd’s assailant, he would have been a true hero, but the “blue code” would probably mean that his career in law enforcement was over.

That has to stop. While we’re at it, we need to take away all that riot gear that the federal government gave to local police departments. They have demonstrated that they cannot be trusted to use it in a lawful manner. It’s clear that the people instigating the riots in many places were the police.

It has to change. Being born black should not be a death sentence.

********************

Tuesday was supposed to have been “Blackout Tuesday” for the media. I didn’t get the memo, and for that, I apologize. I have been limiting my social media exposure since the beginning of the pandemic for the sake of my own mental health.

As such, I did not find out about Blackout Tuesday until after I had prepared two radio shows and a post about them for PopCult, and shared the links to those on social media.

It was after I shared those links that I found out about Blackout Tuesday and had my “oh crap” moment. Today’s graphic is me showing up late to the protest.

It’s my bad. I had my head buried in the sand. I will try to do better.

*********************

Our governor made a spiteful and hateful joke about our last decent president, Barack Obama the other day. When called on it, he responded by first saying it was a joke, and then spouting lies and nonsense in an attempt to justify it.

The incident demonstrated that our governor is a hateful and spiteful, dishonest man, and the evidence shows that he is probably racist too. He hates President Obama because he hated being fined repeatedly for millions of dollars for the various criminal acts of pollution that his companies have committed over the years.

President Obama didn’t hurt the coal industry. Coal Barons who sold their mines to Russian Mob Bosses only to buy them back for pennies on the dollar hurt the coal industry.

I am ashamed of Jim Justice. West Virginia will continue to lose jobs and it’s brightest young people as long as we are cursed with backwards, hate-filled, corrupt leaders.

**********************

I want to take a moment to recommend ProPublica. This is a non-profit investigative reporting organization that is doing work that corporate-controlled media will not support. They recently added former Gazette-Mail reporter Ken Ward Jr. to their ranks, and he’s already producing great work. His article on Jim Justice and the myriad of shell corporations that he employs to welch on his debts should be read by every West Virgina voter.

We need this. We need people to expose the truth.

***********************
And that is it for this week’s PopCulteer. I hope you don’t mind me sustaining a little outrage over here in my pop culture blog. It’s been weighing heavily on my mind of late, and it’s pretty much my only public outlet.

I can’t go out and march. I have Myasthenia Gravis, and hot, humid weather destroys me. On top of that, due to my condition, I take some pretty heavy-duty immuno-suppressants, and we are still in the middle of a pandemic.

I’ve been holed up in my home for several months now, and while I do what I can in my role as a ghostwriter, the nature of that job prevents me from saying exactly what that has been. So I took this week’s PopCulteer to vent a bit and show my support to my fellow Americans. It’s pretty much all I could do.

That, and urge you all to vote out ever Republican from the municipal level to the top office in the land. They have proven to have no interest in preserving Democracy.

PopCult will be here with fresh content every day, unless they decide to fire me over this.

The PopCult Comics Bookshelf

Forbidden Gallery #4
edited by William Mull
Writers: Ed Devore, Nicola Cuti James Hudnall, Dan Johnson, William Mull
Artists: Portaveritus and Jeff Austin, Luca Cicchitti, Benito Gallego, Karl Comedador, Dan Day, Portaveritas and more.
Published by ACP Comics
details for ordering coming soon from ACP Comics

It’s been more than a year and a half since the last issue of Forbidden Gallery, a great independent horror comics anthology, and I’m happy to report that the fourth issue should be available this week (maybe even later today). William Mull and ACP Comics continue in the tradition of short-form horror/sci-fi anthologies of the past, telling new tales of mystery and suspense with a fresh perspective.

In this latest installment, readers are treated to five stories that run the gamut from revenge on the farm to hauntings to Kaiju to outer space adventure and a wonderful period piece with a twist that will not be revealed here. In fact, one of the difficulties of reviewing this comic is trying to describe the stories without giving away too much of the plot. I’ll do my best here, but If it seems like I’m skipping over too much detail, that’s the reason why.

As with the previous issues of Forbidden Gallery, each story is preceded by a pin-up/splash page which acts as an introduction by the book’s host, Archimedes, and gives the presentation a cool Night Gallery vibe.

The opening tale is a quick one. “Weird of the Woodchuck” is a clever story with gorgeous artwork that can’t be described in detail without spoiling it. It’s a fun opener from writer, Ed DeVore, and artists Portaveritas and Jeff Austin.

“Into The Drink” is a cautionary tale about driving while intoxicated. This story is among the last published works written by James Hudnall, who had a long career for Eclipse Comics, DC Comics and Marvel, and co-created the television series Harsh Realms. The artwork is provided by Luca Cicchitti, and serves the story well.

Next up with one of the highlights of the book, “End of the Line,” a tale of wandering Gypsies set in an unspecified post-Medieval time. The story, by Dan Johnson, is a well-structured bit of pre-gothic horror, but the real star is the artwork. Benito Gallego manages to make this story look like what you’d get if you combined the art of the late John Buscema with a gloriously-photographed Hammer Horror movie. It is simply spectacular. That’s the opening panel, above.

That gem is followed by another, an epic superhero/Kaiju mash-up, “Particle Man: Rise of the Fukisharm!” written by William Mull with art by Karl Comendador. This is the story that will thrill and delight your inner-eight-year-old, as we basically get an action-packed pastiche of Godzilla and Ultraman, with a dash of Captain Atom thrown in, and what I suspect is a deliberate nod to They Might Be Giants. The intro page is seen at right.

Closing out this issue we have “Contamination,” written by the late Nicola Cuti with art by Dan Day. This is the outer space adventure, and I’m not going to spoil any more details than that, other than to say how great it is to see new art by Dan Day.

It’s clear that Forbidden Gallery is a labor of love. This is one of the most fun comics being published today. It harkens back to the kind of concise, disciplined graphic storytelling that used to be the norm, but is now all too rare. It’s a bit that sad that this book contains two stories written by authors who have passed away in the last year, but at least they are well-represented, with clever stories that are well-drawn and entertaining.

Forbidden Gallery is great fun for folks who loved horror comics like Creepy, Eerie, House of Mystery or the EC Comics classics. You can order the three previous issues, and this newest issues at the ACP Comics website. Issue Four should be available shortly after this review is published. You will have your choice of six different covers, including the main cover by Steven Butler, or you can go for a package deal and get them all.

You can find my review of the previous issue (which has links to reviews of earlier issues) HERE.

Wednesday afternoon The AIR brings you new episodes of Beatles Blast and Curtain Call and Curtain Call is a special show devoted to the Tony Awards that weren’t. You can tune in at the website, or on this embedded radio player…

At 2 PM, your humble blogger returns with the penultimate Beatles Blast that takes us one step closer to the conclusion of what has turned into a 20-part series, The Lost Beatles Project. This brings together bonus material from deluxe reissues of The Beatles’ group and solo albums and weaves them together in a flowing stream of consciousness mixtape that allows the listener to pretend to be a fly on the wall in the studio while the Fab Four make their magic.

After we conclude the Lost Beatles Project series in June, Beatles Blast will revert to it’s usual format, presenting The Beatles group and solo material mixed with cover tunes by other artists, music from related acts (like labelmates, offspring, or former collaborators) and songs that feature guest contributions from the boys.  Beatles Blast can be heard every Wednesday at 2 PM, with replays Thursday at 10 PM, Friday at noon, Saturday at 4 PM, Sunday at 5 PM and Tuesdays at 9 AM, exclusively on The AIR.

3 PM sees the debut of Mel Larch’s 2020 Tony Award Nominees show on Curtain Call.  This was rather tricky to assemble, since there are no 2020 Tony Awards, and there haven’t been any live performances on Broadway since the middle of March.

So with no nominees and no shows currently running, Mel will bring you the hypothetical nominees, with selections from several shows that could have been in the running for the Tony Award for Best Musical, had the awards been awarded this year.

You will hear selections from Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Jagged Little Pill, Six, American Utopia and Moulin Rouge. In the background of Mel’s introductions you’ll hear Oscar Peterson playing “Something’s Coming,” from the musical, West Side Story, which may have been in contention for best revival of a musical, unless it was as bad as everybody who saw it in previews said it was. This was as close as we could get to bringing you the annual Curtain Call Tony Nominees show. Sunday night, during the regular marathon of our Showtunes showcase, since it’s the time that would normally see the Tony Awards Ceremony being broadcast on CBS, The AIR will present encores of all of our previous Tony Nominee episodes of Curtain Call, plus a couple of shows that featured the winning shows. That will begin at 6 PM.

Curtain Call can be heard on The AIR Wednesday at 3 PM, with replays Thursday at 8 AM and 9 PM, Friday at 10 AM and Saturday at 6 PM. An all-night marathon of Curtain Call episodes can be heard Wednesday nights, beginning at Midnight, and an additional marathon can be heard Sunday evenings from 6 PM to midnight.

We offer up new episodes of our speciality music shows Tuesday on The AIR with fresh editions of Radio Free Charleston, Psychedelic Shack and The Swing Shift. You can jump over and tune in at the website, or you could just stay on this page, and listen to this exquisite little embedded radio player…

Tune into this week’s Radio Free Charleston at 10 AM and 10 PM Tuesday for a how loaded with an eclectic mix of music–all of it by local musicians, or at least recorded at local venues.

We open with music from a new/old release from The Big Bad. “Dreading Sundown” is from the new EP, The Big Bad Year of the Mad Bats, which collects demos and stray tracks recorded eight or ten years ago when Big Bad frontman, Zack Bassham, was experimenting with other bands. You can find the entire EP at their Bandcamp page.

After we open the show, I sort of slack off a bit. I discovered a four-hour block of local music that had no back-announcing. I’d prepared it for use five years ago when The AIR was known as “Voices of Appalachia.” I don’t remember if we ever actually ever broadcast it, but it’s got some terrific stuff on it.

Some of the tracks are local classics. Others are rareties, recorded live and not often heard. I trimmed this down by an hour and attempted to come up with a playlist. I’m sure I got a couple of song titles wrong, and some are just guesses, but here’s your chance to hear three solid hours of local artists from all over the musical sprectrum. On thing’s for sure, this is a pretty heft serving of music from the RFC Archives.

Check out this playlist…

RFCV5 018

hour one
The Big Bad/Mad Bats “Dreading Sundown”
Beckner, Price and Panucci “Got Drunk, Got Married, Got Screwed”
Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands “To Be Lied To”
Decomposing in Paris “He Loves Me”
Trielement “mystery song”
Qiet “The Indie Song”
Mother Nang “Shine”
Hellblinki “Dancing With The King”
The Tom McGees “There’ll Be More”
Three Bodies “Gardens of Hope”
Red Audio “Girl From Outer Space”
Tofujitsu “Darjeeling”
Mother’s Blues “Purple Rain”

hour two
Under Social “I Don’t Care”
Remains Unnamed “The Sky Is Falling”
HARRAH “I Don’t Deserve You”
Joseph Hale “Time”
Old School Abbey “Stumble Home”
Science Fair Explosion “Science Fair”
Stephanie Deskins “The Fall”
The Renfields “Ramones Zombie Massacre”
Blue Million “Don’t Leave”
The Big Bad “We Own This Town”
Under Surveillance “City Boy”
Paul Calicoat “Trampled Flowers”
Unknown Hinson “Alkyhol Withdrawal”
69 Fingers “To Be Continued”
Strawfyshh “Netted Fish”
Crazy Jane “Echo of a Season”
Go Van Gogh “Requiem For Pepperland”
The Nanker Phelge “21st Century”

hour three
Time And Distance “War”
Hasil Adkins “If You Wanna Be My Baby”
Hydrogen “Deadly Passion”
Crack The Sky “Maybe I can Fool Everybody”
Todd Burge “XMas Song”
The Horse Traders “Nothing At All”
Flare Baroshi “The Vampire Mafia”
Liquid Canvas “Spirit Molecule”
Whitechapel District “How Heavy Is Thy Crown”
dog soldier “Christmas Song”
Pepper Fandango “Scotch Whiskey”
Hellblinki “Sanjula’s Junk”

Radio Free Charleston can be heard Tuesday at 10 AM and 10 PM, with replays Thursday at 2 PM, Friday at 9 AM and 7 PM, Saturday at 11 AM and Midnight, Sunday at 1 PM and the next Monday at 8 PM, exclusively on The AIR.

At 1 PM today, we’ll replay last week’s edition of Mell Larch’s Disco Music showcase, MIRRORBALL.

2 PM sees a brand-new episode of Nigel Pye’s Psychedelic Shack. When pressed for Details, Nigel could not produce a full playlist, but he tells me that it opens with a song by The Herd, Peter Frampton’s first group, and continues with “really groovy” music from The Beatles, The Seeds, The Turtles and more.

Psychedelic Shack alternates weeks with NOISE BRIGADE Tuesdays at 2 PM, with replays Wednesday at 11 AM and 10 PM, Thursday at 8 AM, Friday at Noon, Saturday at 8 AM, Sunday at 4 PM and Monday at 7 PM.

We have a new episode of The Swing Shift at 3 PM Tuesday, but as I write this, I have no idea what will be in it. I’m recording it Tuesday morning, which is no help here because I’m writing this post Monday evening. Believe me when I tell you it will Swing with the white-hot heat of a thousand swinging suns.

You can hear The Swing Shift Tuesday at 3 PM, with replays Wednesday at 7 AM and 6 PM, Thursday at 7 PM and Saturday at 5 PM, only on The AIR. You can also hear all-night marathons, seven hours each, starting at Midnight Thursday and Sunday evenings.

Richard Anuszkiewicz, a pioneering practitioner of Op Art in the United States before that perception-altering style was even given a name in the 1960s, died on May 19 at his home in Englewood, N.J. He was 89. Anyone’s who’s seen my geometric abstract works has seen the undeniable influence that Anuszkiewicz has had on my work. His pioneering work that combined mathematics with color composition into a sublime style that was both complex and simple, enigmatic and solvable. When I began making art primarily in a digital medium, I found that I could emulate his style, and use it to springboard into new areas of expression. For the month of June, Monday Morning Art will feature new works by me, inspired by the work of Richard Anuszkiewicz.

Today’s piece is untitled. It combines a twirled radial background with a spherical mandala design, and radiating linear gradients at four intersecting spokes of the underlying spiral. It’s as much math as it is art. Or perhaps it’s simply a nice combination of the two practices.

You can click the top image if you want to see it even larger than that.

Meanwhile, Monday on The AIR, we have a marathon of Beatles Blast that runs from 7 AM to 7 PM. June 1 is unoffically “Sgt. Pepper’s Day,” because I said so, and in this marathon you will hear eight episodes of Beatles Blast that have a high Pepper content. You’ll hear three complete covers of the album, along with additional covers and tons of studio outtakes by the Fab Four themselves. Then at 3 PM, we are eagerly anticipating a new episode of Prognosis, presented by Herman Linte, and slapping you upside the head with two hours of progressive rock. This week Herman presents a tribute to the late Florian Schneider with a two-hour mixtape presentation of the music of his band, Kraftwerk.

You can listen to The AIR at the website, or on this embedded radio player…

For reasons of taste and timing, this week we have replaced our scheduled concert video by The Police with this great film of The Who, performing live at The Isle of Wight Festival in 1970.

I really shouldn’t have to tell you who The Who are.

You’ll get to hear bits of their magnum opus, Tommy, as well as some other classic hits by one of the greatest live rock bands of all time. It could be months or years before we see crowds like this at a concert again, so enjoy the experience in the safety of your own home.

This week we take you back to August, 2010, for our first “normal” episode of Radio Free Charleston after a six-part look at that year’s FestivALL.

This episode, “To The Batmobile Shirt,” featured music from InFormation, Volt 9000 and The AK40 Sexuals. We also have short films from K.D. Lett and Scott Elkins.

I totally forgot about the cool Batmobile shirt I’m wearing in the host segments, and wonder where in the house it has gone.

This was a pretty strong edition of our program, and it’s nice to get it back into the blog. Original production notes can be found HERE.

The PopCulteer
May 29, 2020

Aside from the aforementioned and still-ongoing computer upgrades, your PopCulteer is attempting to assemble a magazine-sized catalog for the virtual art exhibit that I plan to run in this blog starting in a little more than two weeks, and all of that takes up quite a bit of time, so this week’s PopCulteer will be a very short one.

Basically, we have one item, and it’s a plug for a show that’s debuting on The AIR Friday afternoon.

We offer up our third edition of MIRRORBALL  Friday afternoon on The AIR. You can hear this show on The AIR website, or just click on this embedded radio player…

At 2 PM we present an AIR Music Special, the third edition of MIRRORBALL, hosted by Mel Larch. Our unexpected hit seems to have settled into a bi-weekly groove, and this week’s grooves include what you see in this playlist…

MIRRORBALL 003

Bee Gees “You Should Be Dancin’”
Dan Hartman “Instant Replay”
Vicki Sue Robinson “Turn The Beat Around”
Chic “I Want Your Love”
Walter Murphy “A Fifth of Beethoven”
Heatwave “The Groove Line”
Sister Sledge “He’s The Greatest Dancer”
The Jacksons “Blame It On The Boogie”
GQ “Disco Nights (Rock-Freak)”
George Benson “Give Me The Night”
SOS Band “Take Your Time (Do It Right)”
Marvin Gaye “Got To Give It Up”
Hues Corporation “Rock The Boat”
Diana Ross “The Boss”

You can tune in at 2 PM and hear the third edition of MIRRORBALL. The plan is to drop a new episode roughly every other Friday afternoon, until Mel gets tired of doing it, or people stop listening. Later today, it will go up in the Podcast section of The AIR website, so you can listen on demand. MIRRORBALL will also be replayed Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 11 AM and Tuesday at 1 PM. We’ll probably sneak in a few more airings during the week.

And with that, your PopCulteer will place his nose firmly back against the grindstone so we can figure out what happens next. Keep checking back for our regular features and fresh content every day.

The PopCult Toybox

We featured America’s favorite horror-movie host, Svengoolie a few days ago in our Sunday Evening Video feature, and since we were already talking about the legendary monster movie maven from Berwyn Illlinois, now PopCult gives you a quick photo review of the deluxe Svengoolie Studio Set, from ME TV and Figures Toy Company.

This limited edition set is the third action figure version of Svengoolie from FTC, and this time they pulled out all the stops, including a ReMEGO 8″ figure fully-dressed in Svengoolie’s trademark outfit-Red shirt, Black suit complete with detail on the lapel and a removeable top hat and shoes– and his casket, plus a backdrop of his set, and even a miniature Archie McPhee rubber chicken.

The figure itself has a great headsculpt with paint detail of Rich Koz in his Svengoolie warpaint, with rooted hair. The body is a typical Figures Toy Company MEGO copy (this time of the heftier style used for figures like The Penguin, back in the day). It’s got the pitfalls of most of FTC’s imitation MEGO bodies, but is still poseable and can hold his chicken. It’s vitally important that one can hold his chicken.

The top hat can be a little stubborn about staying on Svengoolie’s head, but it is one sturdy, solid hunk of plastic, which is a lesson learned from it dropping on my feet several times during the photo shoot.

The backdrop, which is printed on the package insert, is a fantastic addition to the set, and adds to the fun.

The flips side of the package insert is pretty cool too.

The casket is impressive. It is not hinged, nor is the lid in two pieces, but it is velvet-lined– even the lid, and it captures the look of Svengoolie’s newly-refurbished casket (which is probably eight years old by now). This piece looks great and the figure fits into it perfectly. It also looks terrific displayed in front of the backdrop from the package.

Here’s the Svengoolie figure in front of his casket.

And here’s the casket, with the lid closed for those of you who prefer a closed-casket collectible.

The tiny rubber chicken is half the size of what had previously been the world’s smallest rubber chickens, also made by Archie McPhee. You do just get one, so maybe they can offer an accessory set with extra chickens later. As you can see at right, the chicken is securely held in the packaging, so that you don’t suffer any loose chicken incidents during shipping.

The set comes packaged in a deluxe clamshell–something FTC is very good about–and looks great in the package, or set up on your desktop. Some collectors over at the MEGOMuseum forums add custom figures and rotate them in to represent whatever movie Svengoolie is showing in a given week.

All in all, The Svengoolie Studio Set is a great collectible for fans of the show. It’s a limited edition, so quantities are limited. And it’s not cheap. It’s a reasonably-priced $49.95 (plus about thirteen bucks shipping), but considering the limited number of these sets being made, the deluxe packaging and all the extras, it’s pretty much a bargain. The sold-out earlier editions of the Svengoolie action figure, which didn’t come with the cool accessories are now selling for upwards of a billion dollars and your firstborn on eBay (disclaimer: slight exaggeration there).

Another cool features is that FTC’s collector-friendly packaging allows you to take the figure out, play with him when nobody is looking, then put him back in his package so that people will just think you’re a collector instead of an adult who still plays with toys.

This set checks off all the boxes for fans of Svengoolie, fans of MEGO-style figures based on horror movies (and there are a lot of us), collectors of action figures based on TV shows, and fans of Me TV. You can display it with pride in your home or office, or you can act out the shows with your toys as they happen on TV…if you’re into that sort of thing.

You can order this directly from the Svengoolie Store at ME TV.

The folks at FestivAll have released the schedule of events and details on a slew of the events they have lined up for this year’s VirtuAll FestivAll, and it looks like Charleston will find a way to become a work of art while still encouraging public safety and good health.

The design for this year’s T Shirt, by Carolyn Murphy (seen right), will be for sale in June, with details on how to get yours posted on the FestivALL website then.

There are some great events coming up, and some interesting new virtual takes on our city’s usual celebrations. Today we’re looking at just a few examples of what FestivALL will have to offer.

CAMC Foundation “Run for Your Life” Virtual Run/Walk

This month-long event kicks off before FestivALL and runs (see what I did there) all month long. 2020 CAMC Foundation Run for Your Life Virtual is a unique Virtual experience, as the CAMC Foundation holds a fun and safe experience in which you partake by running or walking anywhere, anytime. All funds raised benefit awareness and screening initiatives for colorectal cancer in your community.

Registrants will receive the following:

• 2020 CAMC Foundation Run for Your Life T-Shirt – your choice of cotton or dri-fit.
• 2020 CAMC Foundation Run for Your Life Ultralight and versatile gaiter – wears the way you want it.

Now, I have somewhat Shakespearian view of running–I see no reason to do it if I’m not being pursued by a bear, but if this is your idea of a fun time, why not sign up, raise money for a good cause, and get a few cool goodies. To keep this artistic, you can think of it as your own reenactment of “The Lonliness of The Long-Distance Runner.”

Details can be found HERE. 

Show Your Pride” Window Display Contest

Running from June 6 to June 20, Charleston busineses can celebrate Pride Month by using the colors of the rainbow. Businesses throughout Charleston use their storefronts to turn the city into a work of art this June. You can vote for your favorite on the Rainbow Pride WV Facebook page through June 18th. Winner will be announced Saturday, June 20th.

Ice Cream & The Arts

This virtual coloring contest takes place une 8th to June 19th with winners announced June 20th. Each entry requires a $5 minimum donation, which will support select West Side businesses.

This virtual coloring contest features unique coloring sheets from 2019 chalk artists Blake Wheeler, Kelly Bryant, and Mallory Burka. In the spirit of the originally-planned event, it is suggested that you indulge in some Ellen’s Ice Cream while you do this.

Like you needed a reason to eat Ice cream from Ellen’s.

Details can be found HERE.

Virtual Art Fair

Over 70 new and returning artisans will display and sell their work in this juried art fair dedicated to handmade items created by local and regional artists. This fair has grown to be one of the largest events of its kind in the state, and in it’s 16th year this staple of FestivALL is changing for the first time.

Like many events around the world transitioning to a virtual platform, we will transform the fair into an online experience. The virtual fair will be open for the 15 days of FestivALL, providing the opportunity to shop small, support WV’s economy, and learn about the techniques that go into making some of your favorite products. Virtual Fair will open on June 14th on the FestivALL website – check it regularly for the gallery and links to shop your favorite WV artisans this summer.

Also, check in on Saturday June 27th for the premiere of the Virtual Art Fair Experience featuring behind the scenes looks at artists, performances by local musicians and street performers, and guest appearances from all sorts of FestivALL favorites. Virtual FestivALL Experience will premiere on YouTube on Saturday, June 27th at 1PM.

CREATORS TALK – “From Screen to Stage: Transforming Paradise Park the movie to the Staged Musical, with Larry Groce and Danny Boyd”

As a part of WVSU Creators program, listen to Larry and Danny take us through the process of transforming Paradise Park from the original motion picture in 1992 to the staged musical. Selected scenes from the original movie will be shown with related songs for the musical. Discussion will be live-streamed so the audience can ask Danny & Larry questions about their process, inspirations, and more.

This will happen on YouTube HERE.

This is just the beginning. Next week I’ll post about more events tied to VirtuAll FestivAll, with links and details on how you can bring the work of art into your own home.