Foo Fest – Saturday, August 11th 2012!
AS220’s annual Foo Fest returns to downtown Providence’s Empire Street on Saturday, August 11, 2012, with twelve colorful hours of music on two stages (indoor and outdoor), interactive art installations and activities from community organizations and inspired individuals, activities for the young and young at heart, delicious local comestibles and more. Between 1pm and 1am around two dozen musical acts and performances grace the stages of Foo Fest. The festival showcases a wide range of visual artists and performers living and working in RI, complementing the bill with a nationally known musical act headlining the outdoor stage.
2012 Headliner: Big Freedia and The Divas!
AS220 is proud to host Big Freedia and The Divas as the Fest’s 2012 headlining act. Big Freedia, the undisputed “Queen Diva” of Bounce Music, an original urban music genre rising up from the challenging yet fun-loving nature of the New Orleans housing projects which dominate the city’s street culture. Freedia performs a derivative of Bounce reserved for self-proclaimed “Sissies” (a locally used name for biological men with varied and ambiguous sexual identities) that has risen to prominence in recent years and features explicitly gay and cross-dressing musicians and themes. Big Freedia, like other “Sissy” artists, has achieved mainstream success with several New Orleans hit singles such as “Gin in My System” and “Azz Everywhere!” from her albums “An Ha, Oh Yeah” (1999) and “Queen Diva” (2003). Freedia began her musical career almost 15 years ago at the Walter L. Cohen High School in New Orleans, where she was enlisted as choir director from her sophomore to senior years. She sees her performance as a Bounce artist as an extension of this work, often interacting in a call and response/teacher and student fashion with her audiences.
Check out more info at our Foo Fest page!
Additional Auditory Entertainment From
AS220 Youth ZUOLOGY – A Hip Hop showcase feat. ZuKrewe, dance crew 2Legit, L.I.B. Movement, Melkavine Records & more
DirtyDurdie with DJ Kellan & D-Napp
Generations Barbershop Quartet
Trip Dicks (Liz Isenberg solo project)
And Even More Performances and Art Installations by the likes of
Comedy by Randy Bush, Tim Vargulish, Jenny Zigrino & Rob Crean
China Blue (with Firefly Projects)
Tom West & The Providence Artist Campaign Candidates
Printmaker, Dennis McNett (Wolfbat Studios) AS220 Visiting Artist-In-Residence for the month of August (doing mask-making!)
The Rhode Island Mini Maker Faire
The 2012 Free Culture Awards
Our 2012 Honorees – Joan Wyand & Guillermo Gomez Peña accept their awards from Mayor Angel Taveras on the Foo Fest main stage and contribute to the Fest with performances and more!
Also at Foo Fest – Goods From
The 7th Annual Providence Anarchist Bookfair
And Good Eats By
AS220 Foo(d) & The Bar at AS220
Confirmed Sponsors for Foo Fest 2012 Include:
Our Official Media Partner – The Phoenix
Bank RI; MetLife Auto & Home; Durkee, Brown, Viveiros & Werenfels Architects; and KidoInfo