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Arts and Entertainment
Monday March 16, 2009
FestivALL 2009 lineup focuses on homegrown talent
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Homegrown talent this year will be the main focus of the 10-day eclectic celebration known as FestivALL.

Tom Hindman
FestivALL director Larry Groce said Charleston’s summer arts festival is off to an exciting start with the participation of 22 local artists who have contributed to the design of the publicity poster.
From local artisans to entertainers, musicians and writers, the events will have a native thread running through them, FestivALL Executive Director Larry Groce said.

"The focus will be more on West Virginia and Charlestonians than it has been in the past," Groce said. "We want the best of Charleston to be shown off."

With Gov. Joe Manchin's Come Home to West Virginia contest and tourism effort fresh on people's minds, Groce said it is the right time to bring local talent to the spotlight.

In its fifth year, FestivALL is slated to run from June 19-28. A combination of artwork, music, plays and other talent will take over the city. There will be both major events that require tickets and smaller, free events.

The FestivALL slogan, "A city becomes a work of art" has a new look, as 22 local artisans have created a new mixed-media piece. Each artist has created an individual piece of art that will be one letter of the slogan.

The letters will be together on the first and last days of FestivALL and will be displayed at stores in various parts of the city on the other days.

"We're trying to get as many people involved as possible," Groce said.

Alex Morgado of Blackwell & Co. has been involved with FestivALL since its inception. He conceived and designed the poster using the different works of art.

"This is an illustration of the talent Charleston has," Morgado said. "It's amazing the stuff people are coming up with."

The letters are made from photographs, paintings, glass, pewter and other mediums chosen by the artists. 

Morgado said he hopes to open the project to other artisans and allow them to create letters that would rotate on FestivALL's Web site. That would give local commercial artists another opportunity for their work to be seen.

Another native taking part in FestivALL is actress Ann Magnuson, who grew up in Charleston and graduated from George Washington High School.

Magnuson, a veteran of more than 30 films and hundreds of television and stage appearances, will present her new performance piece, "Back Home Again (Dreaming of Charleston)."

According to the FestivALL Web site, she describes the piece as "a loving reminiscence of growing up in West Virginia with all the hopes, dreams, good times, sad times and crazy times as well as notes from the long and winding road that took me from Charleston to New York, Los Angeles and nearly every continent in the world then back home again."

The Charleston Light Opera Guild, celebrating its 60th anniversary, will present the Broadway musical comedy "Curtains" five times during the 10-day festival.

The play is not yet on tour but is coming to FestivALL because the original choreographer, Rob Ashford, is an area native and learned to dance at Theater West Virginia.

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Posted By: booger (9:55am 03-18-2009)
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Yeah, this sounds sooooooo much better than the Regatta. Also, when did WVa ever have a tourism effort?

Posted By: LOLOLOL (8:14am 03-17-2009)
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what is festivall?

Posted By: Do It Right (9:42pm 03-16-2009)
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Where are the Beach boys, they played the Regatta for free? Ray Charles, Miami Sound Machine, Willie Nelson,
almost forgot Tiny Tim.

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