Tomorrow is the RAM if it is raining you only need an umbrella until you get there!!!

Riverside Arts Market from Michael Walter on Vimeo.

classic

I can never get tired of watching that. So many improvements at the market since then it is amazing. For one, you can get free wifi throughout the market. Which means you can work if you want to, or your favorite artist can take a credit card from you, or you can live blog your RAM experience and make a movie or something!

What else? Well how about a pedicab! YES! NINE O FOUR pedicab will take you to and fro. Need a ride back to 5 points? Sure. Need a ride back to your car because you are elderly or your kids are pooped? Sure. Buy a melon and big plant and can't carry it back? Sure. Come check it out!

RAIN OR SHINE GUYS!

Oh yean and Rebecca Zapen and BBOYS!!!HOOOT!

Electro says good. Bye 2 parkview.

But it doesn't mean I don't.

Really? Nah.

Some people think my blog is too serious. Some think its too sloppy. One thing we call all agree on is that its not funny. Scroll down for Summertime in the City Scoop!

Summertime in the CITY starts tomorrow! Do you know where your bboys are?

Let us just say that there is a thriving, friendly, active hip hop community here in Jacksonville. The roots of Jacksonville hip hop spread from here to Atlanta, Savannah, Belgium, Germany, south Florida, Tampa, the beaches etc. They all come back for Summertime in the City.

The soul of the event is as good as hip hop. And Triclops brings in the fresh-but-unpredictable-next-big-thing acts each year. Here is what the Washington Post said about Friday's headliner:

Who knew that one of the best examples of cutting-edge hip-hop would come in the form of a white kid dressed in a middle manager's thrift-store suit, sporting a hairdo that looks like a squirrel's nest?

But you must be present to win!

Here is your Convention Itinerary from the Producer hisself:

First off, let me start by saying how friggin excited I am about this weekend.!

Lots of hard work, brainstorming, and resource using has went into the last few months and I am very anxious to see the finished product. The promotions, community support, and content pre-game day has been the best I could ever ask for and I am very proud of everyone involved already.... this weekend is going to be awesome.

So just as a final run down-
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start your weekend with
The Summertime in the City/ Fusebox Funk pre party @ Endo Exo 1224 Kings St. (San Marco) doors @ 8pm, $10 cover

get your funk on with some live band action featuring Hip Hop hybrid live acts Fuseboox Funk and STITC alumni
The Elevated Hip Hop Experience. Endo Exo is located right over the bridge on the Southbank, just minutes away from T.S.I.
Park downtown and take the skyway if you want! Endo Exo is a super nice club with a full liquor bar, a great way to start your weekend.
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This Friday July 31 @ TSI 333 E Bay St. (Downtown)- Doors @ 9pm- $10 cover, $12 under 21

12:20-Edan w/ Dahga (Lewis Recordings, UK)

Edan aka Edan Portnoy is an American Hip Hop artist. He is an emcee, DJ and record producer.Edan is known for his unique/unlikely take on hip hop culture, where traditional rap songs are often skewed by 60's rock samples, tape echoes, and foreign language choruses, not to mention the off-beat humor and surrealist imagery incorporated via his lyrics. His mix-tape Sound of the Funky Drummer accumulates hip hop tracks that utilize James Brown's "Funky Drummer", which has been called the most-sampled record of all time. In 2005, he released the album "Beauty and the Beat", which drew approbation for its lyricism as well as the production, which was notable for its graceful marriage of hip hop and rock-based psychedelia.
Original Boston Chapter Zulu Nation Member and emcee Dagha has substantially contributed to Hip Hop over the past 15 years. From his popular guest appearance on Edan’s latest LP, the critically acclaimed “Beauty and the Beat” to numerous features on many Insight projects, Dagha has proven himself a versatile veteran with seasoned style and delivery. Dagha has performed and collaborated alongside pioneers of the culture and keepers of the sword to help solidify his status as an international Hip Hop heavyweight.

supported by Jacksonville's own:

11:50-Patan Locke (Tres Records, LA)

11:30-Willie Evans Jr. (HIP HOP HELL Records, Jacksonville)
11:10-Dillon (Atlanta)

10:45-Tough Junkie (Coalmine Records, Ohio)

9:00pm- Doors, $THE BIG BUCKS$ DJ Crew

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Then we wake Saturday, meet @ The Riverside Arts Market @ 11:30am sharp for-

The Summertime in the City 2 on 2 B-Boy Battle

hosted by Kenski, Main Ingrediantz Crew, and Nuf Sed Clothing with DJ B-Ryan, Triclops I, Kidd Yzer, and guests on the turntables

this will be a 2 on 2 man B-boy battle with $400 plus prizes at stake. The turn tables will be set up by noon for warm ups, the actual contest will be taking place from 2-3:30pm. This is a family, kid, and dog friendly event- in addition to the B-boys there will be artists, organic food vendors, clowns, and lots more. As Biggie Tea says- a 17 ring circus.
This is not to be missed by anyone- bring your friends, grandmas, dogs, babys, all that!

so the B-boy contest will be packing up @ 4pm and headed to:
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The Mellow Mushroom/STITC Pizza Party @ The BBB Complex, 1520 N Main St. 5pm No Cover

The BBB Complex is a workspace in Springfield that holds 3 entity's- HIP HOP HELL Records, Zombie Bikes Co-Op, and Burro Bags.
In the parking lot you will be able to catch a huge 20 foot spray paint mural being created live by artist Shaun Thurston and friends, live DJs including $THE BIG BUCKS$, Space Mike, Giz-Rock, and whoever else shows up with a crate (lol), and a special outside performance by The Elevated Hip Hop Experience.Burro Bags will be hosting an open house where you can enjoy enjoy a free keg courtesy of Shantytown Pub and perhaps best of all-
The Mellow Mushroom will be bringing their mobile pizza kitchen from Atlanta and serving hot slices in the lot!

and after that, head up the street to Shantytown Pub for-
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The Summertime in the City Grand Finale Blowout! @ Shantytown Pub, 22 W. 6th St., 9pm $5 suggested donation

9 pm- Doors, $BIG BUCKS$ DJ Crew with special guests

10:00 pm- J-Biz
10:20- Arsun Fist
10:40- Mr. Al Pete
11:15- Dr. Sam Beckett
11:40- The N Word
12 Midnite- Dope Sandwich (Savannah)
12:20- Heavy Flow
12:40- Larry Otis aka Blak Hart

then more DJing, more rapping, and probably a huge freestyle session!
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throughout the whole weekend look out for your free copy of the official Summertime In The City /Hip Hop Hell mixtape compilation sponsored by Scion! Look out for the Scion tent and table all weekend to get your copy- all you gotta do is sign an email list.
Its good! Real good!

for any more info and coverage check out these blogs-

urbanjacksonville.info/stitc

reaxmusic.com/blogs/stitc09

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finally, I want to thank in advance everyone who has helped pull this thing together:

all the performers, artists, B-boys, and DJs taking part in the festival
Adrien at Revolt Marketing/Scion
Joel and Emily from Reax Magazine
Jon Bosworth repping Mellow Mushroom
Ryan King at Red Bull
Tony Allegretti from The Riverside Arts Market
Kenski for the art direction
Ryan and Jason at T.S.I.
Grant with Fusebox Funk
Tom Pennington at Jax Scene
Joey Marchy @ urbanjacksonville.info

man, you all have been such a great help this year and I cannot that you enough! We have assembled a good team on this one, lets keep it moving.

Every flyer and piece of artwork I got is attached- feel free to spread wherever you can in these final days.
See you this weekend!

Sincerely,
Ian Ranne dba Triclops I
HIP HOP HELL Records/Shantytown Pub

For those of you who read this far down, here is a bootleg special for you at the BG.
$5 Shipwrecks or Frozen Margaritas all weekend long (except happy hour when they are even less). Just mention that you are looking for the HIP HOP spesHELL! Best of luck to IAN and crew and heres to a great event! Love from the BG crew!

Co op

Oh Man. RAM IS GOING TO JAM THE JAMZ this weekend.

Just click it dude. We are in the top 35 farmerz markets in the US and we are only a few months old and not even just a farmers market. I don't think we will catch up with Flint but hey at least nobody is guttin' rabbits for food here. Right? Right?! We have got a certified 17 ring circus too. This and every week.

Sorry, anyway, if you weren't at the Justin Roberts concert last weekend you have probably heard about it by now. Not since the first weekend have we seen crowds that huge. At one point he stops and says the Riverside Arts Market is awesome. We don't have stuff like this in Chicago. I was there. HE DID SAY THAT. And I am starting to think we may have some stuff that is as cool as other cool cities. Hey wait, I've always thought that. Anyhoo.

Maybe you are too cool for kid jams or were out of town. I bet you are not too cool for Rebecca Zapen. She is incredible. Just give a click and listen all day. I am so looking forward to her show.

She is followed by the Summertime in the City bboy contest. This will be an amazing competition that will wow you for hours. Seriously. Huge support to Ian and the STITC folks. This is a breakout year for those guys.

This is not the Saturday to miss the ram. So ride your bike and park it for free at our free bike valet courtesy of Bike Jax. Need to get some work done? Suck on our huge wifi pipes courtesy of MacTechPro. Just make it down. It seems like a year ago when we had 1200 pineapples and a nine foot woman. It is definitely NEVER the same market twice. On that note, there will be an extra special surprise booth in the farmers row. Stay tuned for more info. Must be present to win.

Egg raid on mojo

Ah ah ah!

Sitar and flute waking the RAM

Life is SHORT! LIVE IT UP!

I don't know who these people are but I want to. Big blahg post coming soon. But this will hold you over until then. Forgive me if you have seen it, but it totally made my day.

MAJOR THINGS ON THE HORIZON! MAJOR!

Not just this project either! Although this is a big one, a huge one even.

I will be adding some info on the biggest days at RAM ever, and they will be BACK TO BACK! Never the same market TWICE! Come back here and get the latest and some inside information from the director.

Than this

The pineapple express pulls in. And this is only one load! Come buy a pineapple and support hubbard house! Donated by winn dixie!

Sweetgrass is back at ram! Get your goat cheese! Also $2 pineapples. Perfect tropical gold. All proceeds to hubbard house! Rain or shine you are dry and cool at the ram!

My leadeership jax team!

CALL TO ARTISTS

It seems like the opportunities for artists in the city are growing in growing. I know of some new ones coming that dovetail with the best thing to happen since the river (tm).

One that has always been around is the public call to artists for the Jazz Festival poster. This will be a huge score for the winning artist this year 2010. Why? Because even in torrential rain last year's all free rocking block party cum Jazz Fest was very well attended and I think next year is going to serve a hundred thousand easy. We have 2 of the best college jazz programs in the country and the best high school jazz program in the country and one of the best festivals in the world. I'm not saying forget, New Orleans, Chicago, or New York. I am just saying we are Jazzsonville. Son. And if you love jazz we are on your map, and just maybe you could be the icon on that map. Son.

What Do You Get When You Mix the “World’s Favorite Juggler” with 1,000 Pineapples and a 9-Foot Woman?

RAIN OR SHINE!

words: WWW

The colorful Riverside Arts Market (RAM) will take on an even more a more circus-like atmosphere this Saturday (July 18th) with special performances by Kerry Silson (one half of video above), a.k.a. “The World’s Favorite Juggler”, and by Julianna Marie Tucker, who stands out in a crowd at well over nine-feet tall on her acrobatic stilts. Both performers are from Orlando and have performed at Universal Studios and festivals throughout the world.

Saturday’s market also has declared Saturday a double theme day and will celebrate both Pineapple Day and Strings Day at its weekly extravaganza under the Fuller Warren Bridge. Winn-Dixie, one of RAM's sponsors, has donated a truck load of fresh pineapples to the market. The first 1,000 customers on Saturday can buy a pineapple for only $2.00, with 100% of the proceeds going to Hubbard House.

In addition to the juggler and stilt walker, the entertainment at RAM this Saturday will feature a dozen musical acts, all playing different stringed instruments. Strings Day will feature the following:

1:00am Singer-songwriter Terry Whitehead – guitar
11.30 am Melanie Lee and Paxton Stark – guitar
12:00 With All Due Respect (Jerry Maniscalco and Brent Ogesby)– guitar
10:00 am Kathleen Finnegan – Celtic Harp
9:30 am Arvid Smith – Sitar
10:30 am 4-Ever Young String Quartet
· Ben Campbell – viola
· Kara Swanson – violin
· Jaclyn Blickley – violin
· Tim Stephen – cello
(from Douglas Anderson School of the Arts)
11:00 am Rebekah Morgan – Violin
11:30 am Emily Bullard – Violin
1:30 pm Arvid Smith – Dobro and Guitar

Other performers in this Saturday’s market include:
T&C – Vocalists
Bret Blackshear – “Mask & Mystery” Gi Shiata (Magic Theater)
John Nolen – Balloon Magic
Tara Rawson – Adishakti Yoga
Bob Wright – Saxophone
Tanya Galligher – Belly Dance
Whirldjam – Percussion Collective

The focus of the Riverside Arts Market is artistic expression, and the 160 artists who display their works each Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. present a wide array of artwork from oil paintings and sculpture to hand-made gifts. With over one football field’s area of covered space beneath the bridge, the artists can exhibit without having to worry about rain or the hot sun, since it is an all-weather market. The Riverside Arts Market is free and has over 1,000 free parking spaces next to it.

The market also has a huge fresh produce section in its Farmer’s Market, and many visitors come every week to select their locally grown fruit and vegetables. Strawberries, Vidalia onions, peaches, blueberries, and goat cheese have been the biggest hits in recent weeks. There are also food vendors who sell ready-to-eat meals from shrimp creole to barbeque, which can be eaten in the riverfront dining area while listening to free music.

For more information, visit http://www.riversideartsmarket.com

One word press release.

Downtown. It all depends on your approach.

Dj fix it now is on! Ice cream at 1030

Cool City, Cool People, Cool Jams, Cool Market. Cool Hair?

Put your budget worries on hold. I support the millage hike and I think anyone who understands the quality of life we risk by keeping taxes dangerously low has already made up their mind. Just like people who don't understand have made up their mind. Ha. But lets put that aside for a minute and think about some things that make us go yum.

Firstly, UJ and T+T will be spinning their new mix tape jams out back of the BG tonight. They will probably take over the ones and zeros around 7 or 8 ish. I am spinning ones and TWOS if I get my cord from the USPS today. We are going to do $5 frozen margarits, Downtown Yacht Clubs (tm), and Shipwrecks (r). These are the frozen drinks that make your toes curl up in your flip flops or slaps as we call them in the Republic of West Florida.

Of course you will need something to do tomorrow right. Something laid back and free? Something that combines your produce shopping with a bite to eat and some great entertainment. Maybe even a kids tent with activities from local arts museums and non-profits. Hey that sounds like the Riverside Arts Market! It is rain or shine and if you use an umbrella to get there you won't even get wet. AND some vendors have rainy day specials ask 'em. Its true! Seriously, RAM is gold.

Did I mention HAIR? From the Players site:

Dig out the tie-dye and bell bottoms from Grandpa’s attic! The Age of Aquarius dawns again with the celebrated, revolutionary show that rocked the Sixties. Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical opens July 31 at Players by the Sea and runs for just seven performances, including Saturdays at midnight. Directors Lee Hamby & Barbara Williams and Music Director Sam Clein, the brilliant team behind Players’ hit production of Sweeney Todd, along with a talented and energetic young cast, re-visit the hippie counter-culture that glorified peace and love in songs like “Aquarius,” “Good Morning Starshine” and “What A Piece of Work Is Man.” Choreography is by Niki Stokes, whose work enlivened Urinetown.
With music by Galt MacDermot and lyrics by James Rado & Gerome Ragni, “Hair” created a sensation in its debut at Joseph Papp’s Public Theater in October 1967. It transferred to Broadway in April 1968 and permanently entered – and altered – American consciousness. The current Broadway production won the 2009 Tony for Best Musical Revival.
Hair’s long-maned tribe enjoys a bohemian life in New York City, celebrating freedom from social constraints and opposing the Vietnam War. Claude, his friend Berger, their roommate Sheila and their comrades struggle to pursue their search for meaning, free expression and sexual openness in opposition to the conservative demands of their parents and society. Ultimately Claude must decide whether or not to resist the draft, as his friends have done. While the show’s profanity and sexual license are familiar territory to any HBO viewer, its blithe depiction of illegal drug use, its irreverence for the flag and the brief nude scene still have the power to shock.
Claude is played by Daniel Austin, with Vincent Teschel as Berger and Juliet Fixel as Sheila. The diverse Tribe includes young veterans of PBTS musicals Bat Boy, Sweeney Todd and Urinetown, as well as many of the area’s most talented college theatre majors on their summer vacations. They include Sam Willis, Steve Anderson, Jaclyn Hofmann, Joanna Yeakel, Miranda Lawson, Renee Freeman, Aaron Marshall, Clenton Hollinger, Lisa LaGrande, Taisir El-Souessi, Walter Ware, Evan Hayes, Rachel Jones, Luke Williams, Matt Young, Zach Kanner, Caiti Wiggins, Brooks Studier, Shannon Jones and Ron Shreve.
Set design and costuming is by Lee Hamby, who also wears the hat of Production Designer/Manager at Players by the Sea.

too fun

Dang. Good Show.

My man Jack is the new producer of Urban Jacksonville Weekly. Taking us to a whole new level of 30 minutes you will never get back. Yesterday's show was pretty awesome.

COOL!

Hope to see you Friday and Saturday.

Been slacking lately on the old blahg. Working with the new web application for the Riverside Arts Market. It is so awesome. Still it is a LOT of work migrating people, booths, and spreadsheets, in the best market of all time, ever (tm).

Don't forget to tune into UJW Today!

The fourth!

More

Fireworks!

Bg is closing at 8pm tonight to celebrate the 4th

Awesome

Ram is pumped for the fourth!

Cool off and come jam with biggie tea if you like. Out back.

Bring your smiles to RAM for the 4th for RAM JAM! Come by Trolley!

photo of Mansel: Mandi at JaxScene

I am back on the ground in Jax. If you have been trying to reach me you may know that I have been traveling to a relatives funeral. That was rough. We also launched some groundbreaking software that will help improve the Riverside Arts Market from the inside out. More on all that later.

While I have you here though I have some awesome news about RAM. You will be able to take a trolley!

Downtown Trolley- It's FREE!
Hours of Operation
July 4, 8:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.*

Fares
Trolley rides are free!

Trolley Stops

* Metropolitan Park (Main entrance)
* Veterans Memorial Arena** (Adams St. and A. Philip Randolph Blvd.)
* Liberty St. and Bay St. (near downtown bars)
* Hyatt Regency Hotel (Newnan St. and Bay St.)
* The Jacksonville Landing (Water St. and Hogan St.)
* Museum of Science and History-MOSH (Museum Circle)
* Crown Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront (Riverplace Blvd.)
* Riverside Arts Market** (Riverside Ave. near the Fuller Warren Bridge)

*Service will be limited during the fireworks show due to the Acosta
Bridge closure. Service will continue after the show ends.

**Last pick-up/drop off time for the Arena and Riverside Arts Market stops will be at 5 p.m.

Official COJ Site, click fourth and rock!

Scroll down for a look at our fresh farm and produce aisle. I couldn't even get it all in one run. There is also and AMAZING line up of performers all over the site this weekend. RAM JAM! Seriously!