Shem Tane CAMBRIDGE, MA -- This past weekend the city of Cambridge celebrated its 11th year of HonkFest, which is a three day festival of brass bands from around the U.S. performing in both Davis and Harvard Squares. The core of the festival is to bring the community together through music. As I witnessed the many different bands performing and interweaving through the crowds I could feel an increasing sense of unity. Everywhere you turned, those two social centers of Cambridge were pulsing with dancing, discussion, and music. One of the bands that I caught was this rag tag collection of musicians from Seattle, Washington. At one point of their set they performed a cover of “Pink Elephants” from Dumbo. This set the crowd into a frenzy as the musicians began expanding into the crowd inches away from my face; the resulting adrenaline rush was palpable. The second group I … [Read more...] about Honk Fest 2017
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Unifier: Connecticut’s Own “Burning Man”
By Kaveh Mojtabai Lebanon, CT - Music. Dancing. Art. Poetry. Gardening. Healing circles. Fire pits. Sound sanctuary. Sweat Lodges. Tea houses. Kids spaces. Yoga. Solar panels. Camping. Nature. Community. Humanity. This all happens at The Unifier Festival. What’s more, it’s all happening in New England. Unifier, an annual “Transformational Healing and Expressive Arts Festival,” made its debut on June 5 to span across four full days through a spacious 380-acre campground at Camp Laurel in Lebanon, Connecticut. This transformative festival is not the only one of its kind. This passionate movement is sweeping across the country: Burning Man in Colorado, Gratifly in North Carolina, Beloved in Oregon to name only a few. Transformative festivals like Unifier, however, are different from purely profit-venturing entertaining music concerts. Everyone participating, whether it be … [Read more...] about Unifier: Connecticut’s Own “Burning Man”