| Kerouac
Fest 2008
Inspired by Jack Kerouac and the 1950 American Beat writers,
Kerouac Fest is an intense, purpose-driven, five day escapist
weekend for artists by artists.
Parameters:
Its free.
Leave your cell phones at the door.
You must contribute something to the group experience.
2008 Kerouac Fest to be held:
Wednesday August 20th - Sunday August 24th
(Further Details to Follow)
Click Here if you would like to attend.
Unless
the eye catch fire,
the god will not be seen.
Unless the tounge catch fire,
the god will not be named.
Unless the heart catch fire,
the god will not be loved.
Unless the mind catch fire,
the god will not be known.
-William Blake
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Coolsville
is a feature film based around the Kerouac Fest weekends.
It premiered at Kerouac Fest '06. It will be available to the
public in 2007. Below are some highlights.
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Musician David Amram & Cinematographer Baird Bryant
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The Beat Mobile from Monterey, California
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Poet Stan Rice reading Censorship
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Judith Krug of the American Library Association
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Playboy Playmate of the Year Corinna Harney
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Mr. Beat pop artist Chris Yambar
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Local Sculptor George Turner
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Singer/Songwriter Damien Youth from New Orleans
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Poetry Professor Michael Dennison
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Nikoletta Skarlatos and John Cassady
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Poet Manuel Ibarra from Venice, California
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Timothy Leary and Blair Murphy
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The Devilish Ricardo Boccanegra
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Filmmaker James Elia
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Jerry Cimino creator of the Beat Museum
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John Cassady
reads the Alan Freed sign
"On
Friday, October 15th, we arrived at the Grand Midway Hotel
in Windber, PA, for the long-awaited, annual Kerouac Festival,
at which the patrons read the entire book On the Road from
cover to cover, accompanied by some great jazz players, including
David Amram on keyboards and all manner of flutes, penny whistles
and otherexotic instruments. There were also incredible guitar
and bass players, and some talented readers of Jack's classic.We
started at about 2pm on Saturday, October 16th, and Amram
read the last line at around 4am Sunday morning.Whew, what
a night! The Hotel, bought 3 years ago by our host Blair Murphy,
is a wonderland of huge pictureson the walls of the characters
from the book, including Neal, Carolyn, LuAnn Henderson, Burroughs,
Ginsberg, and all the usual suspects, as well as fascinating
art and all sorts of intriguing knick knacks. The whole place
is the epitomeof funky chic. The next day saw the survivors
straggling out into the harsh light of day for photos and
farewells. We met some truly remarkable people, a real highlight
of the road trip thus far."
- John
Allen Cassady
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(For
more information please goto the 24 Hour Forum
and archives of earlier beatfests are posted in the beat room
of the Virtual Tour)
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