THE BUZZ: Celebrating womens traditions at the Half Sky Festival
This spring, people from all over the borough can enjoy the Half Sky Festival, presented by the Brooklyn Arts Council, which celebrates womens traditions all over the world. Through June 10, there will be dance and music performances by women from countries like Brazil, Haiti and Sudan.
I wanted to do a festival that would focus on women who are members of traditional communities in Brooklyn because a lot of times they really dont get that much of the spotlight, explained Kay Turner, director of folk arts program at BAC and curator of the program. A lot of the traditions that women do in different cultural groups are more hidden and more domestic in practice. I really wanted to highlight how wonderful these traditions are that we are not privy to all the time.
One of the highlights of the program is High Strung Women, taking place on May 10, at Jalopy in Red Hook. Its a folk music venue where women will play string instruments, Turner said. Sarah Alden is a fiddle player who plays in American and Balkan violin traditions. Hilary Hawke is a banjo player the banjo is having quite a resurgence right now.