Columbus Pride 2008

Pride Festival celebrates the past

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment Coordinator
The Advoacte
June 26, 2008

Columbus’ annual gay pride festival is in its 27th year and has grown into one of the largest pride festivals in the Midwest. This year’s theme, “Our Power,” honors the struggles gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals faced during the Woodstock era and the change the was wrought from it.

“It’s about going back to the ’60s and honoring the change that was happening to move this country forward,” said Kala Rothan, director of Stonewall Columbus, the city’s GLBT center, which organizes the pride festivities each year. “We were on the brink of change then, kind of like we are now with the changing political climate.”

The parade will begin at 1 p.m. with more than 100 floats. There will also be food, art vendors and music entertainment.

Jennifer Holliday, who starred in the original Broadway version of “Dreamgirls,” will be joined by Latin sensation Jade Esteban Estrada and Lori Michaels’ Me and the Girls. Comedian Marga Gomez will serve as MC.

“The GLBT community has a rich and vibrant culture in Ohio,” Rothan said. “We’re in every walk of life ... And we just want to celebrate our culture and make sure everyone knows we’re a contributor.”

For complete information about the Pride Festival, call Stonewall Columbus at (614) 299-7764 or visit www.columbuspride.org.

ComFest

Grass-roots ComFest 'a party with a purpose'

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment Coordinator
The Advoacte
June 26, 2008

Billed as central Ohio’s biggest party of the year, ComFest organizers promise their traditional flair and promotion of political awareness when Columbus’ premier community festival returns this weekend.

The festival features 220 bands on six stages amidst a horde of local food vendors, artisans and an estimated 70,000 patrons.

“One thing that sets this festival apart is that it is a volunteer, grass-roots event that’s not put on by the city or corporations,” said Mark Fisher, ComFest’s entertainment and communications coordinator, who has been volunteering with the festival for more than 20 years.

Though the festival steeped in the theme of carefree, yet responsible fun, a theme of political and economic change has always accompanied that atmosphere.

“We’re a party with a purpose,” Fisher said. “We try to present the people with some politics, things to think about and ways to improve themselves and their environment.”

It was this sort of promotion that began ComFest more than 20 years ago.

“It was just a small effort for grass-roots community groups to let people know they were there,” Fisher said. “They set up a bunch of booths, but then thought, ‘why don’t have a band play, too?’.”

This year ComFest’s mantra is “Be the Change,” fueled by today’s tense social and financial climate.

“(ComFest) represents the counterculture; it represents the alternative community; it represents the underground,” Fisher said. “It’s the anti-establishment coming together on one level, and on another level it’s the best party in Columbus all year long.”

Fisher is also adamant about asking that patrons stay responsible and obey the festival’s motto: “It’s everyone’s job to maintain the mellow.”

ComFest kicks off at noon Friday at Goodale Park, 120 W. Goodale Blvd., Columbus, and runs through Sunday. The festival’s admission is free and more information, including a full schedule of performers, can be found at www.comfest.com.

"Barbar and Frank: The Concert That Never Was"

Impersonators present concert 'that never was'

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment Coordinator
The Advoacte
June 26, 2008

The Vegas sensation “Barbra and Frank: The Concert That Never Was” starring Sharon Owens and Sebastian Anzaldo is bringing that quintessential glitz and glam to central Ohio.

During Barbra Streisand and Frank Sinatra’s legendary careers, neither, to Streisand’s chagrin, ever appeared on stage or even in a studio together. Their voices were only mixed electronically on Sinatra’s “I’ve Got A Crush On You” from his “Duets” album in 1993.

“That’s our corny little motto,” joked Owens, who is seven years into her full-time impersonation of Streisand. “These two voices of the century have never shared a stage, until now.”

Riding the popularity wave of duet albums (including Tony Bennett’s “Duets: An American Classic” and Reba McEntire’s “Reba: Duets”), Owens and Anzaldo came together five years ago after Owens won the title on Fox’s “Performing As.” Now the two perform nightly in Vegas at the Riviera.

“It was a match made in Vegas,” Owens said.

Completely written and choreographed by the duo, Owens and Anzaldo play up the pop icons’ personalities.

“It’s more theatrical, like a ’60s TV show, than a concert,” Owens said. “I’m more of the older ’60s Barbra with a ’90s look. … It’s not really an impersonator show because you actually get to know these characters.”

Ol’ Blue Eyes and Babs take the stage 8 p.m. Saturday at the Southern Theatre, 21 E. Main St. Tickets are $27.50 to $47.50, or $25 each for groups of 10 or more.

For more information, call (614) 431-3600 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. For more on Owens or Anzaldo, visit www.sharonowens.net or www.sebastiansingssinatra.com.

"Rocket Man: Our Tribute to Elton John"

Gay Men's Chorus showcases music of Elton John

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment Coordinator
The Advoacte
June 19, 2008

The Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus is set to rock Columbus with its showcase of “Rocket Man: Our Tribute to Elton John” this weekend at the Capitol Theatre.

In advance of the Midwest’s largest Pride Festival next weekend, at which they’ll also be performing, the chorus is brining its biggest show of the year, pulling out all the stops with a stacked 85-member cast, costume changes and full choreography.

”You can’t do an Elton John without dancing,” joked Matthew Arnold, the chorus’ executive director.

The chorus will take on such hits as “Candle in the Wind,” “Philadelphia Freedom,” “I’m Still Standing” and of course “Rocket Man.”

”We wanted to do something unique for our June concert and we’d never done a show for specifically one artist. There usually isn’t enough music,” Arnold said. “But Elton John has five decades of music to choose from, and it runs the gamut of all various types of songs.”

A recording of the show is also set to be made following the concert and will be available for purchase later this summer.

Also next month, the chorus is looking forward to taking “Rocket Man” to the Gala Choruses Festival, an annual international choral event in Miami, where they’ll be appearing on the main stage.

“Rocket Man” appears Friday and Saturday at the Capitol Theatre, 77 S. High St., Columbus. Tickets are $27 tot $29, call (614) 228-2462 or visit www.cgmc.com for more information.

Go to my blog, Columbus After 5, for a review of the show!

"Return to the Forbidden Planet"

Shadowbox merges campy sci-fi, songs

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment Coordinator
The Advoacte
June 19, 2008

Shakespeare merges with “Star Trek” at this weekend’s opening of Bob Carlton’s musical spoof “Return to the Forbidden Planet” at Shadowbox Cabaret, 164 Easton Town Center, Columbus.

The show chronicles a Trek-like journey Captain Tempest (Tom Cardinal), whose antics crash-land them on a foreign planet. This leads to comedic run-ins with evil scientist Dr. Prospero (JT Walker III), his daughter, Miranda (Nikki Fagan), and long-lost wife (Julie Klein), who happens to be the science expert amongst Tempest’s crew.

All will take place against a backdrop of rock classics from the ’50s and ’60s, including “Wipe Out,” “Born To Be Wild,” “The Shoop Shoop Song,” “Monster Mash,” “Good Vibrations,” and “This Is A Man’s World.”

“Usually when you do a musical you’re sort of covering the music given to you,” said Katy Psenicka, Shadowbox manager, media relations director and resident choreographer. “With this show there isn’t one composer or one group, it’s a lot of music from different people spanning a very long time period. There’s something for everyone.”

In true Shadowbox style, the show will feature a few additions, namely the incorporation of meteorologist Jym Ganahl as a newscaster. A video projection of Ganahl will cut in and out with updates during the show.

Also, like Shadowbox’s pre-production flair for its hit “Tabloid the Musical” earlier this spring, a prequel to the show featuring Dex Prime (Jimmy Mak), a geeky Shadowbox patron, is running on the troupe’s Web site.

The video blog chronicles “scientific findings” from beyond picked up on Prime’s homemade sci-fi equipment. Prime’s findings will lead up to the opening of the show, connecting him to Dr. Prospero.

“There’ll also be quite a bit of audience participation, and it’s full of music that everyone knows,” Psenicka said. “It’s right in the Shadowbox vein so it should be a really fun show.”

The 15-member cast, slightly stripped down for a typical Shadowbox show, hits the stage at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, and the show runs until Aug. 3. Tickets are $20 and $30, call (614) 416-7625 or visit www.shadowboxcabaret.com for more information.

Go to my blog, Columbus After 5, for a review of the show!

Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival

Revamped jazz festival celebrates 10 years

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment Coordinator
The Advoacte
June 19, 2008

A blues and jazz fusion will ignite Gahanna this weekend with the Creekside Blues and Jazz Festival’s 10-year celebration.

Now that construction has finally finished at Creekside Park and surrounding developments, the festival’s coordinators are taking full advantage, offering completely amplified version of this year’s festivities.

“It’s going to be new for everyone,” said Laurie Jadwin, the festival’s lead coordinator for the seventh year.

This year one of the largest visual changes will be the newly fenced in area in Olde Gahanna along Mill, Walnut and Towne streets. The fence comes with this year’s addition of alcohol being served throughout the festival.

“We’ve always got two main complaints, the beer and the parking,” Jadwin said. “We had beer gardens in the past, but people said they weren’t in areas close to the stage; now people will be able to walk freely throughout the park.”

The festival’s traditional children’s area has also been expanded, Jadwin said. Along with the usual carnival rides, Giant Eagle has added a Musical Discovery Zone, where kids can learn to play and make their own instruments to take home.

A 5K Jog for Jazz will kick off Sunday morning followed by a brunch to commemorate the 10th anniversary. Also new this year is the Young Rising Stars in Blues and Jazz Contest, in which the winner will receive $200 and the opening slot for the Columbus Jazz Orchestra concert showcase Sunday night.

However, the new stuff isn’t even the best part, Jadwin said. The three-day, three-stage weekend is all about the music.

Headlining musicians include Watermelon Slim & The Workers, The Bobby Floyd Trio, Mudfork Blues, Nick Moss & the Flip Tops and, of course, the Columbus Youth and Jazz orchestras.

“[It’s] going to rock,” Jadwin said. “Nowhere else will you get to see this many quality bands for free.”

The festival kicks off Friday and runs until Sunday. More than 70,000 people are expected to attend.

For more information, visit www.gahannaevents.com or call (614) 478-0878.

Zoombezi Bay

Cool off at Columbus' newest attraction, Zoombezi Bay

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment Coordinator
The Advoacte
June 12, 2008

The Columbus Zoo & Aquarium’s Zoombezi Bay opened with new digs Memorial Day, bringing in close to 4,000 visitors, which is twice the patrons it brought in during its former glory as Wyandot Lake under Six Flags.

The full upgrade included 11 extra water attractions — up from Wyandot’s six — on 22.7 acres, complete with 1.8 million gallons of water and a $20 million price tag.

“Attendance at Wyandot was declining and since we owned the land we decided it best to just acquire the assets,” said Peter Fingerhut, the zoo’s associate director, who was brought from Six Flags three years ago to lead the transition.

The water park’s opening comes three years in the making, spawning a long list of zoo changes to come, Fingerhut said.

The zoo’s addition of Asia Quest was followed by 14 more “dry rides,” an expansion of the parking lot, the rerouting of Powell Road and now Zoombezi Bay.

“Next year we’ll be opening the Polar Bear Express and an African Savannah is slated for down the road,” Fingerhut said. “We’re expecting an increase from 1.5 to 1.9 million in attendance within the next year. It’s an ongoing process.”

After a levy in support of zoo expansion was passed by the voters last year, construction workers broke ground. But rest assured: Fingerhut said the zoo’s expensive new attraction, which took a year to build, won’t cost the taxpayers a dime.

“The water park is secured by a bond, not taxpayer money,” he said. “It’s paid for by equity that is put into the water park, the zoo isn’t liable but the profits will go back into the zoo, helping to fuel expansion and renovation.”

Zoombezi Bay’s attractions include a completely new wave pool, an “action river” that surrounds the grounds and sections with names like “Crocktail Creek,” “Barracuda Bay” (formerly Wyandot’s “Christopher Island”) and “Katoomba Lagoon,” for adults, children and toddlers respectively.

“A family was marooned on a desert island, that was the basis of this theme,” Fingerhut said. “It looks like parts of a marooned boat was used to build the buildings, it carries throughout the park.”

Zoombezi Bay’s grand opening continues until Labor Day. Tickets are $29.99 for adults, $24.99 for children and seniors, and free for those younger than two. Admission includes access to the zoo. For more information, call (614) 645-3550 or visit www.columbuszoo.org.

Dwayne Steward can be reached at (740) 328-8816 or dsteward@nncogannett.com.

Kenny G

Kenny G brings Latin sound to Palace Theatre

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment Coordinator
The Advoacte
June 5, 2008

Kenny Gorelick, the Malibu-based, Seattle-raised soprano sax prodigy, known to most as Kenny G, is out promoting his latest album, “Rhythm & Romance,” his first Latin album and first album of original material since 2002.

In advance of his appearance at the Palace Theatre on Wednesday, the G-man took time to chat about his latest album, his transition from Arista Records to Concord Records and Starbucks and the secrets behind his longevity.

Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with me; I really appreciate it. I know you’re out on tour. Where are you now?

No problem, thank you for the interest. I’m actually at home in my studio in L.A. I just finished my daily 2 1/2 hour practice session.

So tell me about his new album? I know you left your former record label (Clive Davis’ Arista Records) so you could produce it. What was so special about this new endeavor?

Well, it’s an all Latin record, with all original music. I knew this time I wanted to write the songs and I wanted to have it be in a Latin feel. It was challenging to write Latin songs but so fun to do. I would be in the studio with live Latin musicians in the background and that’s not usually how I record.

They (Arista) just weren’t interested in this record and we basically had a falling out that just couldn’t be rectified.

So why a Latin album?

I’ve always dabbled in it on my previous records. There’s a song we always play live called “Havana,” I started thinking, “what about a whole album like that?” I just wanted to see if I could come up with an album like that and be really proud of it.

I know the album came out back in February; how do you think it’s being received?

They really like it, they really, really do. We play mainly the songs people have already heard before, but we always do an unplugged setting in the middle where we play our Latin songs for four or five minutes. Mainly so people can get an idea of what’s on the new record. Radio is so different today … you can’t expect that people are coming to concert after hearing the new record. I think they’re mainly coming to hear my body of work. But, usually after they hear [the new Latin songs] they go crazy.

I try to give people a reason to want more of my music, try to make them believe my Latin record is something they need to add to their music library.

You’re arguably the best at what you do. Why the need for two-hour practice sessions every day?

It takes a long time to make the saxophone get that right sound. A really good sound takes years. You can pick up a guitar and just play, same as with a piano, but not necessarily with the saxophone. I’m not really practicing notes but more just a need to put the time in.

You also need a lot of diaphragm strength too. You need time on the instrument so you’re physically ready. It’s like making up my own exercise routine. I have the TV on when I practice. It’s just a commitment. If people like me and want me to play for them I better be my best.

What would you say you are most proud of in your career?

That’s a really tough question, I’m not exactly sure there is an answer. Each record means something different to me. Maybe my first Christmas record, no one was really making Christmas records back then and it became, or I guess still is, the most successful Christmas record in history. And we just did it the way we felt it was supposed to be, we didn’t set out to do anything special. It was really fun, I loved the way it came out.

You’ve been in the business a while and have come to be known for forcing instrumental music into pop culture. How do you continue to do that?

A lot of luck really, you’ve got to be lucky at some point. There’s no way to calculate that my sound was going to be popular. It was just the right exposure and right airplay. Back then DJs were able to make a lot of their own decisions, now many radio stations are owned by a few people, so it’s more difficult. But I got some good luck and timing was good. There’s a lot of magic that goes along with it.

So what made you decide to go with Starbucks?

There’s nothing wrong with Starbucks, they’re awesome. There’s no more record stores, it just doesn’t exist. Starbucks is taking the place of that. But now, this goes back to luck and timing, they’re having some entertainment issues, and talking about taking the focus from music and putting it back on just coffee. A month into me going with Starbucks entertainment they’re not doing what they need to. So luck can go both ways (laughs).

So what does that mean for you? Are you looking at other labels?

I’m not really sure, my next record may not be at Starbucks. I would love for it to be there, but I think they’re shying away from it, moving more back to selling coffee than selling records. Like I said, I would love to, but I don’t see that happening.

What’s next for Kenny G?

I don’t know, anything can happen. Any kind of record really. Not sure when I’ll do it, probably won’t make a record until next year. I don’t feel like I need to get a new record out there, just trying to get people to go to my Web site and get the new album.

What advice do you have for the young instrumentalist out there, hoping to follow in your footsteps?

Just do it if you love it and keep doing it if you love it. Always try to become the best, and when I say that I mean your best. If you get so good that the world can’t say, “no” to you, then you have a career. And really just do it because you love it. Not to sell records or make money, do it because you want to put your sound out there. If you keep working on that, things will pretty much take care of itself.

Kenny G appears 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Palace Theatre, 34 W. Broad St., Columbus. Tickets are $42.50 to $62.50; call (614) 469-0939 or visit www.ticketmaster.com for more information.

Check out my review of the show at www.NewarkAdvocate.com/entertainment

Columbus Arts Festival

Arts Festival returns with big changes

by Dwayne Steward
Entertainment Coordinator
The Advoacte
June 5, 2008

Heading into its 47th year, the Columbus Arts Festival is making major changes this year, starting with relocating from the Riverfront to the Discovery District in downtown Columbus.

“It’s the same great event, but it’s going to be completely different,” said Katie Lucas, who is completing her sixth year as the festival’s director.

This year’s arts bonanza will feature 270 artists for three days. New this year is The Giant Eagle Family Stage in the parking lot of the Columbus Museum of Art. It will include performances strictly geared toward kids.

The festival also changed its traditional hands-on-activities section, combining adults with children so families can create art together, Lucas said.

The festival, catering to 400,000 each year, started as a local art show on the statehouse lawn in 1962.

First deemed a way to enhance visibility of local artists, the festival is considered one of the largest of its kind in the nation. Friday, Saturday and Sunday will include music, dance, paintings, sculptures and jewelry.

“People can experience quite a few areas of the arts,” Lucas said. “It’s really an opportunity for everyone to experience a little bit of everything.”

For a complete list of artists and more information on the festival, visit www.gcac.org.
The festival is sponsored by Time Warner Cable and organized by the Greater Columbus Arts Council.