Arts

JP Porchfest Happening Live (And Online) in August

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Great news -- JP Porchfest will take place over two days, August 21 and 22! Due to continued concerns about safety, the 7th Annual JP Porchfest will occur both in person, and online in real time for selected performance locations. There is also a cap of 18 on the number of porches for each day. Last year's JP Porchfest was cancelled due to the pandemic, and this year's Porchfest will not be produced by co-founders Mindy Fried and Marie Ghitman, who handed the reins over to Dunamis. "Our work is steeped in racial equity and as an organization, Dunamis does everything we can to support and create space for creatives of color," says Dunamis' website.

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Arts
Kiki D reaches out to a fan as she performs at the River of Life Church stage at JP Porchfest, Saturday, July 9, 2016.

180 Bands, Dancers, Storytellers, Comedians & More Performing at JP Porchfest on July 13

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Pretty much, you will barely be able to move in Jamaica Plain this weekend without seeing a JP Porchfest performance! This is the 6th Annual Jamaica Plain Porchfest, and it has never been more popular or robust: 180 bands, and artistic groups -- theater, dance, spoke word, storytelling, and comedy -- will perform on 97 porches. "JP Porchfest is almost like 100 little mini-festivals! And people have repeatedly told us that as they walk or bike around, they feel so much joy percolating in the air!" said Marie Ghitman, who co-founded the festival with Mindy Fried.

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Arts

JP Porchfest is July 7th: Get Ready for 170 Performances on 90 Porches!

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The 5th Annual Jamaica Plain Porchfest this Saturday will be more awesome than the previous four as it will include music, theater, dance, spoken word, storytelling, comedy, circus arts and a politicians' porch. "We have 90 generous porch hosts this year – that is, folks who offer their porches to performers. In some cases, people perform on their own porches, but they often welcome others," said Mindy Fried, co-organizer with Marie Ghitman and Eli Pabon. "And in many cases, porch hosts simply offer their porches to whomever we assign to their porches, of course taking into consideration their available space, and if they have any special requests." Click on the map of porches to see a description of all of the performances (courtesy JP Porchfest).

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Arts

Jamaica Plain Porchfest Registration Now Open to Perform and Host

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Do you have a band and want to play during Jamaica Plain Porchfest? Or do you have a porch and want to host a band? Registration is now open for Jamaica Plain Porchfest happening this July. But it's not just musicians who are welcome to perform during JP Porchfest -- also spoken word artists, dancers, actors, storytellers, circus artists and more! Last year more than 133 bands and solo musicians performed during JP Porchfest at more than 70 locations.

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Arts

Porchfest will Bring Music, Dance, and Community to the Streets of Jamaica Plain

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On Saturday, the streets of Jamaica Plain will be filled with the sights and sounds of music and dance, as thousands of attendees comb the sidewalks for the JP's second annual celebration of art and community, Porchfest. Porchfest co-producer Mindy Fried--who, along with coproducer Marie Ghitman and a handful of additional volunteers, organized the festival--described it as "six hours of art", a free event during which multi-genre performances will emanate from over 72 porches, driveways, community centers and green spaces. Ghitman said JP is one of the 23 cities and neighborhoods to have organized their own Porchfests. The ideas was first conceived in Ithaca, New York in 2007 as a music festival held directly on community members' front doorsteps. Jamaica Plain, said Fried, was "ripe for this kind of event," which has expanded from last year to include not only music, but dance, storytelling, spoken word, theater and more.

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