Introducing our holiday vendors

We're very excited to announce our vendor list for the 2012 GO WEST! *holiday* Craft Fest at the Rotunda. It was a TOUGH decision process, with more than 120 applications for fewer than 50 spaces. For this show, all of the vendors are based in the Philadelphia region, and a great many of them live and craft right here in West Philly. Supporting these artists is a great way to shop local, which directly supports Philly artists and small businesses. Best of all, you can find unique and special gifts for everyone on your list. We hope to see you at the show! (Saturday, December 15, 11-4 pm at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street.)

Decisions, decisions...

The vendor applications are now closed for the Holiday Fest. Thank you so much to all the amazing vendors who applied! We have had an OVERWHELMING response and will have some tough work ahead of us. The vendor list will be posted by the end of the week for some pre-craft fair perusing. We're getting really excited for a great Holiday Fest at the Rotunda. Check back soon for links to all of our fabulous local vendors.

GO WEST! *holiday* Craft Fest - Now Accepting Applications!

Philly crafters: you are now welcome to apply for the Holiday edition of GO WEST! Craft Fest. For the second year in a row, it will be held at the Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. in West Philly, Saturday, December 15 from 10-4.

Though it can't be quite as big as our outdoor Fests, we are SO looking forward to this show. It's a great way to find unique holiday gifts while supporting local artists and small businesses. Last year's show had a great turnout and we hope for even more attendees this time.

Artists and craftspeople may find the application form and more details here. There is no fee to apply.

We look forward to reading all of the applications. See you in December!

Thank You!!

Wow, what a wonderful day Saturday was! A huge thank you to all of our amazing vendors and  performers, Perseverance Jazz Band, the Citywide Specials, Jay Sand, and tinycircus for making this wonderful event, and to Jessica Baumert the director of The Woodlands for providing the beautiful space. Then of course to everyone who came from West Philly and beyond! We hope you enjoyed you day and can't wait to see you next time!

Speaking of next time our Holiday Fest will be December 15th at the Rotunda so save that date and check back for more info. We'll be back at The Woodlands in the spring. Our vendor list  from this Fest will be up until November 1st so you can find all of our amazing artists online and see what they're up to.
Thank you once again and we'll see you in December!
-Wilder (As the Crow Flies & Co) & Emily (VIX Emporium)

GO WEST! Featured Performer: tinycircus: presented by tangle

Photo courtesy of Tangle & Anne Saint Peter

We're thrilled to welcome back tinycircus, Tangle Movement Arts' eight-woman circus arts company. Tangle's full-length shows like You Don't Say (2012 Philly Fringe) blend traditional circus disciplines like trapeze, aerial silks, and acrobatics with music, drama, and spoken word. Tangle’s outreach program, “tinycircus,” offers wonderful free public showcases, an aerialist extravaganza! Tangle members have studied performance and trained circus arts at schools from around the world to the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts in Germantown, Philadelphia.

 photo courtesy of Tangle & Maura Kirk
 “Acrobatics is a radical way to feel free and strong in your own body; we want everyone to know they have that chance,” says Tangle's Lauren Smith, whose goal is to entertain and educate. Through “tinycircus,” Tangle hopes to grow a West Philadelphia acrobatic community for people of all ages, sizes, and abilities. We can't wait!!

GO WEST! Featured Performer: The Citywide Specials

In 2001 a weekly bluegrass picking session started in a bar above an Ethiopian restaurant in West Philadelphia. This quickly turned into a hodge podge of mismatched instruments and musical anarchy featuring as many as 4 frontmen. A few years later they looked around & realized their line-up, sound, and sensibilities had changed almost completely.  The band re-branded themselves The Citywide Specials. With a ratio of about 600 gigs to 9 practices, Eliza Hardy Jones, Nikolai Fox, Larry Maltz, Jim Kydonieus & Kevin James Holland have sculpted & polished their sound without being vulnerable to accusations of slickness. The "Citywides" continue to perform weekly in their eleventh year at the same venue (Fiume at 45th & Locust) as well as weddings and private parties. Presenting songs and tunes on fiddle, dobro, string bass, guitar and mandolin, the band draws from the well of traditional American country music, including a healthy dose of originals (written by Holland) which lose themselves easily amongst the old favorites.

Performing at the Fest at 1pm will be Kevin Holland, Nikolai Fox, Larry Maltz, & Jim Kydonieus. Stage names are (respectively) Spitey James, Clem Miller, Cuss Ozwald, & "The Reverend" Elmore Delmore.

GO WEST! featured performer: Perseverance Jazz Band

per·se·ver·ance [pur-suh-veer-uhns] -noun
1. steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
2. a hot young band bringing traditional New Orleans Jazz to the Philadelphia area.

Perseverance Jazz Band started in a West Philadelphia living room in the fall of 2010, where leader/bassist Jonathan Davenport convened some leading lights of the Philly music scene (including members of, most notably, the popular Balkan Brass Band the West Philadelphia Orchestra) to play some of his transcriptions of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. As the months passed, members of the band dug deeper into the tradition and history of jazz, and discovered a wealth of great music that is glossed over in Jazz conservatory, and just generally doesn't get played all that much. Along the way they also discovered new friends and band mates who had long ago fallen for this irrepressibly fun music. They have also developed relationships with older players who have shared their knowledge out of a desire to keep the music alive. 

Soon enough, after many rehearsals and late night bar gigs, they stumbled across traditional jazz's natural ally: dancers! PJB is now emerging as local favorite of the Swing and Lindy Hop dance community for providing live music for dances.

PJB plays the 1st Monday of the month at Fiume Bar at 45th and Locust, the 3rd Monday of the month at the Porch at 30th St Station, and supplies music for a wide variety of private events, weddings and dances.

They will perform as an acoustic trio at 12 noon at GO WEST! Craft Fest at The Woodlands, 40th & Woodland in West Philly, September 29.

Visit them at www.perseverancemusic.com!