Help Break The Chains Get Off The Ground!
After months of reaching out for community support and taking part in fundraising efforts, six young people from the The Chewstick Foundation’s Break The Chains Teen Poetry & Spokenword Club Program are making a final request to cover expenses to offset the costs to represent Bermuda at the international Brave New Voices Poetry & Spokenword Festival (www.bravenewvoices.org) in Philadelphia. In its 17th year The Brave New Voices Poetry and Spokenword Festival is a prestigious event, which has seen attendance by the likes of Aja Monet, Saul Williams, Beau Sia and many more!
The Brave New Voices Festival is an opportunity with a tremendous focus on the voice of the youth. Break The Chain’s participation is a chance to represent Bermuda internationally while providing an opportunity for growth and development for this group of Bermuda teens. This year the Break The Chains group is seeking funding in order to, officially represent Bermuda, strengthen their voices through workshops, performances and some healthy competition at the festival taking place in Philadelphia.
Education Coordinator Yesha Townsend, and The Chewstick Foundation’s Deidra-Lee Bean will steward Marquedelle Rodriguez – 18, Dascha Choudhury – 16, Hannah Smith – 16, Ashanti Stovell – 17, Rakaya Stovell – 15, Treasure Tannock – 17 and Bryn Thomas – 18 at the Brave New Voices Festival, for the opportunity to connect with a global community of young poets from around the world.
After hosting an event yesterday, Thursday, July 10th which featured performances by Break The Chains program participants alongside poet luminary Tiffany Paynter, the Break The Chains, Education Director, Yesha Townsend and assistant Matthew Johnston, the program is still short of their goal and need your help. The Break The Chains youth and The Chewstick Foundation have been working hard in order to reach their goal and while last night’s performance was a dynamic showing of their talents it did not yield the funding necessary to send the group abroad so we are making a call to the community to help support by making a donation of any size toward making this venture possible. You can also catch a performance by the young people at Plough weekend in St. George’s outside the Book Cellar between 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.
For further information on this and additional Chewstick Foundation programs, call their office at 292-2439, email info@chewstick.org or visit www.chewstick.org.
BEACHFEST Crown Song Competition Videos Are Live
The song submissions are in and PRS for Music, the music rights management organization,
and The Chewstick Foundation are excited to share that Bermuda’s first ever national song
competition “The Beachfest Crown Song Competition” has had an incredible start with over 40
artists submitting over 70 songs in a multitude of genres, all competing for the chance to win
an impressive $10,000 prize package courtesy of PRS for Music, the music rights management
organization.
For Stage 1, song submissions were accepted between June 6th and June 27th, where The
Chewstick Foundation listening committee then screened submissions to ensure they met the
criteria and now the community is invited to pick their favorites and help them get to Stage 2.
During Stage 2, the community is encouraged to view their favorite artists’ song on Youtube
in order to secure their place in the semi-finals. Stage 2 will run from Monday, July 7th until
Friday, July 11th. The top 10 most viewed Youtube videos will move on to the next stage.
Each entrant and supporter is encouraged to share the video link to their favorite Song to
get the views up and promote their hit song. All links are available on the newly overhauled
www.beachfestbermuda.com, and the Beachfest Bermuda YouTube Channel as well as via the
artists’ social media pages. Only the videos with the top ten highest view counts will make it to
the semi-finals and be played on Vibe 103, with artists contending for you to text and vote for
their song.
More information on the Beachfest Emancipation Celebration and the Beachfest Crown
Competition are available at www.beachfestbermuda.com for other Chewstick Foundation
initiatives visit www.chewstick.org, questions can be addressed via email to info@chewstick.org
or by calling 292 2439. Remember to stay tuned to Vibe 103 for more details and support local
artists by listening, voting and getting involved.
Adult Education School Summer Soul-stice Fundraiser | $125 ($50 for Cocktail reception )
On Saturday, June 21st at 6:30p.m., musicians will come out to support The Adult Education School and The Chewstick Foundation in a night celebrating all things Bermudian at Pier 6 (Front Street Tent). The audience will be treated to performances from the dynamic Gita Blakeney-Saltus, Shine Hayward and reggae soul band, Fire & Ice against a beautiful backdrop of Bermudian art, good food and the sunset. This event is a fundraiser to support educational and arts programmes and to provide The Adult Education School Opportunity Scholarships.
The event will feature artists selected from a cross section of the community, including Gita Blakeney-Saltus, Shine Hayward, Paul Smith and Fire & Ice Reggae Soul Band. Most notably in the Fire & Ice Band is Adult Education School alum John Seymour who after finishing his GED through the Adult Education School, went on to attend the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
John is now musical director of Fire & Ice and is happy to be able to give back to the Adult Education School, as the organization helped him to get back on track to fulfilling his dreams of making a living through music. John’s interest in music ranges from jazz to classical, and all things in between which is definitely evident in the broad mastery of genres the Fire & Ice has to offer..
John has also been a long-time supporter of The Chewstick Foundation’s mission to empower the individual to enrich all through story-telling and artistic expression and with his band mates Jesse Seymour, Alfie Wolfe, Montague, Jesse Seymour, Culture, Snaptooth and “Daddy Drum” Rogers, he invites members of the community to support the event to keep the doors of The Adult Education School open as a means to helping men and women serve their educational ambitions. It will be an event to remember, with a range of genres, styles and delivery, combined with the eclectic flair of the Bermudian spirit. The audience will also have the opportunity to partake in a silent auction with works donated from many local artists and vendors – including oils, pastels, photography, glass-works, jewelry, hotel/golf packages, adventure retreats and many other unique Bermuda ‘Staycation’ items. Some of the artists that have graciously donated works are Stephen Card, Robert Bassett, Otto Trott, Steve Conway, Lisa Rego, Manuel Palacio, Kelly Hunt and several more.
The Adult Education School has put together an evening of Bermuda’s most-loved talent, gifted visual artists, unique jewelry and delicious Bermudian foods for this fundraiser. A spokesperson for the organization shared that “It’s been amazing to develop this event, celebrating things that are uniquely Bermudian in order to continue to provide access to a life changing opportunity.” It’s happening Saturday, June 21st, at 6:30pm, starting with a cocktail reception and continuing with a buffet-style dinner all with Bermuda foods and flair. The entire evening will be one for the record books; you most definitely will not want to miss it.
Bermuda Summer Soul-stice tickets are $125, available on www.ptix.bm. The proceeds from this venture will cover travel costs, and accommodation for The Adult Education School fundraiser will take place on Saturday, June 21st. If you have questions or need tickets delivered to you, call 292-2439. For more information, visit www.chewstick.org.
Live Fridays with Conscious Bermuda | Sat. James Richardson Jam – 9pm | $10
Local entertainers will be celebrated this weekend at The Chewstick Lounge starting with Roots reggae band “Conscious Bermuda”, taking the stage for the continuation of The Chewstick Foundation’s Live Fridays series, on Friday, June 20th at 9p.m. Then Saturday James Richardson will host a Jam Session as after the Bermuda Musician’s Jam taking place earlier in the evening at Victoria Park. Both these events should not be missed as there is a wealth of talent in Bermuda that is guaranteed to please people of all ages. Entry for each event is $10 and the shows will start at 9pm.
Live Fridays is a series that will feature a different band each week. It is a program that helps to break down barriers and support emerging talent that helps to revitalize arts and culture and tourism. Conscious are no strangers to Bermuda’s entertainment scene as they are a band that came together as the best of Bermuda’s reggae bands; they definitely have a very chilled out energy that will make for a very interesting night.
The whole band is eager to grace the Chewstick stage and bring their talent and inventive, soothing vibes to Bermuda in a different way. This is a tremendous opportunity to experience each of these artists performing live and unplugged at the Chewstick Neo-Griot Lounge & Cafe. It is guaranteed to be a relaxing and uplifting event. Do not miss the opportunity to experience awe-inspiring performances every week, guaranteed to be relaxing, uplifting and enlightenment. Enjoy the vibes, celebrate live music at its best, and experience “Live Fridays” as this program showcases local talent and celebrates the Bermuda story in many different forms at the Chewstick Neo-Griot Lounge & Café.
Then Saturday, June 21st Chewstick’s Neo-Griot Lounge will again host awesome talent as James Richardson hosts a Musicians’ Jam, inviting musicians of all ages play alongside each other well into the night. This is a chance to mingle with musical legends, novices and pros as in celebration of live music, amazing talent and inspiration across generations. Starting at 9pm and going until we’re done this is an event that should not be missed! The event will follow the Bermuda Musicians’ Jam that is taking place in Victoria Park, anyone coming from that event, with wristbands can attend the Chewstick event for FREE, others pay $10 at the door. The lineup for the Bermuda Jam will feature artists such as Bones Blues Band, Life Sentence, The Unit, Pulse, Gita Blakeney, Toni Robinson, Tooties Bean, Shine Hayward and many more and they’ll all be encouraged to head over to Chewstick’s Lounge to keep the vibes going!
Tickets are only $10, payable at the door. For more information call 292-2439 or email info@chewstick.org.
