A Weekend of Wawa Welcome America Festivities

Arguably the biggest summer musical, fun fest in the region, the Wawa Welcome America week-long line up of events, concluded this past Sunday. Every event was massive in attendance, and the signature "Party on the Parkway",  virtually consumed all of the Ben Franklin Parkway. The big name stars performed on the big stage, on the fourth, but as always, the "Real Show" takes place at the "Questlove Stage", named after the man himself, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, of the world famous Roots crew, Philly's musical sons. The "Questlove Stage" is set up to be a venue for "Who's Next", to represent Philadelphia on the world musical stage, and also a showcase for up and coming talent across the country, and this did not disappoint. On the back end of the 4th of July parkway event, the "Taste Of Philadelphia" portion of the Welcome America event, was a combination food fest, with vendors from all over the region, and more musical acts from around the region. Saturday night's headliner at the Penn's Landing food fest, was R&B/Soul singer, Marsha Ambrosius. Folks didn't seem to mind the soaring heat, which at times hit the mid 90's, to much fun stuff going on to worry about it.

The Questlove Stage:
 Jasmine V
An Interscope recording artist, whose collaborations include Nick Jonas, and Justin Bieber.

 Gliss
Local Hip-Hop Artist, whose from the area.

GoGo Morrow
R&B Singer/Entertainer

Jake Troth
Pop/Folk Singer

.....at the "Taste of Philadelphia" stage at Penn's Landing
CMD Hitters
Musical Group from Camden N.J.

Sharla K.
R&B Singer from Camden NJ

Twin Ghost
Rock Band

Headliner R&B Singer/Songwriter Marsha Ambrosius

I'd like to thank the Media/PR folks at Wawa, and Penn's Landing,..you guys were super! Shoutout to Jamie and Jackie, Special thanks to Lauren Cox, and Thanks to Randy!

The DuPont Clifford Brown Jazz Fest June 22 2013

First off folks, I must apologize for the lack of imagery, I guess concerning the city of Wilmington, Delaware, where the event was held, I didn't make the cut for media credentialization,I would have loved to have shared more content with you. Maybe I need to get a iPhone and ditch my gear, since I saw more credentialed iPhone, and canon rebel shooters in the shooter's pit, than working professionals,..but, So be it. High Five to the very nice Wilmington Police Sargent, who allowed me to briefly enter the shooters pit, to capture some imagery of The Pedrito Martinez Group. Much appreciated, she was very nice. The event is named after Jazz trumpeter, Clifford Brown, native to Wilmington, and in his very robust 4 years of recorded music, he has left his mark as one of the most influential jazz trumpet artist of our time. his alliances include, Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarroand  Max Roach. Tragically, on June 26, 1956, he lost his life in a car accident. The festival is a fitting honor for this Wilmington Native, and Jazz great. The festival is a week long series of musical events, culminating in the big concert on Saturday in Rodney Square. The Talent featured Saturday:

The W.E.S. Group  Classic jazz stylings, a mix of r&b, and surprisingly some hip-hop, the WES group is the total package.

This gentleman from uganda I believe, won  one of the raffles held during the intermission on saturday.

...An Impromtu talent show in between acts,...she was pretty good actually.


The Pedrito Martinez Group
An Afro-Cuban Jazz group out of New York, via Havana, Cuba.

Headliner: Lalah Hathaway

.....and sadly, these are all the photographs from the headliner, Lalah Hathaway. couldn't find my friendly wilmington police sargent, and of course, as I said earlier, the city of wilmington didn't feel the need to credentialize me for better access,..I'll fix you city of Wilmington,..I'll have bigger focal lengths with me next  year!

A very busy past few weeks....

It's been a very hectic few weeks that has gone by, which normally means for me, "Seen and Noted" gets a little overlooked, which I hate, but when life and work collides, oh well. But, the past few weeks has produced some stellar events in the city.The Parx Casino Philly Cycling Classic, is actually the rebirth of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic, a long-time event, which due to lack of  funding and investors, nearly took a nosedive until Congressman Bob Brady stepped in and secured funding and new sponsorship, and the classic was reborn, new name and all. It turned out to be a very exciting competition.

Equally impressive is the support crews that accompanies the athletes. Like pit crews at the Indy 500, these guys do everything from fix flats to passing water bottles out of windows of speeding cars.

Definitely a sport of champions.

The Philadelphia School of Dance Arts Recital, May 2013

The Philadanco sponsored Philadelphia School of Dance Arts held it's 54th annual recital this past Sunday and wow, what a show. Founder/Director Joan Myers Brown, takes young folks from all around the city and gives them the opportunity to pursue their love of the dance arts, and at the same time mentors with her trained staff of teachers and dancers. It's amazing that it's been going on for 54 years. Bravo to the Organization, Bravo to the young, and very talented dancers.

The Not as Spectactular, but just as entertaining, PIFA Festival/Philadelphia, April 25 2013

I expected more, since the previous festival was so critically received and loved by all,..and missed by, me.
So, I was going to catch up on all the spectacular, the lights, the artsy, the pomp and circumstance,..I didn't see it. Don't get me wrong, PIFA did put on a show, for sure, but the vibe was that last year was better. For me there were some stand outs, visually, like the rope trapeze girl, and the Shen Yuen Chinese troupe, and the living statue fountain, which I didn't catch, dernit. Well, lets see you up your game next year PIFA,.

Click here for a link to the entire set of Images

Shaken,..but not deterred

When I first heard news of the bombing at the Boston Marathon,..I cringed. I cover a decent amount of running events every year, and if I was in Boston, I would have been somewhere near, or at the finish line, without question. Do I change my routine? Being fearful, and hiding and feeling defeated, is what these individuals or individual want us to feel. I refuse to feel that way. There's a major running event next month, and  I'll be there, same working routine,.. non-deterred. We will heal, hug our loved ones, and carry on. Let freedom ring.

Keep Running.