PARACHUTE: The Coney Island Performance Festival

Parachute: the Coney Island Performance Festival is the first annual literary and performance festival in historic Coney Island. It is a community based festival focusing on Brooklyn artists. The Coney Island Performance Festival takes place the second weekend in September-Saturday and Sunday, September 12th and 13th.

Since its inception, Coney Island has played host to a magnificent array of theatre, performance, poetry, dance, and literature. A naked Walt Whitman read Shakespeare to the Atlantic Ocean; Cary Grant was a stilt walker at Steeplechase Park; the legendary Oklahoma artist Woody Guthrie strummed his guitar on Mermaid Avenue; Bread and Puppet Theatre was in residence in the 1970's and Coney Island USA has been a theatrical presence and Coney Island fixture for nearly thirty years.

The essential aspects to the Coney Island Performance Festival are a literary and performance stage, and an afternoon of free poetry workshops held at the Coney Island branch of the New York Public Library led by artists participating in the festival. The literary stage will be located in the Aquarium, in front of the jellyfish tank. Readings will begin at 6:30pm both nights and feature a wide array of established and up-and-coming Brooklyn based poets and writers. Highlights include poet, Patricia Spears Jones, John Ventimiglia from the Sopranos reading Henry Miller, post-punk poet Eileen Myles and the former Brooklyn Poet Laureate, Dennis Nurkse.

Saturday evening's reading will be hosted by the legendary local artist, Africasso. Sunday evening's reading will be hosted by the illustrious burlesque performer, Angie Pontani (a.k.a. Miss Cyclone.)

Free poetry workshops Saturday, September 12th will be led by Urban Word, Patricia Spears Jones and Cara Benson at the Coney Island Public Library on Mermaid
Avenue and 19th Street.


Saturday, September 12th at 6:30pm

Hosted by visual artist and performer, Africasso

Cara Benson
Charles Denson, author of Coney Island: Lost and Found
Jibade Khalil Huffman, author of 19 Names for our Band
Dennis Nurkse, former Brooklyn Poet Laureate
Akilah Oliver
Patricia Spears Jones

Sunday, September 13th at 6:30pm

Hosted by the illustrious burlesque dancer, Angie Pontani (a.k.a. Miss Cyclone)

Edmund Berrigan, poet and member of the band, I Feel Tractor
Michael Cirelli, poet and founder of Urban Word
Eileen Myles, poet, author, ran for president as a write-in candidate.
Edwin Torres
John Ventimiglia ("Artie Bucco" from the Sopranos) reading Henry Miller's words on Coney Island

As a festival sponsor, The Coney Island History Project will be open from 2-6pm both Saturday and Sunday. FREE Stumptown Coffee will be available to get your buzz on. Please come by the Coney Island History Project, see the current Icons exhibit, ring the recently raised from the ocean Dreamland Bell, sea sunken treasure and share your Coney Island memories in the Coney Island History Project's recording studio! You can download the first ever audio walking tour onto your ipod or iphone, narrated by Charles Denson at www.coneyislandhistory.org.