It was still daylight, when this blogger arrived at the Lyceum on 4th Avenue
for this year's Brooklyn Blogfest.
The wonderful old structure was an apt venue for the largest
gathering of bloggers in this borough.
Men in black were guarding the door.
Bodyguards? Bouncers? Secret Service?
Inside, chairs were already lined up in perfectly straight lines.
Young talent Sebastian Hodge and Teddy Ostrow were busy chalking the walls.
Actors Aaron Costa Ganis, Charlotte Maier and Natalie Paul
rehearsed their lines for "Blogs Alive" one last time.
As the doors opened at 7, the chairs quickly filled
with bloggers, readers, friends and press.
And so, Blogfest 2010 began.
the event's founding director, welcomed all.
The actors performed adaptations from posts that appeared on local blogs,
including a segment from this post from Pardon Me For Asking.
Director Spike Lee spoke of Brooklyn, stoops, and his childhood home,
before taking questions.
And no, he is not moving back to Brooklyn any time soon.
Last but not least, Andrea Fumagalli of Blue Barn Pictures started the event off with his beautiful video homage to Brooklyn.
As in previous years, blogger Adrian Kinlock of Brit In Brooklyn, put a beautiful "Brooklyn Photo Bloggers" tribute together.
Borough President Marty Markowitz stopped by for a few minutes, but honestly, appearances by politicians at this event have always made me squirm. (Marty's Brooklyn cheerleading schtick makes me gag these days, especially because of his pro-Atlantic Yards stand and since he yelled at me openly once, when I asked him politely where he stood on the EPA Superfund designation for the Gowanus Canal. I took that to mean that, like Mayor Bloomberg, he was against it. Shame on him, I say.)
The nature of the Blogfest seems to be changing because of corporate sponsorship (this year's event was sponsored by Absolut Vodka and its new Brooklyn version created in collaboration with Spike Lee).
The fest has lost some of its edginess and grass-root feeling, which is unfortunate. It was the simplicity of the event that was so compelling. However, it is still a very nice gathering and a great opportunity to check in with other Brooklyn bloggers.
Thanks to Louise Crawford for all of her hard work organizing the event.
A lot of time and effort goes into putting together such a show.
And to all of my fellow bloggers out there, lets all lend Louise a hand in getting back that original grass-roots feeling of Blogfests pasts. If we all contribute, there will be no need for corporate sponsorship.
****UPDATE****
Marty Markowitz's Press Secretary Sends Response:
Click link:
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