Bowerbird is pleased to present THUMBS at The Rotunda with an opening set by Aaron Pond on horn, voice, daxophone, duck callers, and surprises.

Performing as the duo Thumbs, multi-reedists David Leon and Yuma Uesaka have developed a peculiar improvised practice. Built around a shared interest in extended timbres and hairpin counterpoint, their music explores extremes: quiet and loud, dense and desolate, serious and silly.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Yuma Uesaka is a Japanese-American saxophonist, clarinetist, improviser, performer, and composer based in New York City since 2014. Over the last decade, Yuma has contributed to scenes that embrace various experimental and historic practices primarily rooted in jazz, creative improvised music, and new music. His music often explores the fringes of instrumental and compositional techniques to question traditional musical roles and deconstruct assumed binaries of improvised/composed, acoustic/electronic, and music/noise. An active sideperson, Yuma has performed in groups led by Anna Webber, Lesley Mok, and DoYeon Kim, at venues such as Roulette, National Sawdust, and The Jazz Gallery. He can be heard on Pi, American Dreams, and NotTwo Records. As a composer, he has received recognition from the ASCAP Foundation, Metropolis, and Either/Or Ensemble.

David Leon is a Cuban-American saxophonist, woodwinds player, composer, and improviser living in Brooklyn, New York. His work is guided by a persistent search for vitality through autonomy, contradiction, hyperbole, and humor. His work with the saxophone investigates alternate methods for producing a tone, refinement of these techniques, and development of a distinct vocabulary using these sounds; he melds this timbral approach with melodic and rhythmic phrasing from Cuban folkloric traditions, narrative playing, Free Jazz & avant-garde esthetics, and microtonality to reveal a personal conceit. In 2024, David was named a Music Composition Fellow by the CINTAS Foundation and was awarded a Jerome Commission by Roulette Intermedium to support the creation of A Divine Echo, a hybrid work of chamber music and wordless puppet theatre. In April 2025, he will present a new solo work for amplified saxophone and electronics as part of his Roulette 2024/2025 Jerome Artist Residency. His work has been recognized by The Jazz Gallery’s Mentoring Series, and New Music USA.

Aaron Pond is a musician and curator active in the east coast improvised music scene from Philadelphia to Miami. Emerging from a childhood steeped in the rigorous forms of Judaic and classical music, Pond now plays with and transcends musical genres. Since 2014, he has dedicated himself to improvisation and oral composition. Utilizing Horn, Wagner Tuba, Wood Flutes, Duck Calls and Daxophone, he has developed a voice defined by a kaleidoscopic approach to idiom, multiphonic singing, and rich tones.

Pond serves as President of People’s Music Supply, a presenting, educational, and social non-profit organization dedicated to Creative Music.

Admission is FREE/pay what you wish

On October 4th The Rotunda will be hosting a Big Cat known as M$. REBEL KITTY, THE ONLY BIG CAT THAT NEEDS TO BE IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY!

FR33 TH3 PU$$Y IS A BIG CAT BENEFIT BONANZA AND AN ARTISTIC EXTRAVAGANZA!

We will have art on display that explores the spectrum of womanhood and displaying work that channels that big cat energy.

R3B3L D@ R@PT0R WILL BE PERFORMING <3

COMEDY PRE SHOW BY JUICY JUDY HA 2:45PM

We will have VEGAN SNACKS starting at 4pm while supplies last!

Fatal Attractions Honoring Ming The King.

POP UP SHOP/ART SHOW 3PM – 6PM

We Have A Wild Cute Photo Station!

A POETIC ENDING BY ANJOLI MONROE 6PM

Meet The Team

 Animal ACTivists of Philly is a local, grassroots animal rights organization that provides outreach and education, supports and hosts local campaigns, and fundraises for animal sanctuaries. <3 For this event we will be raising funds for The Performing Animal Welfare Society! IG:AnimalActivistsOfPhilly

Juicy Ha is a hybrid writer, poet, visual artist, comedian, aura painter, tarot reader, astrologer, and rainbow dealer. She favors the bold and untold across all forms of her art. Come see the unseen and what only Juicy can tell you. She sees and channel paints people's auras onto canvas, reads with both tarot and a regular deck of playing cards, and explains what the stars looked like when you were born. They’re a rainbow dealer with 10 original designs of sun catcher stickers that cast real rainbows into your car and home. Want a rainbow in your home? All you need is direct sunlight and the magic of a Juicy sun catcher sticker to see more than 7 colors of the rainbow, including magenta! Juicy is also dropping the first holiday edition of her boo ghost sun catcher design, just in time for Halloween. Come out October 4th 2:45 and watch our Juicy comedy set live! Come prepared to laugh out loud together. Please come with an open mind and an open heart.  IG: @BoomingFruits. p.s A big online rainbow store is coming soon <3

Cosmic Scorpios is ran by two queer besties from Pennsylvania, Kaitlyn Markle (she/her) and Stet Ngo (they/them). Cosmic Scorpios offers wire-wrapped crystal jewelry & accessories, art prints, and original paintings. Drawing inspiration from the natural, the spiritual, and the mystical in-between, all creations are made by hand with great intention and love. IG:@CosmicScorpios

K.I.N.C3PT10N is a Philly born artist killing it in the game. He is our right hand man in all aspects of life. The father of Peach and a community cat care provider. Community oriented and a Lion at heart. IG @K.I.N.C3PT10N

Ariel Monroe (she/ her/ they) is a Healing Artist based in Philadelphia; She is the creative behind alternative wellness practice Delta E.M. Wellness and the recycled mixed media artist behind Space.trash.phl. Ariel has been a Licensed Massage Therapist for more than a decade. They have been working with various artistic expressions for around 30 years and is a passionate art collector. Recently, they self published a poetry book called Liminal Illumination: A Short Book of Intentional Poetry available on bookshop.org. Here at the Rotunda, Experience an Award Winning Chair Massage and help support Ariel through a big life transition: big moving and they can’t take all their cool art with them. Ariel will have various art work for sale, framed and otherwise looking for new loving homes. Website is deltaemwellness.com

Social Medias are @deltae.m.wellness and @space.trash.phl

Anjoli Santiago is an Alchemist of words who honors her inner scientist by approaching everything with curiosity. Her creative mission: reminding all that creativity is inclusive and our gift for making magic. She is a poet, storyteller, actor, and recently the Executive Director of Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership. Find her on IG @bettyboop2185

Kittys’z Energy Is A Way Of Life <3

We Honor The Cat. IG:@KittyszEnergy

Looking forward to hopefully the first of many shows honoring big cats across the spectrum while also honoring US.

FR33 TH3 PU$$Y <3

2:45PM – 6:15PM

FR33 ADMI$$ION

Learn All About The Curator Katarina Castro Here

https://canvasrebel.com/meet-katarina-castro

www.campsite.bio/r3b3lart

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT0HcLgWzFZSWKbToLfZfZkHLorCDVWSc&si=RQMZopFL3UTbjZcN

P.S Visit some of Katarina's work in The Rotunda Basement <3

Portions Of Proceeds Of This Event Will Be Donated To The Performing Animal Welfare Society & T&D's Cats Of The World.

As part of the Collective Futures Festival, Batikh Batikh partners with cineSPEAK to present Super Surveillance, screening Assia Boundaoui’s film The Feeling of Being Watched (2018). The film follows journalist Assia Boundaoui who investigates rumors of surveillance in her Arab-American neighborhood in Chicago, and uncovers one of the largest FBI terrorism probes conducted before 9/11 and reveals its enduring impact on the community.

About the film's director: Assia Boundaoui is an Algerian-American filmmaker and investigative journalist. Her debut short film, J'ADORE NAWAL, set in a Muslim women’s hair salon in Chicago for HBO Documentary Films premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Her award-winning feature length directorial debut, THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED a documentary investigating a decade of FBI surveillance in Assia's community, had its world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and was nationally broadcast on PBS “POV” in 2019. The film went on to win the jury award for Best Documentary and Best Editing at the Woodstock Film Festival and was awarded audience awards at the Blackstar Film Festival and Camden International Film Festival in 2018. Assia was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's 2018 "25 New Faces of Independent Film,” in 2020 was honored with the Livingston Award for national reporting and in 2022 was given a United States Artist award. Assia was a fellow at the MIT Open Documentary Lab, where she incubated a community co-created, site-specific installation, the Inverse Surveillance Project. Her most recent film, ESTRANGED LETTERS, a short documentary following the creative process of an Iranian-American artist, had its world premiere at the Chicago International Film Festival in 2024.

Event Flow: Doors at 6:30 PM. Film at 7:00 PM

Ticketing: Tickets are a suggested donation of $10-30 and 100% of proceeds will go to mutual aid in Sudan and Palestine. No one turned away for lack of funds.

Important Note: The Rotunda is wheelchair accessible and masks are REQUIRED. 

The Feeling of Being Watched: Journalist Assia Boundaoui sets out to investigate long-brewing rumors that her quiet, predominantly Arab-American neighborhood was being monitored by the FBI.

More details and tickets HERE

Devoured Munch for QPOC folks. w/ music, vendors. More info coming. FREE

On Thursday evening October 15th, 6:00pm, the Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) and The Rotunda present three award-winning documentary shorts from the TEFF Archive and 45th Anniversary Tour, followed by Q&A and then live jazz from Black Buttafly. 

Film festival director Jane Steuerwald will introduce the program and lead the Q&A. The program is FREE to the public.

The film program includes:

Grit

14 min. by Vanina Feldsztein and Johannes Kroemer, Brooklyn, NY, USA. A film about people who keep going. What does it mean to be old? Once we reach a certain age are we still being seen? “Grit” looks at old age with a fresh set of eyes on three people who defy perceptions. Featuring Dr. Walter Palmer, organizer and activist and teacher of Institutional Racism and Social Change at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Kaotic Drumline: Drumming with a Difference

12 min. by Aaron Steinberg, Chicago, IL, US

On the South Side of Chicago, the Kaotic Drumline brings people together with creativity, energy, and hope.  Established in 2001, Jamie Poindexter is the founder/director of Kaotic Drumline. They were selected to perform in Washington, D.C. as part of the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade celebrating President Obama’s second term. Outside their musical achievements they give back to their community, youth, and churches with guidance hands on training with the drums, and much more.

Leo: Keeping the Music Alive

28 min. by Adam Reim, Sewell, NJ, USA. An aging jazz promoter in West Philadelphia, Leo Gadson, reflects upon his 50-year career of keeping live jazz alive in his community.  This documentary portrait was directed by Adam Reim, a recent graduate of Rowan University’s film program.

The Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) is an international juried competition celebrating all genres and independent filmmakers across the globe. TEFF is an Academy Award® Qualifying Festival for animated and experimental shorts, and a Canadian Screen Award Qualifying Festival, the only film festival in New Jersey to hold these designations.

For 45 years, the Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) has been advancing the unique creativity and power of the short form. The Festival is an international juried competition open to all genres and filmmakers across the globe. The Festival's touring program reaches out to diverse audiences in diverse settings with screenings of cutting-edge, cross-genre films including animation, documentary, experimental, narrative, and screen dance.

To learn more about the Thomas Edison Film Festival and the Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium visit www.TEFilmFest.org, Jane Steuerwald, Executive Director, +1 551-999-8225, Jane@TEFilmFestival.org.

As a composer/performer (ASCAP writer and publisher member), arranger/producer, synthesist/programmer, multiinstrumentalistand sound designer, Clive Smith (born, London, England) is a maker of sundry noises. He received his M.A. in composition from New York University. He was awarded two platinum albums for his studio work with Hall and Oates (Big Bam Boom) and with Freddie Jackson (Just Like The First Time). His work with other artists includes Herbie Hancock, Yoko Ono, Sly Stone, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Malcolm McLaren. He co-wrote the music for the cult classic film Liquid Sky. His own musical compositions have been used by all U.S. major television networks as well as by television in more than forty countries worldwide. He also has many solo and collaborative album releases of his music.

Karl Fury is a multi instrumentalist, improviser, composer and instrument builder from central NJ. His music draws on rock, blues, jazz, folk, classical, electronic and world music. He’s played in a number of bands, duos and trios for 50+ years. He’s performed at a number of festivals and venues up and down the East coast. His current musical projects include duos Beard Farm, Larry Roche, Quantum Bingo, Smith and Fury and the trio Sonic Foundry.

Infrasubcontra is a tuba-doom duo from New Jersey. Tuba and Euphonium (and other brass instruments) improvised/semi-composed drone duets with pedals and synths. Infrasubcontra performs high powered low brass electro acoustic music with a focus on drone, depth, and disassociating textures. Their music is improvised and bass heavy, taking influence from a wide range of American underground and academic musical traditions.

Sohme is the sound-based project of Philadelphia artist, producer, and architectural designer Saumon Oboudiyat.  Informed by a decade of work as an architectural designer and a lifetime of musicianship, his work blends analog and digital synthesis, acoustic instrumentation, and environmental sound into immersive listening environments. Released via Phantom Limb’s Spirituals imprint, his debut album Palm reflects on new fatherhood, Persian-American cultural duality, and shifting life stages through layered textures and arrangements. His work has recently been performed at Passages, Johnny Brenda’s, Vox Populi, and Pageant : Soloveev alongside guest lectures at Parsons School of Design.

Admission is FREE

SEPTA Riders Take the Stage in West Philadelphia for Free Transit Arts Event

"Making All Stops" brings rider-written stories, songs and poems to The Rotunda on Oct. 17

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 9, 2026 — About 20 SEPTA riders will perform original stories, songs and poems about life on the region's buses, trolleys and trains at Making All Stops, a free community arts event on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. in West Philadelphia.

The event is organized by Transit Forward Philadelphia, a nonpartisan grassroots coalition working to improve public transit in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Performers did not need to be professionals. Organizers asked only that they ride SEPTA.

The event comes as SEPTA's long-term funding remains unsettled. Pennsylvania's 2026-27 budget was signed in July without additional money for transit, and the stopgap funding that restored service is expected to run out in July 2027.

"Philly has no shortage of things to say about SEPTA, and most of them probably aren't printable on a family-friendly flyer," said Nico Meyering, a Transit Forward Philadelphia steering committee member and creator of the event. "But transit is also what makes this city special! It gets us to work, school, shows, neighborhood gatherings and the people we care about."

The program runs in two acts, with live music from Jason Das as doors open. Pieces include a song about the Route 34 trolley and an ode to the bus token. At the break, audience volunteers will play "Roll for Transit," rolling an oversized 20-sided die and sharing a SEPTA story to match the number. A transit-themed visual art display and an Art Mart with work by local artists will be open throughout.

The Rotunda donated use of the space. The venue is accessible, and Disabled riders are among the performers and musicians.

"Holding this event in an accessible venue really hits home," said Meyering, who is Disabled. "Arts and community spaces should be accessible, and I'm proud we have Disabled performers and musicians joining us on October 17th."

"We hear from riders at board meetings and budget hearings, usually two minutes at a time," said Stephen Bronskill, coalition manager of Transit Forward Philadelphia. "On Oct. 17 they get to tell their whole story."

Admission is free, and registration is open at transitforwardphilly.org/making_all_stops. Donations are optional and help cover event costs. Anything left over will be split equally among the participating performers and artists.

Members of the press are welcome to attend. Photo, video and interview opportunities are available

Transit Forward Philadelphia is a coalition of Philadelphia-based organizations working to improve public transit in Southeastern Pennsylvania. Its mission is to amplify the voices of riders and residents in support of a safe, accessible and sustainable transit network. Its rider-led accessibility audits have covered more than 450 transit stops. Learn more at transitforwardphilly.org.

Admission is FREE

 Audiences are invited to experience Sephro: The Abduction, a staged reading of a science-fiction fantasy drama about courage, trauma, family, and survival in a beautiful but dangerous world. The reading will take place Sunday, October 18, at 7:00 PM at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Admission is pay what you can, with a $5 minimum.

Set on the thriving planet Sephro, the story follows Craela, a young warrior determined to reclaim her future after a devastating childhood trauma caused by her Uncle Jondu, the security leader of her homeland. Sephro’s people survive by battling enormous snakes, monstrous birds, and terrifying white insects with deadly power—using extraordinary magical skill to protect their world.

As Craela trains to become the strongest warrior she can be, her father, Armino, fears that the lingering effects of her trauma could surface in battle and cost her her life. Yet Craela’s mother, Cranlaw; Head Shoki Coran; Ror Shoki Tanna; her siblings; and her friends stand beside her, determined to support her healing without holding her back.

The stakes rise when Surin, one of Craela’s closest friends, is abducted to a distant planet by Jondu himself. Surin carries a rare nurturing energy tied to his future as Ror Noki of Sephro, but Jondu wants that power for a revenge plot after being imprisoned on Sartozhia for his attack on Craela. When Craela is chosen for the rescue mission, she must face a new challenge that may prove she is far stronger than Jondu ever imagined.

Sephro: The Abduction blends high-stakes fantasy action with an intimate story of resilience, healing, and community. The staged reading offers an early look at a richly imagined world where magic is a means of survival and one young warrior’s greatest battle may be the one within herself.

“Sephro: The Abduction is inspired in part by current events in the world today. My hope is that it helps raise awareness and offers a sense of peace and strength to children who have suffered trauma within their families.” —Kate Quinn

Event Details

·       What: Staged reading of Sephro: The Abduction

·       When: Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 7:00 PM

·       Where: The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

·       Admission: Pay what you can; $5 minimum

·       Recommended for: Fans of sci-fi fantasy, magical worlds, character-driven drama, and stories of resilience

About Sephro: The Abduction

Sephro: The Abduction explores trauma, protection, bravery, and the power of support systems. Through Craela’s journey, the story asks what it means to heal while still facing danger—and how love can help someone move forward without taking away their agency.

About Kate Quinn

Kate Quinn is the creator of Sephro: The Abduction, a science-fiction fantasy story that blends imaginative world-building with themes of trauma, resilience, family, and healing. Through her work, Quinn seeks to tell bold, emotionally grounded stories that offer strength, awareness, and hope to audiences, especially those who have experienced hardship within their families.

Media Contact

Kate Quinn267-742-9098hazelkate67@msn.comTikTok Handle: hazelkatequinn

Join us cinéSPEAK and Dusky Projects as we celebrate National Native American Heritage Month with a special presentation of Jeff Barnaby's Indigenous genre flick—Blood Quantum (2019)!

'(George A.) Romero would be spinning in his grave...in the best way' —Globe and Mail

'You think you've seen every way to dispatch a zombie, and then someone applies a chainsaw to a skull in a particularly satisfying manner.' —New York Times

'Barnaby's film rejects the default white gaze of so many horror films, choosing to tell a story through an unapologetically Indigenous lens. —Austin Chronicle

Dusky Projects specializes in 'inclusive, genre-bending storytelling—primarily horror, sci-fi, and speculative fiction—focused on elevating BIPOC and queer artists through audio, immersive theater, film, and mixed media. Support their work here!

 Event Flow:Doors at 6:30PM, Film at 7-8:45 PM. Post-Screening Conversation hosted by Wi-Moto Nyoka of Dusky Projects

Food and Beverage:

Tickets:

Blood Quantum: The dead are coming back to life outside the isolated Mi'kmaq reserve of Red Crow, except for its Indigenous inhabitants who are strangely immune to the zombie plague.

More info and tickets HERE

Parody art show featuring absurd, nonsensical, and bogus radical wellness technologies!

Come explore the fringes of fringe New Age healing modalities in this parody art show! Featuring absurd radical wellness technologies, nonsensical healing solutions, sham workshops, and bogus mystical initiations! Experience the radical time-slowing effects of personalized inverse-entropon dosages, donate your cells to the "pantry' to engage in ethical, consensual consumption, bring about global simultaneous orgasm with acclaimed prophetess, Nastya Romanov, connect with the Intrinsic Power of Cat Meditation, and much much more.

Want to help create a project for the event? Join our workshop, Invent Your Own Miracle Wellness Product on October 8th!

Want your fellow art expo attendees to invest in your miracle product? Come design a patent for your idea at the Weirdo Fest on October 17th.

Poet-Tree En Motion Presents Free Arts Event with Live Music, a Fire Show, Spoken-Word Poetry, Dance and More on Oct. 28 in West Philadelphia

WEST PHILADELPHIA – It has been said that the veil between this world and the spirit world is at its thinnest around Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. It is a time when many ancient cultures and people still today honor their ancestors. Poet-tree En Motion, the seasonal multidisciplinary arts showcase in West Philly, will continue this annual tradition with an event titled “Honoring the Ancestors” on Oct. 28 at The Rotunda.

The free community event will feature on-theme artistic performances in the vein of spoken-word poetry, fusion belly dance, meditative drumming, LED dancing, deconstructive haiku, live rock music, fire breathing, ritual fire dancing, and “fire poetry.”

Performers will include Plum Dragoness, Jewell the Dragon, Inner Light, Lorenda Lumiera, Irene Reinke, GhettoSongbird, Natanya Apfelbaum, and Lindsey Gill.

Ollin Yolitzli Calmecac, a local Aztec cultural group, provides a community-based ofrenda (altar) every year, in memory of those who died during a catastrophe, genocide, or any cause. Anyone may add any offering (no candles or flames) to honor the ancestors who have passed on. The ofrenda will be outside of the Walnut Street side of The Rotunda Oct. 28-Nov. 14 and can be accessed 24/7 during that time.

There will also be an event on Sunday, Nov. 8 tied to the ofrenda. Ollin Yolitzli Calmecac will present a short Aztec dance ritual in front of the altar at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14. This is weather permitting. For more information, log on to https://www.therotunda.org/event/nuevo-mundo.

Poet-tree En Motion is supported by grants from the University of Pennsylvania. Admission is free. Donations at the door will benefit the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. Tips for individual artists are also welcome and encouraged.

The Rotunda is at 4014 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104. For information about The Rotunda, log on to www.TheRotunda.org.

For information about Poet-tree En Motion, email de Burke at plumdragoness@gmail.com and join the Facebook group at www.facebook.com/groups/116980678334215.

ABOUT POET-TREE EN MOTION:

Poet-tree En Motion works to inspire both artist and audience to connect and work together toward cultivating the arts community in Philadelphia, welcoming artists of all kinds to experience performances local to the neighborhood.

###

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Gabrielle de Burke (artist Plum Dragoness)

Founder/Event Organizer Poet-tree En Motion

484-557-9605

plumdragoness@gmail.com

Gina Renzi

Director of The Rotunda

267-934-3705

gina@therotunda.org

FOR EVENT LISTINGS:

Poet-tree En Motion Multidisciplinary Arts Showcase “Honoring the Ancestors” 7-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28 at The Rotunda located at 4014 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19104. The event is free and open to the public. Guests can enjoy live rock music, a fire show, LED dancing, fusion belly dancing, live drumming, and spoken-word poetry. An ofrenda (altar) will be set up in front of The Rotunda. Donations at the door will benefit the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania. Tips for individual artists are welcome and encouraged. For information about The Rotunda, log on to www.TheRotunda.org. For information about Poet-tree En Motion, go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/116980678334215 and email artistic director Gabrielle de Burke at plumdragoness@gmail.com.

ARTIST BIOS:

PLUM DRAGONESS (GABRIELLE DE BURKE)

Native to West Philadelphia, Plum Dragoness (aka Gabrielle de Burke) is a multi-talented thespian, dancer, martial artist, instructor, poetess, and writer who has been involved with performing arts since childhood. She is known for her poetic style, vocal performance, fire dance, flow arts, and choreographic flair throughout Philadelphia and abroad.

Over the past 18 years, she has toured as a solo artist, founding member/core performer/assistant artistic director of Archedream for HumanKind among many others. She has independently released two albums of original work with the project Plum Dragoness & the Elements, known for its fusion of multimedia, live world-beat musical infusions, spoken-word vocals, and lyrical poetry. She has also helped bring together the all-female performance group trio The Femme-Mynistiques, who released their debut EP “Here She Comes…” in the summer of 2016.

Since 2007, Plum Dragoness has been a resident performance artist, as well as host and organizer for the successful performing arts series Poet-tree En Motion. This has allowed her the opportunity to share her own creative performances (including collaborative projects she initiated) and work created by many unique artists within the West Philadelphia community and beyond.

Her work as a healing arts practitioner and instructor continues to intersect with her work as an interdisciplinary performance artist through the incorporation of internal and martial arts forms in combination with dance, poetry, and theater presentation. She has been teaching in the Philadelphia area and abroad since 2000.

Instagram: @plumdragoness @dragonspiritarts @authentic.eccentrics

LORENDA LUMIÈRA

Lorenda Lumiera is a professional belly dancer and fire performer based in Southern New Jersey. Since 2009, she has been mesmerizing audiences across the Northeast with enchanting belly dance, breathtaking fire arts, and, more recently, ritualized acts incorporating original “fire poetry.”

Her repertoire blends Egyptian raqs sharqi, American cabaret, and tribal fusion, performed with fire props, swirling swords, silk veils, Isis wings, and more.

She has performed with internationally acclaimed Soraya’s Mid-East Dance Productions, the Burning Hearts Fire and Light Theater, and the Daughters of Terpsichore troupe.

Her work has ranged across all kinds of events, from the beaches and casinos of Atlantic City to the desert sands of Burning Man, from upscale Persian weddings and exotic Arabian nights to avant-garde art galleries and fairy fests, to the glittering lights of New York City and Las Vegas.

At a performance recently at CoSM – Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, artist Alex Grey said, “It was the most magical act we’ve ever had.”

On Facebook, Instagram and YouTube: @FirebellydancebyLorenda

www.lorenda.show

NATANYA APFELBAUM

Act Description: A dance-drum journey to invite you into remembrance, honoring the ones who came before and the spirit that is still alive. A seduction into beauty, a spiral into joy. Come let yourself be transported! 

“My life has been a journey back into the present moment and to a space of connectedness. As an adult, I rediscovered dance and the inner world it opened in me. I also discovered the frame drum. At the same time, I started looking at the world around me and discovered many people were suffering from a lack of community and a deeper level of connection. I studied in Sicily and Turkey, and learned belly dance, Romani dance, Italian music and dance, and Middle Eastern drumming. I teach and share frame drumming and expressive folk dance to reconnect us to our roots and belonging.

“Embody possibility and presence.”

Social media: IG @dancingalive18

www.dancingalive.com

GHETTO SONGBIRD

Samantha “GhettoSongBird” Hollins is an independent rock ‘n’ roll singer-songwriter-guitarist from North Philadelphia. Since 2001, her cult fanbase has watched her blaze stages non-stop at legendary rock venues including CBGB’s (NYC), The Bitter End (NYC), The Whisky A Go-Go (L.A.), The Mint (L.A.), The World Cafe Live (Philadelphia), The Rotunda (Philadelphia), The Troubadour (London), and The Overthrust Winter Mania Metal Fest in (Botswana) with hundreds of shows under her belt. She was also the curator of her own festival Wingdomfest.

GhettoSongBird recorded her “Alley Of The Earth” EP in Los Angles (2002) with the help of her mentor Rosa Lee Brooks (a recording artist in the ’60s, who wrote and recorded with Jimi Hendrix and recently passed away). The first single “landed" the Songbird on the classic B.E.T. show 106 & Park and in front of many music executives in a time that young black women rocking with an aggressive electric guitar was taboo in the mainstream.

Mrs. Songbird and her Roxsploitation band – featuring her husband, Ronin Ali, on drums; her best friend, Chris Nelson on keys; her sons Jembé on percussion; Clavé on keys; and Ikembé on hand percussion – have shared stages with some of their heroes including HR (Bad Brains), Angelo (Fishbone), RES, Vernon Reid’s (Living Colour) jam-band called the Free Form Funky Freaks (which includes Jamaaladeen Tacuma & G. Calvin Weston); Botswana's metal legends Overthrust; spoken-word pioneers The Last Poets; Sonia Sanchez; and many veteran musicians.

GhettoSongBird’s message music – which she calls “culture rock” – has made a lingering impact playing throughout the United States, Australia, the U.K., Brazil and Africa, breaking rules along her extraordinary journey.

“As a singer-songwriter-guitarist who plays deep-rooted rock ‘n’ roll, my music is tied to the ancestral energy of the blues. My lyrics are like griot tales of past lives, and my vocals evoke my grandmother’s vibrational tone.”

Instagram: @ghettosongbird

IRENE REINKE

Irene Reinke’s dance background is primarily in the dance style known as FCBD (Fat Chance Belly Dance, formerly known as ATS). Although she studied another “tribal” belly dance style and becoming a teacher in that style, her passion was for FCBD. It wasn’t until the early 2000s when she was able to take workshops with Carolena Nericcio, the creator and founder of FCBD.  

She received her FCBD teacher certificate from Nericcio in 2008, and a year later her dance studio was designated as a sister FCBD studio. 

Irene no longer has a dance troupe, but instead dances as a soloist, focusing on aspects of FCBD that are inspired by Rajistani and North African folkloric dances, Flamenco stylizations and sword dance – a nod to the use of props in belly dance. 

At Poet-tree En Motion, Irene will give a moving meditation, which is how FatChance Belly Dance class often begins. It honors elements of dance, but also one’s teachers and ancestors.

“The dance I will be performing is my love note to FCBD, specifically to Carolina Nericcio whom I consider my dance mother,” Irene says. “Without her, I seriously doubt I would have become a dancer.”

Instagram: @philly_irene

JEWELL THE DRAGON

Jewell the Dragon (Jewell Dwomoh) is a flow artist and performer based out of South Jersey.

“My flow journey began in 2024 and has already brought me into some of the most beautiful spaces, introduced me to an amazing community, and now teaching! I have experience teaching workshops through other talents and modalities at both intimate gatherings and large-scale events, so the opportunity to teach at Flow Fest Philly was huge.

“I describe my performance style as an embodiment of Black Girl Magic. I integrate tech into my flow, but mostly, I allow my props to move with me and through me. When you watch me dance with fire, you are witnessing my ancestors move through me as I become a vessel between this plane and the next. Depending on the song, my movement can be smooth, slow, and sensual or fast, chaotic, and otherworldly. When I perform, the flame and I become a spell crafted with intention and illuminated through dance, leaving you enchanted and mesmerized. Every movement tells a story that is unique, transformative, and ever changing each time I step into the fire.”

Instagram: @JewelltheDragon

LINDSEY GILL aka "Whiplash"

Lindsey Gill is a freshly branded burlesque performer, model, and flow arts instructor as of this year, and has been practicing yoga and Thai bodywork as her career for the last five-plus years. You can find her teaching at City Fitness gyms and across South Philly, including the dance space The Whole Shebang. (@thewholeshebangphilly)

Lindsey is a yoga teacher and Thai bodyworker accepting clients for private sessions here: https://www.lindseygillyoga.com/

Lindsey will be performing a LED optic whip routine inspired by her love of dubstep, drum and bass, and the intricate language of the body through somatic and ecstatic dance practices. 

Promo reel: https://www.instagram.com/p/DbgnumEPyUK/

https://www.lindseygillyoga.com/

Social Tags: @lindseygillart / @lindseygillyoga

INNER LIGHT

Lynne Rabchuk writes poetry under the pen name Inner Light. She chose that name because the first word she said aloud was light, and she hopes the last word she utters at the end of life is love.

Though she has dabbled in spoken-word, Inner Light prefers using forms like abecedarian, acrostic, haiku, sonnets, and rhyming couplets with rhythms she feels are divine. Her topics include paganism, politics, peace and an abundance of other themes.

Her self-published zines will be available for sale. “Poetry can heal if you let it,” she says, “and we all need more that in this world. Don’t you agree?”

Screening of 1968’s Night of the Living Dead and costume contest! With all proceeds going to Philabundence. 

Join us for a screening of George A. Romero’s first feature film ‘Night of the Living Dead’. Before the film we will have a costume contest with prizes! There will be two contests, actually: one for the best zombie costume and one for best non zombie costume. 

In the 1960s, George A. Romero made commercials, industrial films and even segments for Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. But he wanted to do something much bigger. He wanted to make his own film outside of the Hollywood machine. With incredible directing and editing, he made a masterpiece. It also became a standout horror film that defined the whole genre of zombies depicted on screen. And it was culturally unique for having an African American lead. Shot in Pennsylvania and premiering in Pittsburgh, the film became a huge hit, grossing 250 times its budget. But due to an error, it was not copyrighted and the film went into public domain. And now we can screen it for you! Have a night of fun costumes, a great film and fighting hunger in our area!

Admission is $10-$20, whatever you like.