There’s a lot of good things down here in North Carolina, and one of them is happening right now: SPARKcon, “a showcase of creativity, talent and ideas of ‘the creative hub of the South,’ the Triangle NC.”

The event is a “creative potluck” made by teams of volunteers. The poetrySPARK team has put together a great bunch of readings.  There will be a big NC Writers’ Network reading Friday night, and on Saturday, a series of four themed readings. These each have two headliners, including Carolyn Beard Whitlow, Joanna Catherine Scott, and Alex Grant, and then some rabble-rousers to round things out. Count me as one of the latter—I’ll be reading during the experimental reading at 10 p.m. Fringe Poetry editorial assistant Nellie Bellows will read during the narrative/lyrical reading at 7:30.

Amidst the gray drizzle that enveloped New York last Saturday, I set out to explore Governor’s Island, a tiny piece of land just about a ten minute ferry ride away from the lower tip of Manhattan. Watched over by the Statue of Liberty, this island served as a military outpost for years, until the city of New York took over just a few years ago, opening it to the public for the first time. Now you can take a free ferry to the island and have a picnic, play a game of mini-golf, bike the periphery, and check out the numerous art exhibits that pop up in unexpected places.

This past weekend was the beginning New Island Festival, a giant celebration of Dutch art and performances that will run through Sunday, part of the city’s observance of the 400th anniversary of the founding of New Amsterdam. As we wandered, open-mouthed, through the festival, we saw sights we can’t fully describe here–suffice it to say, there were accordions, beheaded dolls, wind-up stuffed bears, a dirt-covered fat man, a woman decked out in a spangled Elizabethan-era collar singing Britney Spears covers, and a flying piano.

My favorite part of the day though, hands down,... more »