A lot of happy puppies found a home at the Lost Dog cafe on Thursday Feb 9th. Organized by Steve Gabriel, Luke Vivian, and Sara Valek, the Positive News Winter Release party and benefit provided close to a hundred folks a chance to hear some great music, dance, and listen to Marty Luster and Ilonka, co-publishers, describe the success of the paper.
Marty called PN "a newspaper, but not only a newspaper. It is the only paper that offers solutions to the many wrong directions we as a society are taking." Ilonka produced a comical history of the US edition, using random inputs from the audience.
Hank Roberts, Ithaca's amazing cellist, just returned from a long tour, captivated everyone with his amazing variety of rhythms and sounds. "If you close your eyes, he sounds like a whole rock band", whispered one rapt listener. Zela Zola, with virtuoso guitar playing, Eric Witkowski playing a wide variety of his own songs, and Ki-Tun, rounded out the evening.
A spontaneous contact improv dance brought laughter to all, even those who missed out on winning the wonderful raffle prizes. Look for another Release Party in the spring!
John Hamilton