Beth's Message (1.9.02) About her upcoming event

From: "Beth Secor
To: pieplanning@media.mit.edu
Subject: art car event/workshops
Date: Wed, 09 Jan 2002

Hi everybody. This is Beth. I hope you had a great holiday and thanks Mitchell for the holiday greetings.

I want to tell you about our artcar event that is in the works and that will in some ways involve cricket technology.

Every year, as part of Artscape, a large visual and performing arts event sponsored by the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Art and Culture in Baltimore, there is an art car show - in otherwords an exhibit of art cars. Last year, for the very first time, there was an art car parade. It was chaotic and crazy (because the guy in charge of Artscape had not informed anyone other than the participants that there was going to be a parade - so there were vender stands and pedestrians in the path of the parade - additionally a really tough inner-city band called the Westsiders decided to change the path of the parade without telling anybody else and noone would argue with them - well I tried to - and was subsequently berated - or rather cussed out) This year unfortunately the police, the pedestrians and the venders will be aware of the parade and the Westsiders won't be allowed to arbitrarily change the path - in otherwords it will be organized and less fun.

One of my jobs at the AVAM is contacting all the participants of the parade and the car show, and organizing a seminar where there are extraordinary art car speakers from all over the country. This year, in the full week preceding the event we will have artcar workshops. One artcar artist, David Best from California, will work with about 300 people from a drug rehab center. Karen and Micael and everyone at the Exploratorium can vouch for him, because he did a car out there. Another local artist, yet to be chosen, will do a car with another inner city community group (more than likely kids). Thirdly, we are going to get Meg Goetz, our dear Meg, assisted by some Baltimore Artists to make a Lego Car that will be able to attach various crickets to it during the car show and the parade. All participants that enter the museum that week will get to, if they wish, help attach legos to the exterior of the car. Also we would like to plan for that week daily cricket workshops (one a day - different one each day) for the Baltimore Community to spread the cricket word.

Diane suggested that after the parade is over , the lego cricket car then go on to the Lemmelson center where it can stay a month or what ever - to demo crickets and then anybody else that would like it can have it - it will be a cricket ambassador.

Did I mention the parade is July 27 and that the art car workshops will take place July 22-26

We need help with some things - we would like to challenge the folks at MIT to develop an enthusiasm meter - that can gage the intensity of clapping and hollaring for each car that passes by in the parade (Say for example the crickets/computer etc were stationed at a cheering/bleecher point in the parade route - people would hurrah for their favorite vehicle - the sensor could "rate" this enthusiasm and ultimately we would be able to determine which car the public liked the best and then we would award that person a prize..

we would like to ask you pie folk if any group/groups are interested in making their own car for the parade (it does not have to be cricket related) and we would like to ask if anyone is interested in helping run the daily cricket workshops during that week. I must say I am cricket handicapped and bearly remember how to do any of the stuff. I'm sorry - I like to paint. We could get you rooms to stay in and food. (Well, within reason - if everyone says yes, then no - we can't - but say five of you say yes - well then we could.)

and - who do we get in touch with Lego about Lego donations for the car? Name, address, email?

So - anyone interested? Anyone challenged? Anyone psyched?

Beth Secor