Redmoon and the Chicago Park District Host Joyous Outdoor Event Labor Day Weekend

Redmoon and the Chicago Park District celebrate the 5th year of spectacles in the parks with the Joyous Outdoor Event (J.O.E). Labor Day weekend, Thursday - Monday, Sept. 2-6, in Lincoln Park's South Belmont Harbor at Belmont Avenue and Lake Shore Drive. Festival J.O.E. is Redmoon's first-ever festival featuring family entertainment, an international public art installation, small scale and guerilla performances and live music acts. The celebration culminates in a Redmoon spectacle production at each performance.

The U.K.-based Architects of Air present the Luminarium, a monumental installation where people are moved to a sense of wonder at the beauty of light and color. The luminarium is 35-foot tall, 15,000-square foot inflatable environment made of translucent vinyl. Visitors receive a map, remove their shoes and are encouraged to relax and enjoy the ambience of the structure. Architects of Air have enchanted nearly 2 million visitors in 37 countries since 1992 with their luminarium designs. Media are invited to a sneak preview and photo opportunity of the Luminarium Thursday, Sept. 2 at 4 p.m.

Local presenting music partners the Metro and Smart Bar have curated five evenings of live musical acts including JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, and more.

Redmoon's large?scale spectacle LAST OF MY SPECIES II: The Perilous Songs of Bibi Merhdad anchors each day of the festival. This rock-n-roll production is a sequel to last year's successful spectacle and re-imagines the previous installment of machinery, puppets, song and visual artistry.

Redmoon curates Festival J.O.E. programming that includes:

Storytelling from Emmy Award?winning Jim May, Yuri Lane's Beatbox, Hip Hop Clown Nick Demeris, and The Tiny Cover Band.
Labor Day speeches by speakers such as James Barrett and Louis Silverstein that shed light on the Triangle File, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, and Chicago History.
Local theater, dance and performance by Bricklayers Theatre Company; bouffant clowning from Les Enfants Terribles; contemporary dance from Erin Kilmurray; puppetry by MerEdith Miller; circus with Missi Davis; avant-garde dance by Lady Jack; Be the Groove, a combo of dance, music and percussion; theater outrageousness by The New Colony; Studio Be Dance Troupe, young people "busting a move;" and a rare public appearance from Plucky Rosenthal.
Roving guerilla entertainment and buskers including jugglers, gymnasts, and street performers such as juggler Alex Knapp; swing dancers the Shim Sham Flash Mob; Redmoon guerilla performances including "Shake Your Bones," "Find Love," "Find Joy," "The Momentary Opera," "The Astronaut's Transmissions" and more.
Gypsy?like music from Shu Shubat, Matt and Evan Bivens, and Chicago musician Charles Kim.

Visit the Festival J.O.E. website at www.joyousoutdoorevent.org for program updates.

Performance Schedule
Redmoon's Festival J.O.E. performances run Thursday - Friday, Sept. 2 - 3, from 6-10 p.m.; Saturday - Sunday, Sept. 4 - 5 from 1 - 10 p.m.; and Monday, Sept. 6 from 1 -6 p.m. at South Belmont Harbor, Belmont Avenue and Lake Shore Drive.

Admission Thursday - Friday is $25; Saturday - Sunday is $15-$25; Monday is $15. Admission for children under 10 is $10; children under 3 are free. Festival passes will be available. Please visit Redmoon's website for more details at www.redmoon.org or by call 312.850.8440 ext. 111. Ticket packages are available. Get one all-access pass to Festival J.O.E. and one free ticket to the MCA collaboration The Astronaut's Birthday for only $60. Bombastics members get the pass for only $50.

Redmoon
Redmoon was founded in 1990 to promote a unique brand of public art committed to the highest quality artistic product and to civic well being. Pulling with conviction from contemporary art forms and ancient theatrical approaches, Redmoon has created a performance style that is equal parts pageantry, gadgetry, acrobatics, and ephemera. Over the past decade, Redmoon has garnered international attention for its unique productions, site-specific performances, and events which have been seen across Chicago from the MCA, Jackson Park Lagoon, and Belmont Harbor, to venues as diverse as Steppenwolf Theatre to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Over recent years, Redmoon has developed projects in Holland, Ireland, France, Australia, and Brazil. The crowning achievement for Redmoon's team in 2009 was an invitation by the White House for a Halloween spectacle performance on the front lawn for 2,500 trick-or-treating local school children, followed by a private party throughout the East Wing residence for U.S. combat veterans and their families. Redmoon creates unexpected theater events in unexpected locations. For more information, visit www.redmoon.org.

Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District has supported Redmoon in creating spectacles at Ping Tom, Jackson, and Columbus Parks and at Belmont Harbor over the last five years. The collaboration showcases Chicago parks as unique locations for the public to enjoy spectacular art in a beautiful setting. The Chicago Park District oversees more than 7,700 acres of parkland, 570 parks, 26 miles of lakefront, 10 museums, two world-class conservatories, 16 historic lagoons, 10 bird and wildlife gardens, and thousands of special events, sports and entertaining programs. Please visit www.chicagoparkdistrict.com or contact the Chicago Park District at 312/742.PLAY or 312/747.2001 (TTY).

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