Help Fund the Version Festival

The creators of Proximity, Lumpen and the Bridgeport International produce the annual Version Festival. This year, for the entire month of May, they are opening twelve pop up and remixed spaces in the neighborhood of Bridgeport. They need your support. Please check out and support our fundraising campaign via Kickstarter. Thanks so much!

Help Fund the Version Festival

The creators of Proximity, Lumpen and the Bridgeport International produce the annual Version Festival. This year, for the entire month of May, they are opening twelve pop up and remixed spaces in the neighborhood of Bridgeport. They need your support. Please check out and support our fundraising campaign via Kickstarter. Thanks so much!

Help Fund the Version Festival

The creators of Proximity Magazine also produce the annual Version Festival. This year, for the entire month of May, we are opening twelve pop up and remixed spaces in the neighborhood of Bridgeport. We need your support. Please check out and support our fundraising campaign via Kickstarter. Thanks so much!

Version 12 Call for Submissions

What happens when you invite cultural workers, urban entrepreneurs, artists, designers, foodies, public space hackers, urban planners, community activists, and dreamers to swarm a neighborhood and transform it for one month? Version 12: Bridgeport The Community of the Future.

This May 2012, we're inviting you to come visit us in Bridgeport, a Chicago neighborhood, and join in on our month-long urban experiment. During the Eleventh Annual Version Festival, we will be opening and remixing twelve temporary spaces, businesses, enterprises and projects, all to celebrate the neighborhood we love and call home. And then we're going to use these places as home bases, networks, and maps, all to energize our local environs for long-term change - but we need your help to make it happen.

Version 12 seeks collaborators and partners to help us re-imagine the tactical urbanization of our hood. We will supply the spaces for your project and help coordinate the activities and ideas that you would like to share with our communities.

Right now our plans include opening up the following: a used bookstore, a nightly performance space in a church, a home brewing club kitchen, a department store/gallery showcasing all locally manufactured small batch and artisanal products, nomadic collaborative restaurants and community kitchens, parking lot flea markets, a neighborhood tourism bureau, and a rotating exhibition space for artists and designers. And we're still looking! We need groups and individuals to open or manage temporary stores, co-working spaces... any choose-your-own pop-up space endeavor you can imagine.

Of course, there are other ways to participate too. You could also create or install public art in the hood, volunteer at a space, bring your food cart or truck to the neighborhood, conduct a public space hack, farm in a local urban garden, perform at one of our venues, or just stop by and dive in. Everyone is welcome!

The festival is co-produced by Public Media Institute (PMI) and dozens of our neighbors, friends, and business owners here in Bridgeport. PMI is a non-profit 501(c) 3, community based, arts & culture organization located in Chicago, Illinois. Our mission is to create and incubate innovative arts programming and cultural infrastructures to transform people - socially and intellectually – through the production of festivals, art spaces, events, exhibitions, community projects, artifacts and media. Public Media Institute is committed to the region's cultural ecology and is evident through our series of programs, spaces and projects. http://www.publicmediainstitute.org

WANT IN? LET US KNOW HOW YOU'D LIKE TO GET INVOLVED. PLEASE RESPOND BY MARCH 1, 2012 AND
EMAIL YOUR RESPONSE TO --> versionfest12@gmail.com

PLEASE CHOOSE ONE (OR MORE!) OF THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS:
[ ] opening up a space
[ ] performing
[ ] making or installing public art
[ ] providing a service to the neighborhood
[ ] having your product featured in our department store
[ ] volunteering
[ ] other

YOUR NAME:
EMAIL:
TELEPHONE:
WEBSITE (it's OK if you don't have one though):

ONE PARAGRAPH PROPOSAL - let us know what you want to do!:

PLEASE INCLUDE 3-6 images up to 1,000 pixels wide

Bridgeport in Chicago Magazine

Happy New Year, everyone! The year is off to an auspicious start with two great articles about Bridgeport in the Chicago Magazine. The first is, "A Guide to Bridgeport: Where to Eat, Phop, and Play," which highlights our great local businesses, galleries, and even our quarry/park. The second article is about one of the busiest Bridgeport resident we know, Ed Marszewski. He recommends Bridgeport as the Community of the Future (of course), and says that if you don't already live here, you should come check us out!

Days 10-12 of Bridgeport Christmas!

10. On the Tenth Day of Christmas… Ten Pounds of Sausage
If your sweetheart is the curious type, take her along when you visit the pocket-wholesale-food cluster behind Henry Palmisano Park, on Poplar Street. Makowski’s Real Sausage has been making sausage back there since 1938. They sell sausage wholesale, but also to the public. Nicole Makowski says they sell cooked sausages in 5 lb packages, raw sausage in 10 lb packages. Prices range from $3.50 to $6.00 per pound. Nicole says they are best known for their smoked polish, which comes both skinless and in natural casing. They also sell Real brand franks and wieners, as well as bratwurst, knockwurst, chorizo and andouille. http://realsausage.com/

11. On the Eleventh Day of Christmas… Eleven Bridgeport Coffee Company Roasts
If you love a coffee drinker, make sure you head to Bridgeport Coffee House to grab some of their locally hand-roasted beans for a great cup of coffee. This is not just great coffee–many roasts they offer are organic, fair trade, or direct trade, as well. You can pick up some beans at the Bridgeport Coffee House at 3101 S. Morgan Street, or order online (including 2 and 3 bag gift box options) at bridgeportcoffeecompany.com.

12. On the Twelfth Day of Christmas… Twelve Savory Pies!
Bridgeport is fast becoming the place for savory pies in Chicago. With so much going on for the holidays, let one of our fantastic new businesses do the cooking for you–it will make your next holiday party much more relaxing! Pleasant House Bakery (946 W. 31st Street) has several Royal Pies and one pasty (pass-tee) on the menu, including Steak & Ale, Chicken Balti (curried chicken), Mushroom & Kale, and Cold Pork Pies. They also make additional seasonal savory pies. Give them a call or stop in for details and place an order for your next get together (pleasanthousebakery.com).

Days 7-9 of Bridgeport Christmas...

7. On the Seventh day of Christmas… Seven Moonshine Fish Lures
Henry's Bait and Tackle has been on Canal Street since 1972. Kyle, a young salesman who says he practically grew up at the store, is reluctant to make gift recommendations, because every fisherman knows what he/she likes. He says the Moonshine lures are really hot this year. They are “jigging” lures– you jerk them up and down in the water. Their bright colors can be made to glow in the dark, and they hold their charge for a long time. Moonshine lures sold so well in summertime, Henry’s is carrying some for ice fishing, too. Kyle also speaks highly of the Shimano Stradic reels (they retail for about $180). They turn smoothly and have an excellent drag system (an adjustment you make to the resistance that prevents a fish from pulling out too much line, without allowing it to snap the rod). http://henrysmarine.com/

8. On the Eighth Day of Christmas… Eight Funky Records
When Neal Keller opened Let’s Boogie Records 35 years ago, he sold all new records. Over the years, technologies changed, and the shop evolved into a used record store, with some 8-tracks and cassettes. Now, vinyl is hip again in a retro-cool way, and some of the record companies are making reissues. Some are even issuing brand new albums on vinyl. Let’s Boogie has the new Tom Waits album on vinyl–he says the kids are rediscovering him. He still gets customers from Asia to Sweden who stop in to buy up large quantities of specific labels, or genres. Visit Let’s Boogie and you’re sure to find something you loved listening to, or always wanted to hear. Let's Boogie on Yelp.com

9. On the Ninth Day of Christmas… Nine Precious Oils
Augustine’s Eternal Gifts (3327 S. Halsted) is your best source for Frankincense and Myrrh, but they have scores of other scents, and they will mix custom potions from their wall of ingredients to meet customer requests. You can wear them, or heat them in a dish to suffuse a room. Augustine’s owner, Cathryn Hennes, says her family has been running shops in Bridgeport for 100 years–though earlier generations sold candy and ice cream. In addition to oils and incense, Augustine’s carries a wide range of other spiritual supplies, from prayer candles to crystals, amulets, and tarot cards. http://www.authenticspiritualgoods.com/