Frankie's 95th Birthday Festival - NYC - May 21-25, 2009

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FrankieFest
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Frankie's 95th Birthday Festival - NYC - May 21-25, 2009

#1 Post by FrankieFest » Tue Dec 23, 2008 5:26 pm

Dear Friend of Frankie,

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN AND MORE DETAILS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED!

Lindy hop legend Frankie Manning will be turning 95 years old next May! To celebrate we are organizing the biggest and most spectacular birthday for him yet.

From May 21st - May 25th, 2009 (Memorial Day Weekend, please note the slight date change) lindy hoppers, jazz musicians, tap dancers, friends and supporters from all over the world will descend upon New York City for five days of dancing, live music, workshops, discussions, tours, competitions, performances, and much more. This will undoubtedly be the largest and most significant Lindy gathering of our time and an event you will not want to miss!

What better way to celebrate Frankie than to showcase his legacy: lindy hoppers from all over the world gathering in his hometown, the birthplace of lindy hop!

Registration for Frankie Manning's 95th Birthday Festival is now open at www.frankie95.com! There is a special deal if you register before January 15th, 2009. More details will be announced over the coming weeks and months, but in the meantime, mark your calendars, join the Facebook Event, and register now!

See You in New York,
The Frankie Manning's 95th Birthday Festival Team

PS: This event is being put on as a labor of love by countless Frankie fans and a few non-profit organizations. Nobody is personally making any money from this event. Any profit made will be donated to the Lindy Hoppers Fund and/or other non-profit dance-related organizations.

PPS: Please help us spread the word and forward this to all your lindy hop friends around the world!

FrankieFest
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Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:41 am

#2 Post by FrankieFest » Fri Jan 09, 2009 11:42 pm

Happy New Year from all of us at Frankie Manning’s 95th Birthday Festival Team!

As you probably know by now, from May 21st -May 25th, 2009 (Memorial Day Weekend), lindy hoppers, jazz musicians, tap dancers, friends and supporters from all over the world will descend upon New York City for Frankie Manning's 95th Birthday Festival. For five days and nights, there will be non-stop dancing, live music, workshops, discussions, tours, competitions, performances, and much more.

We are not exaggerating when we say that this will be the largest and most significant Lindy gathering of our time and an event you will not want to miss! The world is coming to New York City, the birthplace of lindy hop for this momentous occasion!

Early Registration is Ending Soon
As expected, interest in this event has been overwhelming! On January 15th early registration is ending and event package pricing will increase from $199 to $229. We already have 24 countries represented and based on the large numbers of early registrants we are expecting to sell out. If you have not yet registered we encourage you to do so soon by visiting www.frankie95.com/registration.php

For those of you booking travel and accommodations, the Festival begins on the evening of Thursday, May 21st and ends on Monday night May 25th. We are negotiating discount rates for local hotels and will have information on the website in the coming weeks... stay tuned.

"Frankie Week" (March 12-19th, 2009)
From March 12th to 19th, we are asking dancers from all over the world to come together to raise awareness about Frankie and the Lindy Hop, and to create two incredible birthday gifts that will be presented to Frankie during the festival in May. During "Frankie Week" we are asking dancers from all over the world to:

* Take photos of themselves (individually or in groups) to wish Frankie Happy Birthday
* Shoot a video of everyone in their local community doing a birthday shim sham for Frankie
* Educate dancers and non dancers in their communities about Lindy Hop and Frankie.

We'll be posting more information about Frankie Week very soon!

How You Can Help Promote Frankie's Birthday!
Those who have met Frankie know that he seems to bring out the best in people wherever he goes. Several of you have asked us what you can do to help make this the greatest birthday party ever, for which we are grateful. There's no lack of tasks that need to be filled, from distributing around flyers at your local dances, posting a button or banner to your website or blog, or offering to host a lindy hopper or VIP in New York during the festival. We have created a special webpage full of suggestions for how you can help make Frankie's 95th the best birthday yet.

Please visit www.frankie95.com/support.php

FrankieFest
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#3 Post by FrankieFest » Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:12 am

Dear Lindy Hoppers from Around the World,

First of all, we want to thank the 1300+ people from over 30 countries who have already registered for Frankie Manning's 95th Birthday Festival! We are totally overwhelmed by the community's response, which surpasses even our own ambitious goals.

In this short message, we want to update you on registration and give you more information about Frankie Week from March 12-22 and the Birthday Greetings. So let's get to it!

Registration
As of Monday, Feb 16th, Frankie’s 95th Birthday Festival is sold out of festival packages. We will have individual tickets for specific nights available and that information will be made public in the next two or three weeks. Please check www.frankie95.com for up to date information.

Frankie Week
As we announced in a previous message, mark your calendars for "Frankie Week", March 12-22, 2009. This week will allow Frankie fans from all over the world (whether or not they're coming to the actual Festival) to celebrate Frankie's 95th birthday by honoring him in a few special ways:
1) A Global Shim Sham: Lindy hop scenes from all around the world will video themselves dancing the Shim Sham (preferably to Jimmy Lunceford's "Tain't What You Do". We'll take the best videos and edit them into one compilation to show at the Frankie Festival.
2) A Birthday Card for Frankie: Dance studios, performance groups, local dances and individuals will be taking photos of themselves as Birthday Cards for Frankie. These will be presented to Frankie during the Festival. Be as creative as you wish!
3) Help Spread the Word: Use this week as an opportunity to tell others in your community (and beyond) about Frankie and lindy hop.
4) Fundraise for a Birthday Greeting: Raise funds to purchase a special birthday greeting for Frankie in the official program of the Frankie 95 Festival.

Please spread the word about Frankie Week. We can’t wait to see the creative submissions from all over the world! For more information on how you can participate in any of these activities, please visit: http://www.frankie95.com/frankieweek.php

Birthday Greeting
Frankie Manning’s 95 Birthday Festival will be the one of the largest and most significant lindy events of this generation. To commemorate this occasion, the Festival is putting together a special Frankie Manning 95th birthday program that all attendees will receive for free. Please join us in wishing Frankie a happy birthday by placing your very own Birthday Greeting in the program for Frankie and the rest of the international lindy community to see. Also, please note that the Festival is an entirely volunteer effort; all net proceeds generated by the event will be used to establish a Frankie Manning Foundation to be directed by Frankie himself with the purpose of promoting the lindy hop and swing music globally. Your Birthday Greeting is 100% tax deductible. Your support is greatly appreciated.

To purchase a Birthday Greeting, please visit: http://www.frankie95.com/birthdaygreeting.php

Yours on the 2 and 4,
The Frankie 95 Organizing Team

FrankieFest
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Dear Lindy Hoppers from Around the Globe,

#4 Post by FrankieFest » Thu Mar 12, 2009 4:52 am

Today is the first day of "Frankie Week," eleven days for lindy hop scenes from Seattle to Shanghai to celebrate Frankie Manning and lindy through a number of fun local activities. We want to encourage all of you, wherever you are, to participate in one or all of these actions, which will help make this year Frankie’s greatest birthday ever!

The details are below, followed by information on special birthday greetings at the festival, and when registration is re-opening!

FRANKIE WEEK
Frankie fans from all over the world (whether or not they're coming to the actual Festival) can celebrate Frankie's 95th birthday by honoring him in four special ways:

1) A Global Shim Sham: Lindy hop scenes from all around the world will video themselves dancing the Shim Sham (preferably to Jimmy Lunceford's "Tain't What You Do"). We'll take the best videos and edit them into one compilation to show at the Frankie Festival.

2) A Birthday Card for Frankie: Dance studios, performance groups, local dances and individuals will be taking photos of themselves as Birthday Cards for Frankie. These will be presented to Frankie during the Festival. Be as creative as you wish!

3) Help Spread the Word: Use this week as an opportunity to tell others in your community (and beyond) about Frankie and lindy hop.

4) Fundraise for a Birthday Greeting: Raise funds to purchase a special birthday greeting for Frankie in the official program of the Frankie 95 Festival.

Please spread the word about Frankie Week. We can’t wait to see the creative submissions from individuals and communities all over the world! Will your scene be one of them? For more information on how you can participate in any of these activities, and for details on how to share your shim sham video and birthday card picture, please visit: http://www.frankie95.com/frankieweek.php

BIRTHDAY GREETING
Frankie Manning’s 95 Birthday Festival will be the one of the largest and most significant lindy events of this generation. To commemorate this occasion, the Festival is putting together a special Frankie Manning 95th birthday commemorative program that all attendees will receive for free (it will also be available for purchase by non-Festival attendees). Please join us in wishing Frankie a happy birthday by placing your very own Birthday Greeting in the program for Frankie and the rest of the international lindy community to see. This will be a unique souvenir for many, many years...make sure your presence is in it (birthday greetings start as low as only $20 US!)

Also, please note that the Festival is an entirely volunteer effort; all net proceeds generated by the event will be used to establish a Frankie Manning Foundation to be directed by Frankie himself with the purpose of promoting the lindy hop and swing music globally. Your Birthday Greeting is 100% tax deductible and greatly appreciated.

For more details and to purchase a Birthday Greeting, please visit: http://www.frankie95.com/birthdaygreeting.php

REGISTRATION REOPENING ON MARCH 23
We have heard the outcry from lindy hoppers far and wide who are just dying to go to the Frankie's 95th Birthday Festival. We have managed to open up a very small number of slots (including some tickets for individual nights), which will be available on March 23. So act quickly that day, if you haven't registered yet!

A One, A Two, You Know What To Do,

The Frankie 95 Organizing Team
www.frankie95.com

FrankieFest
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:41 am

Dear Friends of Frankie,

#5 Post by FrankieFest » Tue Mar 24, 2009 3:53 am

In this email, we want to send out our thanks for your "Frankie Week" submissions, update you about the reopened registration today, and remind you about the Birthday Greetings for the Frankie 95 Festival Program. So let's get to it!

"FRANKIE WEEK" THANKS
From all of us at Frankie's 95 Birthday Festival Committee, we want to thank the thousands of you who participated in "Frankie Week" from all over the globe, from Perth to Dublin, Korea, Argentina... even Brooklyn! We are blown away by the creativity of your submissions, and we're sure that Frankie is going to love them as well. Remember that you have until April 1 to get us your video or photo! Remember to head to our Flickr Group and YouTube Group to submit your photos and videos, respectively, and see what others have sent in. Please visit: http://www.frankie95.com/frankieweek.php for details.

REGISTRATION REOPENING ON MARCH 23!
Today we are releasing a limited number of Frankie's 95th Birthday Festival tickets, including tickets for individual evening dances for those of you who cannot attend the entire festival. These will all go on sale at 5PM EST today (Monday March 23rd), so don't delay if you haven't got your ticket yet! Head to this link to register: http://frankie95.com/registration.php.

BIRTHDAY GREETING
For Frankie Manning’s 95 Birthday Festival, we are putting together a special commemorative program that all attendees will receive for free (it will also be available for purchase by non-Festival attendees). Please join us in wishing Frankie a happy birthday by placing your very own Birthday Greeting in the program for Frankie and the rest of the international lindy community to see. This will be a unique souvenir for many, many years...make sure your presence is in it (birthday greetings start as low as only $20 US!) You have until April 9 to purchase your greeting.

Also, please note that the Festival is an entirely volunteer effort; all net proceeds generated by the event will be used to establish a Frankie Manning Foundation to be directed by Frankie himself with the purpose of promoting the lindy hop and swing music globally. Your Birthday Greeting is 100% tax deductible and greatly appreciated.

For more details and to purchase a Birthday Greeting, please visit: http://www.frankie95.com/birthdaygreeting.php.

The Excitement Keeps Growing! See you in May in New York City!

Keep Swingin',

The Frankie 95 Organizing Team
www.frankie95.com

FrankieFest
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#6 Post by FrankieFest » Tue Apr 21, 2009 10:27 pm

April 21, 2009

Dear Friends of Frankie,

Birthday Greetings have been coming in from all over the world. There are only a couple more days to get your Birthday Greeting into the commemorative program. As you may know, they start as low as only $20.

Don’t miss out on your opportunity to wish Frankie happy birthday and to have you or your organization featured in the program. All 1200+ full-package registrants will be receiving the program for free and we will also have it for sale during and after the Festival.

Please visit http://www.frankie95.com/birthdaygreeting.php for details. If you have trouble with the website, you can simply send a paypal payment with directly to lindyfest@lostland.info and forward the confirmation email you receive back from paypal along with your Birthday Greeting artwork to frankiebdaygreeting@gmail.com.

If you don't have actual artwork you can put together, simply email us the text you would like and we can make it look pretty for you.

This is a great way for you to participate in Frankie’s 95th Birthday even if you cannot attend the Festival in May in person.

Keep Swingin',

The Frankie 95 Organizing Team
www.frankie95.com

FrankieFest
Posts: 7
Joined: Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:41 am

#7 Post by FrankieFest » Sun May 03, 2009 4:13 pm

NOTE: Since we only have three weeks to go, we need your help to make this the best possible celebration of Frankie’s life. Please forward this message on to all your friends, email lists, discussion boards, Facebook updates, Twitter updates, etc (You can also find the message here: http://www.frankie95.com/message.php). Thank you for your help in this grassroots get-the-word-out effort!

May 1, 2009

Dear Lindy Hoppers Around the World,

Frankie Manning passed away Monday morning, April 27, in New York surrounded by his family and friends.

Frankie made it clear that if he didn’t make it to his birthday festival, he wanted everyone to celebrate his life rather than mourn his passing.

At Frankie’s 95th Birthday Festival, May 21 – 25, we will be honoring Lindy Hop’s greatest ambassador. The Festival will allow the swing dance community to come together in Frankie’s hometown, the birthplace of Lindy Hop, to grieve, to heal and to celebrate his life in a way that will pay tribute to this extraordinary man.

As an inclusive community, we think that anyone who wants to be a part of this momentous occasion should be allowed the opportunity. Therefore, we are reopening registration and encouraging everyone to make the journey to New York City for the greatest celebration of Frankie and the gift of his life.

In addition to reopening registration, we are making the following changes to the Festival:

- A memorial service will be held with details to be announced. Since many people will not be able to attend the memorial service Saturday, May 2nd, we are planning to hold a second service for the global community during the Festival. This service will be open to the public.

- In honor of Frankie, we are going to attempt to set the Guinness World Record for most couples dancing at once. This will take place Friday afternoon in Central Park, and is open to the public. On the same afternoon, we will set the world record for largest Shim Sham.

- We will take a photograph of the largest gathering of Lindy Hoppers ever.

- The sold out Frankie Show on Sunday will be a tribute to Frankie’s life and will be broadcasted via a live feed into the adjourning ballroom so that all Festival attendees can view it live. There may be a modest fee to defer the cost of setting up this live feed.

- There will be many other tributes to Frankie that are still being finalized.

We know you have many questions, so please click here to visit our FAQ: http://www.frankie95.com/faq.php

Please come to New York City to honor the man who did more for Lindy Hop than any other, and show the world the strength and vibrancy of Frankie’s legacy.

A one, a two, you know what to do!

With Love and Swingouts,

The Frankie 95 Team
www.frankie95.com

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djstarr
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#8 Post by djstarr » Wed May 13, 2009 2:51 pm

so who's all going to this? I just extended my stay so that I will be rested for the Jazz Vipers and I will catch Monday night, just looking at the schedule some more is getting me very excited.

And the DJ lineup features an all swingdj alumni cast for the most part. Who's dj'ing the comps? I'm really looking forward to seeing all of you again!

russell
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#9 Post by russell » Thu May 14, 2009 5:53 pm

I will be there. Looking forward to seeing all the great bands.
For interested parties Allen Toussaint is playing at the Village Vanguard for his new CD from next Tuesday. I am going to try to get there for the Tuesday night.

Russell

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JesseMiner
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#10 Post by JesseMiner » Thu May 14, 2009 5:57 pm

It is going to be an amazing event! I am the DJ coordinator and have been working hard to create a great diverse line-up of DJs to fill in the few moments when we are not swinging out to the incredible line-up of live music. I should hopefully have the DJ schedule firmed up over the weekend, and then I can answer any DJ-related questions.

Jesse

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djstarr
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#11 Post by djstarr » Fri May 15, 2009 3:32 pm

russell wrote:I will be there. Looking forward to seeing all the great bands.
For interested parties Allen Toussaint is playing at the Village Vanguard for his new CD from next Tuesday. I am going to try to get there for the Tuesday night.

Russell
good call, I'm not coming in until the 20th but will try to catch him that evening before the dances start. It's an amazing CD.

russell
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#12 Post by russell » Tue May 19, 2009 8:41 pm

Saw Allen Toussaint and band in concert tonight at Village Vanguard - amazing. Great trumpet player (Christian Scott) and hot band. Elvis Costello happened to be in the audience (near where we were sitting) and of course got called up to do a number.

russell
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#13 Post by russell » Wed May 20, 2009 9:33 pm

For those who enjoy a challenge - I came across a CD shop that sells new and used in East Village in NYC. It is literally packed from floor to ceiling with CDs everywhere. The challenge is to dig through all the CDs to find what you are looking for - mixture of usual plus jazz and blues.
Rainbow Music - 130 1st Avenue (between 7th and St Marks Pl).
Is open 12 midday until late every day except Saturday. The owner is a character :)

JSAlmonte
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#14 Post by JSAlmonte » Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:53 pm

I don't know about any of you, but I’ve been obsessive compulsively keeping track of videos posted from the Frankie Manning 95th Birthday Festival. Mostly because I didn’t get to see a lot of it despite being at all the evening events from before start until after finish.

Eventually, I decided that it would be useful for me to figure out which videos had the best angles and it snowballed into this mini-project creating these annotated, easy to reference blog posts by day/night. So now you can re-live the event or feel like you've gone even if you didn't.

I should add that the official Frankie 95 DVD is being produced as we speak. You can order a copy by going to the Frankie95 website.

Until then, click on the links below and enjoy! Jerry
www.ILHC.com
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