Music fest under fire for selling products to Humans
The organizers of the first annual Beats of Burden music festival have come under fire for creating and selling products that are specifically geared to Human consumers.
At a rally held this afternoon outside the Ancient, Open-Air Theatre, members of groups that aid The Park’s refugees, as well as Park artists and shopkeepers, marched around the theatre, chanting their disapproval of what they call the festival organizers’ “outrageously offensive” decision.
“This is an incredible betrayal,” said Dorika Pumi, who curated The Park’s first art installation at The Park Museum of Contemporary Art. Entitled, “How Much Was That Doggie in the Window?” the installation has been described as “a living, breathing, depiction” of the horror of enforced domestication of Canines by Humans.
“I can tell you honestly that this is the last thing that we, as an organization, believed would ever happen,” said Vizsla Hoover of Runaway Rovers. Hoover’s group, which was involved in the art installation, assists Canines who have escaped enforced domestication.
“After years of working with refugees who have suffered tremendously at the hands of Humans, I am shocked that they [the festival organizers] saw fit to pander to them just for the sake of money,” she said.
Hoover is one of many in The Park’s immigrant and refugee aid community who is calling for the organizers to cease creating products for and selling those products to Humans.
“I looked at the catalogue and the number of products geared to Humans was almost equal to those for Animals,” Hoover said. “It is appalling.”
For their part, the music festival’s organizers say only that they believe many of the products offered for sale can be used by “any species.”
“We have offered a variety of products for sale in support of The Park’s refugee community. We have tried to be inclusive of all species and we believe we have been successful, in that many of these products have universal appeal. We do not, however, believe it is our job to determine which products should be geared to which species. That would undermine our intent, which is to service the Park community across its entire spectrum,” a festival statement said.
Nut Bar becomes PIFF 2013 official sponsor of “Mixed Nuts”
The Nut Bar has assumed official sponsorship of the film version of “Mixed Nuts,” which will have its premiere screening this October during PIFF 2013.
In a joint statement released this morning, The Nut Bar and Lodgepole Productions confirmed that an agreement of sponsorship had been reached.
“We are delighted to announce the collaboration between The Nut Bar and Lodgepole Productions in bringing this wonderful film home to The Park this October. We look forward to having the opportunity to present the film and to interact with audience members during The Park Interspecial Film Festival,” the statement read in part.
This is the first time that the venerable Park shop has sponsored a film.
“We thought it was a perfect fit, so we approached them last year,” said the film’s producer, Victoria Sciurini.
“They didn’t need much convincing, though. It turns out they’re big fans of Millicent [Hayberry, the film’s star] and they’ve been terrific about the whole process. They are a very generous company,” she said.
“Mixed Nuts” will screen at The Park Cinema on Oct 2 and 3, 2013.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival Runs from October 1-5, 2013.
Douglas Cheetah to host “Cheetah Chat” during PIFF 2013
Renowned director Douglas Cheetah will host a chat and Q&A with film lovers during PIFF 2013.
Renowned director Douglas Cheetah will host a chat and Q&A with Park film lovers this October during PIFF 2013, it was announced today.
“We are pleased to announce that Douglas Cheetah has agreed to participate in a live chat and Q&A at the Park Cinema, following the debut screening of his new documentary,” PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot said in a statement released this morning.
The chat, which has been dubbed the “Cheetah Chat” will be held live at the Park Cinema but will also be carried online, to allow those not able to attend to ask questions of The Park’s most celebrated director.
Cheetah, who is best known for his controversial 2007 (25 AZ) film, Black Cats Can’t Jump, has spent the last few years working on a documentary about the inner workings of the interspecial family, which he says he discovered exists both inside and outside The Park.
The film, entitled, Clutch, Flock, Litter, Pack: Relationships in the Age of the Interspecial Family, will screen October 2 and 4 at the Park Cinema during PIFF 2013.
The Cheetah Chat will be held on October 2.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
Stolen autochthonous art recovered by Park Police
An important painting by one of The Park’s most revered autochthonous artists has been recovered by Park Police. The painting was stolen while it was one display during last Saturday’s Part ART Walk
An important painting by one of The Park’s most revered autochthonous artists has been recovered by Park Police, it was confirmed today.
The painting, entitled, L’oiseau à l’affût, was stolen while on display outside LeTwiggery during last Saturday’s Park ART Walk (PAW).
“One minute it was there; the next, it was gone,” one regular PAWgoer told The Mammalian Daily.
“I turned around to tell my companions to take a look at it and when I turned back, there was only an empty easel standing there,” she said.
The painting by renowned autochthonous artist and Park citizen Hervé Huard was on loan to LeTwiggery as part of The Park’s annual Park ART Walk. A number of retail establishments as well as art galleries participate in the popular event by offering space free of charge so that artists can display their work. This year’s PAW was dedicated to the work of The Park’s autochthonous artists.
Huard has thus far refused to comment on either the theft or recovery, but Park Police believe the theft may be part of a larger problem in The Park. Sources close to the Society of Autochthonous Artists (SAA) say the group has received threats recently and several autochthonous works have been vandalized over the past few months. A spokesAnimal for Park Police said they are “currently involved in a thorough investigation of the matter” but cannot comment on the specifics of the case at this time.
GooseBook’s fortunes fall on news of PIFF 2013 shutout
GooseBook’s fortunes fell on Friday after Thursday morning’s announcement that cackle-enabled devices will not be lent to filmgoers this year nor will they even be allowed inside the Park Cinema during PIFF 2013’s Noon Nuttiness screenings.
The social network site, which is the parent company of cackle (as well as peck), stood to add to its financial base through a group of private investors who had planned to support the company in its new endeavours. But after Thursday’s announcement by PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot, the group withdrew its offer of support, a spokesAnimal for the investors told The Mammalian Daily.
“The group [of investors] does not feel that the time is right for them to invest in GooseBook. Unfortunately, Park Animals continue to associate the company with the violence that broke out during the 2012 Noon Nuttiness screenings, even though the company was not involved in any way and publicly condemned the violence. Although the group is supportive of GooseBook, it has decided to hold off allying itself with the company until such time as GooseBook is able to repair its relationship with the public,” the spokesAnimal said.
Although some financial experts regard the loss of these private investors as “sounding the death knell” for GooseBook, the company’s CEO and President, Lester C. Gander said in a statement today that he is confident the company will find the support it needs “from both the public and investors.”
GooseBook was the brainchild of the late Cesar Emilio Gander, who founded the site while a student at the University of West Terrier. After his untimely death in 2009, as a result of a collision with a passenger aircraft, Lester Gander assumed the position of CEO and President. With Gander at the helm, the company has grown and the membership of all three social media sites has tripled in the past year.
Beasts of Burden unveil poster for upcoming music festival
The Beasts of Burden commissioned this poster for the 1st annual BEATS OF BURDEN Music Festival
THE BEATS GET CLOSER
In a short ceremony yesterday afternoon, The Beasts of Burden unveiled the poster that they commissioned for the first annual Beats of Burden Music Festival.
The Beasts’ lead singer Alfredo Ox said in a short speech that the poster is meant to express two things: the joy that Animals feel when making music and the diversity of music makers in The Park. He declined to name the artist responsible for the poster, saying only that that Animal wished to remain anonymous.
The Beats of Burden Music Festival will be held September 14-16. All proceeds from the Festival will go toward assisting The Park’s refugees.
New rules: PIFF lays down the law before announcing films
Two days before announcing the roster of films that will screen at the 9th annual Park Interspecial Fllm Festival, PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot convened an early morning press conference to announce what she calls “the new rules.”
Exhibiting a no-nonsense attitude, Ocelot read from a prepared statement and then took questions from the media.
In the statement, she confirmed that PIFF 2013 would include a number of items that were introduced last year. Most notable of these was “Noon Nuttiness,” the name given to the practice of screening comedies only between the hours of 12:00 and 2:00 pm at the Park Cinema.
The difference this year, Ocelot said, is that patrons will not be allowed to bring any technological devices into the cinema. Last year, a riot broke out during a Noon Nuttiness screening, when angry protesters stormed the cinema and demanded that patrons hand over their cackle-enabled devices. The devices had been lent to the patrons by cackle’s parent company, GooseBook, so that filmgoers could share their favourite moments with friends.
“We cannot allow the Festival to be overtaken by theft and violence,” Ocelot said this morning. “And as a result, we decided not to renew the device-lending agreement with GooseBook at this time. We will be reviewing this option every year and making our decisions on a year-to-year basis,” she said.
Also returning in 2013 are PIFF Pockets, or pocket films, which are films that do not exceed three minutes in length and that have been made specifically for the Festival. Both pocket documentary and pocket fiction films will be screened at this year’s event, Ocelot said.
“We were overwhelmed by the number of submissions of pocket films this year. The popularity of this category exceeded our wildest expectations,” she said.
Once again, documentaries will make up a significant portion of the Festival’s offerings and, as an aside, Ocelot mentioned that she thought the Hot Dogs documentary category this year was “spectacular.”
The full lineup of films for the 9th annual film festival will be announced on Friday, August 16. The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
Park ART Walk: A week…and a world away
The organizers of the 7th annual Park ART Walk (PAW) request the honour of your presence at the following event:
Park ART Walk
Saturday, August 17, 2013
10:00 am – 7:00 pm
The Park ART Walk is a one-day, juried art exhibition that showcases the artistic expression of Park residents. PAW showings will take place at participating art galleries, retail establishments, and at the Ancient, Open-Air Theatre.
For more information on this year’s event, please see: Take Root
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The Park ART Walk wishes to thank its sponsors:
Founding Families Financial Corporation
The Nut Bar 
LeTwiggery
The Tabby Club
You’ve Earned Your Stripes™ 
Amoltrud’s Aesthetics
The Park’s Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations
“Shoot the Messenger” to open PIFF 2013
George Angus Doo’s controversial and arresting film Shoot the Messenger will open the 9th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival (PIFF) on October 1.
The announcement was made this morning in a statement released by PIFF Communications President Leola Ocelot.
“We are thrilled to announce that George Doo’s award-winning film Shoot the Messenger will open the 9th annual Park Interspecial Film Festival. The Festival is very grateful to him for giving us the chance to screen his great film,” the statement read.
The film, which received the 2013 Winkie Award, explores the relationship between Humans and Doo’s own species, the Pigeon.
This is the first film in which Doo has put his own species at the centre. His previous films dealt mostly with underwater crises and desert themes. In an interview last spring with film critic Hernando Gorrión of The Avian Messenger, Doo said he was at first reluctant to use his own species as the subject of a film because he thought the issues were too close for him to be able to see them clearly.
“There is so much conflict, so many emotions on both sides. In many ways, it is a relationship of mutual respect and dependence, yet we have seen too many misunderstandings and far too many deaths,” he said.
Shoot the Messenger will screen at The Park Cinema on the Festival’s opening night, and again on Oct 4.
The Park Interspecial Film Festival runs from October 1-5, 2013.
