ACFNY RECOMMENDS | BIG, BOLD, AND BALKAN
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
On January 15 and 16th, 2016, Brooklyn’s Grand Prospect Hall will again come alive with the music, song, and dance of the Balkans (and well beyond) as some 60 bands and 3000 revelers gather for the 31st annual Zlatne Uste Golden Festival.
Part showcase, part benefit, part Balkan Mardi Gras, the Golden Festival features an enormous range of performers freely sharing their music. In what the Village Voice called a “grassroots folk rave,” seasoned veterans and rising stars in their own communities (think Macedonian, Bulgarian, Albanian), join top musicians from across the country, devoted amateurs, and Balkan-inflected jazz masters. Anchored in Balkan traditions (roughly Romania to Greece, Croatia to Turkey), and venturing generously beyond, the programming spans the ancient and the experimental, the oud and the synthesizer.
At Golden Festival you’ll hear Souren Baronian, the octogenarian Armenian-American clarinetist, a veteran of New York’s jazz and bygone Greektown scenes, or teen band Chochek Nation. Or any of another surprising 60 or so groups, including vocal adepts like Black Sea Hotel, Supruli, and the Yale Slavic Chorus, generous drafts from Brooklyn’s deep well of Balkan brass (Slavic Soul Party, Raya, Black Masala), and of course Zlatne Uste, New York’s pioneering Balkan brass band and festival sponsors. A complete schedule will be posted on the website http://www.goldenfest.org.
Golden Festival has been called a once-in-a-lifetime experience that happens every year. Crowds join hands and dance, shop for folk arts, nibble feta, sausage, and desserts, and share midwinter cheer. It’s a pop-up community where young and old, the folklorist, music professional and party animal come together in two nights of joy.
Entrance to the festival is $35 for Friday and $55 for Saturday, or $80 for both (food included), with discounts for students, and free for kids 12 and under. Profits are donated to charitable or educational organizations serving Balkan communities.
Friday night includes a dance workshop and dancing to 12:30 in the Grand Ballroom. The festival lifts off again at 6 p.m. Saturday, whirls on four concurrent stages and only lands at 2 a.m., with an after-party scene at nearby nightspots. Grand Prospect Hall is located at 263 Prospect Avenue, between 5th and 6th Aves (R train to Prospect Ave., limited valet parking, ample street parking).
TICKETS & MORE INFORMATION
Friday, Jan 15th, 7:30 pm to 12:30 am; Admission: $35, students with ID: $30
Saturday, Jan 16th, 6 pm to 2 am; Admission: $55, students with ID: $45
Two Night Festival Admission: $80, students $65
Children 12 and under: free
Advance online purchase: http://www.goldenfest.org/tickets
Complimentary Balkan & Middle Eastern Snacks/Cash Bar
Subway: R to Prospect Ave. Limited on site valet parking $10-$15
Facebook: Zlatne Uste Golden Festival
VENUE
Grand Prospect Hall
263 Prospect Avenue, between 5th and 6th Aves
Brooklyn, NY