This Coming Saturday: Goin Postal Fall Music Festival and Poltergeist Pub Crawl in Superior’s North End

All Money Raised goes to benefit the Bluebird Foundation

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Superior is seeking to establish itself as "Halloween Town" again.

If you measure holidays by the revenue they generate Halloween appears determined to catch up to Christmas, at least in the U.S.

Goin' Postal's Andy and Becky Perfetti are at it again. They thrive on pulling people and businesses together to create memorable events. It's that time of year again... and here's the rundown. 

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The Goin' Postal Fall Music Festival and Poltergeist Pub Crawl is back this Saturday, October 29^th in Superior. Here's the announcement I received earlier today.

Join in the many festivities taking place throughout Superior's North End. The Music Festival will feature 15 bands at five venues and 11 taverns will be participating in the Pub Crawl. (see complete schedule below) .

Wear your costume and tour the North End of Superior! Stop in participating taverns and have your favorite cocktail! Celebrate Halloween in style with your friends, or come and make new ones!

 

The Pub Crawl starts at 5pm and ends at Top Hat Tavern for the Costume contest! Enjoy Live Music along the way at multiple venues! Win big prizes at the Top Hat Costume Contest!

There is a $20 entry fee. Purchase your pub crawl pass at either Top Hat Tavern, Tower Avenue Tavern or Lost in the 50's. All proceeds from the pub crawl go to support the Bluebird Foundation in their mission to provide grants and scholarships to local kids in the arts!

 

The Bluebird Foundation is a 501(c)(3) founded in 2014 dedicated to supporting regional youth in the performing arts.

 

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Goin Postal Fall Music Festival Presented at 5 Venues--15 bands

Music at:

Born Too Late... These kids are steppin' out.

Top Hat Tavern

• Israel Malachi Orchestra
• The Fractals
• Born Too Late
• Virgil Caine
• BoomSTick
• Costume Contest at 11pm
• Tower Avenue Tavern
• Boogeymen
• Vehahsa
• Spider Penis
• Theft By Swindle
• Costume Contest At Midnight
• Thirsty Pagan Brewing
• The Mackie Bros
• Steve Solkela
• VIP Pizza
• John Seguin
• Adam Herman
• Woodblind
• The Jane Gang
• The Superior Tavern
• High Maintenance

The Poltergeist Pub Crawl participating taverns are:

·         Lost in the 50s

·         Whiskeys Last Resort

·         Tower Avenue Tavern

·         The Boardroom

·         Top Hat Tavern

·         Thirsty Pagan Brewing

·         Strikers

·         Mikes Place

·         VIP Pizza

·         Superior Tavern

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My very first "live painting" event took place at the now defunct Norm's in Superior. Here are a couple posts about or inspired by that event.

Related Links

Last Night at Norm's

Aiming High In Art

  

Have You Ever Wanted to Work in Media?

We're less that four weeks away from the first Duluth-hosted Catalyst Content Festival, a potentially much bigger event than most Northlanders have yet to realize. It's actually been years in the making in a pair of ways.

First, there have been years of investment in making Duluth the remarkable place it's become. After the collapse of it's industrial base, it took quite a while for the Twin Ports to find its footing. Over time, with much investment, Canal Park, Downtown and Lincoln Park have been transformed.

Second, ITV Fest's first 13 years enabled it to find its own footing as regards what it is and how it fits into the new media landscape. Now in its 14th year and bearing a new name, Catalyst has come of age. In short, for a variety of reasons it appears to be a perfect marriage.

Friday night St. Scholastica hosted a Catalyst Content Preview Event in Mitchell Auditorium. The room wasn't as packed as when Low or Trampled By Turtles performed, but it was a healthy, appreciative crowd. Clearly, something special is coming to town.

We were welcomed by St. Scholastica marketing director Ira Pavala who shared a few remarks including, "We're proud to be a part of this." St. Scholastica is a two year sponsor and will he home to the Storyboard Academy beginning January. "The aim is to lower the barriers to entry into this industry," she stated before introducing Catalyst executive director Philip Gilpin.

Philip Gilpin

Gilpin was upfront that the aim here is jobs, and helping people to find their place in this massive industry. Where do you fit in? We're all familiar with the actors and extras who appear on the screen, but part of this event is helping people see the scale of infrastructure and staffing needed to bring stories to the screen.

In addition to story developers, directors, producers and casting, their are all kinds of other roles and needs to fill. A few of these categories include:
Props, Set Direction, Locations, Art Department, Camera, Grip, Lighting, Production Sound, Special Effects, Transportation, Greenery, Paint, Craft Services, Catering, Publicity, Music, Post-Production, Picture Editing, Visual Effects.

Greenery? Well, yes. For example when Marlon Brando was chasing his grandson through the garden in The Godfather, somebody had to be taking care of the plants, someone with a green thumb. That's greenery.

To see the full range of jobs required to make movies and shows, visit GetInMedia.com

Mitchell Auditorium Friday evening.

Here's a surprising detail. Last year, more films were shot in Georgia than in Hollywood. Why? Because they have the infrastructure in place for all these various needs.

Part of the Catalyst Festival is simply bringing people together, and part of it is training so that there is more talent in the industry. A third part is simply having fun for a week, sharing ideas and watching films.

Gilpin stated that there were 800 submissions for this years festival from all over the world. 60 to 70 films will be screened during the five day fest. A requirement for the selected films is for the film makers to be present, so we can ask questions, get to know them and their motivations.

How We Got Here

Gilpin shared how he met Riki McManus last year in October. Riki’s and others’ work has made this possible. Duluth has much to offer and was selected because there was a sense that with the industry at an inflection point there might be more rapid growth than their Vermont home could accommodate.

As has been noted here in the past, Minnesota believes in the arts. There's an infrastructure here that believes in and supports the arts. The City, the County, the people, the sponsors… "It's a town with great energy, which makes something like this possible."

He also cited the five year commitment the Abrams Artists Agency has made to Catalyst. There is a hunger for narrative episodic content, but with technology advances  costs have been greatly reduced, making it possible to produce quality material for pennies on the dollar compared to the big budgets Hollywood must fork over.
 
Six months ago when this event was first announced, it had an air of unreality about it. Could it really work? Could they really pull it off?

Today, as we stand on the threshold, it's apparent that a lot of work has preceded this moment. It's not a misty phantom but rather something firm, solid and really taking shape before our eyes.

Have you ever wanted to work in media? This is a great opportunity to see what it's about.

Related Links
Catalyst Home Page
Festival Schedule
ITV Fest Re-Branded as Catalyst
Sign up to as a Volunteer
Unremembered Histories: Six Stories with s Supernatural Twist
(I included this last link because I believe some of these stories might make thought-provoking and entertaining short films, with the title story a multi-year episodic series.)

ITV Fest Rebranded as Catalyst in Relocation to Duluth

Katie Strand (at mic) introduces Riki McManus (R)

Wednesday night I attended a meeting pertaining to the Catalyst Content Festival that was announced earlier this year, previously titled ITV Fest. I first wrote about the upcoming October event this spring, asking if it might be possible for Duluth to evolve into a second Sundance Festival. This meeting took place in the Barrel Room  across the hall from the Brewhouse at Fitger’s,

The aim of the event was to begin getting the word out about a Guide Project, which is two-fold in purpose. First, a directory of local talent and resources is a useful tool for attracting film makers to do production in our region. The rationale is that a production company can cut their costs if they don’t have to ship in all their resources and skills from elsewhere. Second, the guide project is a way for local talent and businesses to re-cast what they do as it applies specifically to the making of films.

The room was packed when I arrived, many familiar faces gathered. I was ushered to one of several laptop stations where I was instructed to enter my contact information and what skills or experience I could contribute to a future production.

Philip Gilpin, Jr. (Twitter phptp)

At a certain point, Executive Director Philip Gilpin, Jr. took the stage. Gilpin, who has been Exec Director of ITV Fest since 2012, announced that this would be the 14th annual ITV Fest, but with the new name Catalyst. Gilpin’s background includes a stint as Business Affairs Analyst at HBO in Los Angeles where he worked with the financial and contract components of titles such as “The Sopranos,” “Sex and the City,” “Six Feet Under,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “The Wire.” ​

Gilpin believes that successful festival would bring millions of dollars to the City of Duluth, which is not an unrealistic if they are successful with the execution part of their vision.

EdNote: As regards the name change, I like Catalyst inasmuch as it conveys the notion of making things happen, which fits their mission in bringing producers, directors and talent together for projects. The former name, however, conveyed something as well, differentiating it from Sundance. This specific annual gathering has the ultimate objective of creating episodic series media. In the Internet age this includes streaming Netflix and Amazon stories and opens up other channels for content generation and distribution.

Katie Strand presents the Guide project
and vision for Catalyst.

Gilpin then introduced Katie Strand who was also part of the launch event at Red Herring. Strand, originally from Duluth, went to college in San Diego because of its proximity to Hollywood and has worn numerous hats in an L.A. career spanning 15 years working in Film and TV Production. Her research work on one documentary led to a nomination for an Emmy.

Katie Strand took the stage to talk about the Guide project. Riki McManus, director of the North MN Film Office, is managing the Guide. Strand noted that the festival is only 90 days away and there is a lot of work to do.

Having worked in Hollywood she provided a few insights about the way things are and why these kinds of festivals are important. There are few full-time ongoing jobs in Hollywood. Rather, actors and other talent are always hustling to nail down their next gig. Festivals serve as a place that brings people together where a lot of networking takes place.

The Production Guide is important because producers and directors know they can offset costs because of the access to talent here, she explained. What many people don’t realize is how much of the behind the scenes work is blue collar work

Strand is an energetic speaker with a strong stage presence herself. Her experience as a producer of documentaries and commercials gave weight to her words.

The biggest takeaway for me was when she said Catalyst is a win for Duluth, a win for Minnesota and a win for the film makers who come here.

Strand and Gilpin at Red Herring this spring.

BOTTOM LINE: Sign  up and get listed in the guide. You also need to pass the word on to your friends, all locals with applicable skills and businesses that might be interested in becoming involved with film/tv production in the Duluth area and the Catalyst Content Festival.

HERE IS A LINK to the page that lists the kinds of skills and needs they want to have listed in the guide, as well as contact information for Katie Strand, Riki McManus and Keely Gelineau.
https://www.catalystcontent.org/copy-of-plan-travel

Better Yet
Go straight to THIS PAGE and fill out the Catalyst Production Guide Contact Form.

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WHAT IS THE CATALYST CONTENT FESTIVAL? ​

If instead of making a film, you've created a story that is episodic or narrative in structure (aka, a TV show or podcast) and you want to showcase it to industry executives, agents, and producers you have limited festival options. There are thousands of film festivals, but they do not accept shows.

So, you take it to Catalyst: a 501c3 nonprofit community of creators, executives, agents and fans discovering the best new programming created on independent (aka, non-network) budgets.

​Unlike big city festivals where it can be difficult to interact with the right people, Catalyst's special getaway location offers a unique opportunity to meet fellow professionals and make lasting connections. ​

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If I sound a little bit “Rah rah!” about the project here, it’s because I am. I agree that if they can pull it off it will be a win for Duluth, for Minnesota and for the industry. Duluth already has one of the most beautiful settings in the world, it is the only city in the world where Nobel prize winner Bob Dylan was born, and it has the most beautiful Marathon in the world Why not turn it into a top drawer media hub?

Related Link
Expansion 2020+ . Details about the fourfold plans going forward.