14 The Courier sun • JUNE 19, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com LIC nonprofit Local Project turns to Kickstarter to survive BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com @aaltamirano28 After having to move out of the building Images Courtesy of Local Project Rockstock and Barrels Festival to hit the sand By Cristabelle Tumola ctumola@queenscourier.com/@CristabelleT A local summer festival is getting ready to officially rock the beach for the first time. The eighth annual Rockstock and Barrels Festival, a free event at Rockaway Beach featuring live music, a surf competition, skating demonstrations, beach games and vendors, will move from the boardwalk to the sand this year, according to co-founder Jimmy Dowd. Held on Saturday, June 28, starting at 10 a.m., the day-long festival kicks off the summer and helps the local community. “It has been doing a lot of good things for the neighborhoods,” Dowd said. Proceeds from the event, through the nonprofit organization Rockaway Beach Surf Club, are used for projects in the community, such as for construction at the skate park at 90th Street, located next to the beach where the event is held, and other causes, including sending inner city children to surf camp and introducing martial arts to kids through the mentoring program STOKED. Dowd of St. James Clothing founded the festival in 2006 with Walker Hornung of Invisible Sun Booking Agency and Into the Whip Records, and Steve Stathis of Boarders Surf Shop. Since that time the event has grown, but “it’s finally really catching some headway,” Dowd said, and in the last two years it’s starting to get recognized by larger corporations. Co-sponsored by the city’s Parks Department, it’s the largest event the department holds in the Rockaways, Dowd said. According to event organizers, this year in particular shows the recovery of the community and how it has rebuilt after Sandy. Dowd sees the move to the beach as “a celebratory thing,” as they are finally getting the sand that they’ve been promising. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crews have been placing sand onto Rockaway Beach to help repair and restore the area following Superstorm Sandy. “We can actually utilize the beach,” he said. This year, attendees will be able to enjoy beach games, such as volleyball and possibly horseshoes. Though the beach has not been the center of previous Rockstock and Barrels Festivals, it has played an important role through the surf competition. Sponsored by the Atlantic Surf Federation, “people come from far and near for this event,” Dowd said. The festival, which was attended by almost 8,000 people last year, attracts visitors from all over the city and beyond. To service them, OvRride will have special “luxury buses” with pick-ups and drop-offs in Manhattan and Williamsburg, according to Dowd. Rockstock and Barrels will additionally feature companies that come to share their goods, and the event is still accepting vendors and seeking more sponsors. To find out more about the festival and vendor and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.rockstocknyc.com/. “We just want to see the event grow … to bring awareness to how amazing this beach is,” Dowd said. that housed 5Pointz, one nonprofit is turning to Kickstarter to help stay at the site it has called home for the past few months. Local Project, a nonprofit arts organization, has offered exhibitions, mentoring programs, classes, co-working space, residencies for artists and much more since starting in 2003. It previously had its headquarters and gallery located at 45-10 Davis St. in Long Island City inside the warehouse of the graffiti mecca. After the property’s owners decided to sell the location to construct two high-rise apartment buildings, members of Local Project were left wondering where to go and were excited when they found a new location at 11-27 44th Rd. However, after having to deal with a 50 percent rent increase, the nonprofit has hit a bump and now needs help raising money to pay two months of rent in order to continue being part of the community. “It’s a New York problem, paying rent,” said Carolina Peñafiel, founder and director of Local Project. “We’re hoping to be able to breathe. We didn’t expect it to be so hard to get back on track. ” The organization started a Kickstarter campaign with a goal to raise $6,100 by July 12. As of June 16, $1,422 had been raised. Supporters will be able to get gifts after donating on Kickstarter including a personalized brick on Local Project’s supporters’ wall with a $25 pledge or more. “It’s a new location, it’s a different crowd, there’s no 5Pointz in here that can back us up,” Peñafiel said. “Now we’re building this up again. Everyone that comes in lives in the area and they appreciate what we are doing.” Once Local Project meets its goal, the organization would then be able to have time to go create a strategic plan and put it into place to ensure it thrives for more years to come, Peñafiel said. Future plans for Local Project includes year-long exhibitions, events, a co-working space, mentorship for new curators and artists, a continuing partnership and student internships with the Information Technology High School in Long Island City and MoMA, and creative affordable workshops. “We’re looking at this as very positive,” Peñafiel said. “The horizon looks awesome and there are all of these opportunities and all of these great things we want to get back to work on.”
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