Soul Jam Spreadin’ Sweet – For A Brand New Beat In A Marathon Celebration Of Soul Music In Harlem

New York  Spirit in Sunset Productions is excited to present Soul Jam Spreadin’ Sweet – Are & Be Ready for a Brand-New Beat! .

A Multi-media Marathon Celebration of 1960’s and 1970’s Soul Music presented in Poetry, Prose, and Performance by Artists of Color and the Creative Community. 

The event will be held on Sunday, September 8, 2024, from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park located at 679 West 145^th Street at Riverside Drive in Harlem, New York 10031. 

This event will be held outdoors on the Main Stage.  In case of rain, the event will be held indoors at the Robert Frederick Smith Center for the Performing Arts. 

The event is Free and Open to the public. For more information contact Spirit in Sunset Productions at (917) 675-7255 and via email at byojbringyourownjoy@aol.com or spiritalkin@yahoo.com.  You can also contact the Cultural Office of Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park at (212) 694-3633/3634, or General Information at (212) 694-3600.  Information is also on Riverbank Park’s Facebook and Instagram pages. 

The Park is accessible by public transportation by taking the #1 train (closest train route) or the A, B, C, D, trains to 145^th Street, the M100 and M101 bus to 145^th street or the #19 bus which goes straight into the Park in Harlem. 

“Soul Jam Spreadin’ Sweet – Are & Be Ready for a Brand-New Beat!”  was conceived and produced by Artist and Author Nikki Williams, the Artistic Director of Spirit in Sunset Productions.  The three-part program is part of a series of traveling programs that accompany a body of artwork entitled, “Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive – A Sweet Ride on the Soul of My 45’s.”^TM  The art exhibit kicked off its tour at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem on June 6^th and ran until June 29, 2024. 

The three programs scheduled to be presented at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park on September 8, 2024, consist of an invitation only photo shoot honoring Artists of Color, as well as members of the Creative Community representing all genres and

disciplines of the Arts celebrate the Soul Music played on 45 records during the 1960’s and 1970’s.  The “Soul-a-thon” ^TM is part of Williams’ trademark brand of non-stop literary marathon readings of poetry, prose, and performances. 

The evening will conclude with the participants and patrons having an opportunity to dance to the music of the era.  With water serving as a backdrop, and under the glow of a beautiful setting summer sun – a Summer Soul Sunset Dance Party entitled – “For People Who Only Need A Beat,” will take place.

The creative writing workshops that are part of “Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive – A Sweet Ride on the Soul of My 45’s.”^TM titled, “Pass the P’s” (like we use to say) – Poetry, Prose, and Performance, were held in July at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and EmblemHealth in Harlem.  The workshops are scheduled to continue in August at EmblemHealth and The Macon Branch Library in Brooklyn.  Select pieces from the art exhibit will be on display in the windows of Ryan Health’s Frederick Douglass location in August.  Other New York sites are expected to be added before the exhibit and its programs leave New York for a National Tour.

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Williams conceived the idea of “Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive – A Sweet Ride on the Soul of My 45’s”^TM after taking photographs of over two hundred 45 records in her personal collection.  Williams created pieces of art inspired by her collection of 45 records and displayed them a few years ago in two solo exhibitions “And a PraiseSong Shall Rise Over a Cappella Skies” and “Standing in the Sacred f Self – A Sanctified Sistah Space.” She then decided to create a full body of artwork inspired by images of her 45 records.  Poetry, prose, and narratives complement each piece. To date, there are over fifty finished pieces in the collection. 

As a producer with a reputation for creating innovative programming, Willams has celebrated the achievements, accomplishments, and contributions of Artists of Color for over thirty-four years.  In 1990, Williams was the first to produce a live, ongoing, weekly, radio program on Harlem Community Radio, WHCR 90.3 FM.  Live interviews, as well as live performances, were heard every Sunday at 9:00 p.m.  “Soul Jam Spreadin’ Sweet – Are & Be Ready for a Brand-New Beat!”   is the fifth literary marathon (non-stop literature through performance) event that Williams will produce.  Artists of Color from all artistic

disciplines have performed in her trademark literary marathons that pay homage to African American

Literary Greats such as Mr. Langston Hughes and Dr. Maya Angelo.  “Ah Sookie, Sookie Now!” presented in 2023, was a three-part literary festival was funded exclusively by Poets & Writers, Inc., which celebrated the 25^th anniversary of the publishing of the poem, “Ego Tripping,” written by poet, writer, activist, and educator, Ms. Nikki Giovanni.

For more information and to book the art exhibit and literary programs for “Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive – A Sweet R&B Ride on the Soul of My 45’s”^TM please contact Spirit in Sunset Productions at (917) 675-7255 (Landline/No Texting) or email byojbringyourownjoy@aol.com.

You can also go on Facebook: Spreadin’ Jam Joy & Jive and visit their website at www.byojbringyourownjoy.com.