On behalf of the 111 First Street Tenants Association, I would like to thank you for the article on April 25, 2004 about the Mayday Art & Music Festival at 111 First Street, and I hope you were able to join us and experience the festival first hand.
For me, Mayday was a great success on every level. The artists who opened their studios found the public to be genuinely interested in art and also very concerned about the future of the arts community at 111 First Street. We received hundreds of signatures for our petition, showing the strong support of the wider community to keep 111 First Street as an artists' building. The arts workshops were extremely well attended with people eager to explore the many art forms being taught. The music during the festival was extraordinary. The whole building was alive with wondrous sounds. All of the 32 musical performances donated their talents to Mayday and to the effort of saving 111, and the artists at 111 wholeheartedly thank them for their generosity.
There are also many other people we would like to acknowledge. We particularly want to thank Congressman Robert Menendez, Senator Bernard Kenny and Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise for attending our Mayday Art & Music Festival. We appreciate the time they took to talk with us, to listen to our concerns, to tour the studios, and meet the 111 First Street artists. We'd also like to thank Mayor Glenn Cunningham's representatives, Arts Liaison Greg Brickey and Deputy Director of Cultural Affairs Maher Kahlil, for their support of the first significant event of the new arts and tourism initiative. Many thanks to Bill LaRosa of the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development; the New Jersey State Council on the Arts; Thomas A. DeGise, Hudson County Executive; and the Hudson County Board of Chosen Freeholders for a generous grant toward the funding of Mayday. Goldman Sachs, along with Pro Arts, were also very generous contributors to our Mayday Festival and we thank them as well. Additional financial support was given to us by Fleet Bank/Newport Center Branch, the Petrocci Insurance Agency and the Hard Grove Café.
Mayday was a magical event. It was a group effort that seemed to flow from a simple concept and grow into something that had a life of its own, all within a very short period of time. Mayday was not just about art and music, but also about the 111 First Street building. It was a day when artists, musicians, art, music and building merged together. It was when 111 First Street became one very, very large piece of art.
Elizabeth Onorato
Organizer, Mayday Art & Music Festival (With a lot of help from a lot of artists.)
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