Local Artist Celebrates Summer Solstice with Psychedelic Music Video Funded by ‘Creativity’ Grant
Jun. 21, 2023
THERE ARE MANY ways to celebrate the summer solstice, when the North Pole is at its maximum tilt, and the Northern Hemisphere enjoys sunlight at the most direct angle of the year — from the ancient ritual of welcoming the sunrise as seen through the rocks of Stonehenge, to leaving sweets and wine for fairies (yes, leaving treats for fairies is a thing).
For Houston soprano, filmmaker and recording artist Misha Penton, music, movement, and poetry is the ideal combination for celebrating the longest day of the year. Her new three-song digital EP and accompanying music video Solstice Songs: Last Cicada drops today on all streaming platforms.
Filmed during wildflower season at Memorial Park Conservatory, Penton’s video is a trippy, psychedelic montage of Houston’s towering powerlines and the park’s sun dappled flora as well as Misha herself, looking like a goth flower child in her black tunic and blue jean ensemble as she performs a kind of slow-motion, Dionysian dance, channeling both Isadora Duncan and a teenaged, Wuthering Heights-era Kate Bush.
The music is a multi-layered composition of voices that build, break down, and build up again to create an unpredictable, yet beautiful secession of harmonies, with mysterious, almost arcane lyrics comprised of Penton’s original poetry. Visitors to Memorial Park can access the music with QR codes and engage in their own interpretive movement — maybe at sunrise or sunset, when the temperatures aren’t so hellish.
Funding for the video was awarded through Let Creativity Happen, a competitive grant program administered by Houston Arts Alliance and funded by a portion of the Houston’s Hotel Occupancy Tax. The program is open to applicants four times a year, and offers grants for arts and cultural experiences using technology to “connect audiences beyond the physical boundaries of space,” something Penton certainly accomplishes as a composer and filmmaker. Other Let Creativity Happen grantees include poet Deniz Lopez, cellist and composer Jaylin Vinson, sculptor Lotus Bermudez, and contemporary dance company NobleMotion Dance.
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THIS WEEKEND AT Levy Park: the Second Annual Families With Pride event, a shining example of how Houston-area businesses, politicians, historians, and cool creative people can come together to celebrate family togetherness. Hosted by District C Council Member Abbie Kamin and the Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce, the free event takes place Saturday, June 24, from 9am to noon.
“We’re celebrating Houston’s families,” said Kamin in a statement. “District C includes some of our city’s most historic LGBTQIA+ neighborhoods and landmarks. Families in the community, and allies in and around our District, deserve a welcoming place for children to celebrate and learn about Pride’s history.”
Celebration and education go hand-in-hand at the years’ Families With Pride event with such activities as the Colors of Pride Ribbon Wall, where kids are invited to write notes about what pride means to them, Pride Storytime, a Civil Rights History walk, as well as hands-on art projects and face painting.
The Nature Conservancy will host Grow Your Pride, where kids will learn about sustainability and plant their own flowers that they can take home. Historical materials from the University of Houston’s Special Collections – LGBTQ+ History Research Collection will be on display. And popular Houston DJ Johnny J will be on hand to spin music throughout the day.
Oh, and we can’t forget Houston’s Second Annual Proud Puppy Parade, which begins at 9am in the Levy Dog Park. Humans are encouraged to regale their pets in cool, rainbow-colored summer ensembles for a morning of fun socialization in Levy’s popular, well-maintained dog park.
All of that in addition to the park’s free amenities, including ping pong tables, a reading room, a putting green, and thankfully — given that temperatures ain’t going down anytime soon — a splash pad.
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