Rapper Gregory Jerome performs at February’s Premiere on Film Row. (Randy Alvarado)
Premiere on Film Row is celebrating comic book superheroes, police, firemen and everyday heroes alike at different venues throughout the April event. Premiere will also offer live entertainment, food trucks and art exhibitions so attendees can party the night away in honor of our real-life and fictional heroes.
After donning your cape and mask, head over to DC on Film Row for its first spring craft marketplace, which will host more than 30 artists and crafters.
“People will be able to come in and shop and have access to this amazing collection of crafters,” said Individual Artists of Oklahoma (IAO) Gallery’s Executive Director Kendall Brown. “And one of the most exciting things about it, in my opinion, as someone who advocates for artists, is the fact that Dunlap Codding (DC) takes no commission whatsoever.”
In addition to great opportunities like the craft market, the Oklahoma Comic Creators (OCC) will be at Oddfab Design Lab to offer sketches and comics for sale.
In association with OCC, Literati Press will have Dorshak Bloch’s new comic, The Story of Ivan A. Alexander: Ivan the Innocence, available for sale for the first time on Film Row.
Artists make more off commissions and prints than they do off comic book sales, said Charles
Martin, OCC member and creative director at Literati Press. And the arts
district scene is the most profitable for the comic creators in
Oklahoma. So Premiere is right up OCC’s comic-ridden alley.
“Everyone
who comes has money to spend, and they’re looking for interesting
things,” Martin said. “So having opportunities that Oddfab Design is
giving us to set up at one of these arts festivals is invaluable.”
Martin invited anyone who is interested in writing or drawing comics to stop by and say hello.
“We’re
very open with all of the experiences that we’ve learned, all the tips
and tricks, all the scars, all the mistakes,” he said.
After
attendees get sketched as the Incredible Hulk, they can head over to
watch some of the live entertainment at Film Row. Jabee, The Howard
Brady Band and J.L. Jones are all set to appear, while Oak City Comedy
will perform its signature improv and standup. An outdoor screening of The Incredibles will also be shown, and deadCENTER Film Festival is throwing a dance party to celebrate its superheroes: its volunteers.
For
those who come hungry, food truck selections will include Kaiteki
Ramen, Lalo’s I Love My Taco Chop & Grill, Klemm’s Smoke Haus, 2
Brothers Bistro, Big Truck Tacos, Smokin’ Okies, Off the Hook Seafood
& More, Kosmos BBQ and Green and Grilled.
To tie in visual arts with the superhero theme, The Paramount OKC will feature an exhibit of superhero posters by Greg White.
Premiere is sponsored by Fowler Honda, which was a natural fit because of its support of local arts, Brown said.
“Fowler
Honda’s sponsorship has made the logistics possible,” she said. “It’s
made actually doing things like shutting down the street, bringing in
security to keep people safe, that sort of thing … it’s made that
possible.”
This article appears in Apr 9-15, 2014.