October is turning out to be a big month for the local art scene, with the Party Liberation Front, Vaudeville Galore, Deanna Danger’s Boom Boom Burlesque crew, and quite a few others all coming together to present the sixth annual Carnival Of 5 Fires, taking place all month long at Gallery 5. The PLF’s Visuals art show, curated by Todd Raviotta and Parker S. Galore, opened the same night as the Carnival Of 5 Fires, and Todd Raviotta, who is also a staff photographer for RVA Magazine, made sure to document the entire night in yet another of his always excellent photoanimation films.
October is turning out to be a big month for the local art scene, with the Party Liberation Front, Vaudeville Galore, Deanna Danger’s Boom Boom Burlesque crew, and quite a few others all coming together to present the sixth annual Carnival Of 5 Fires, taking place all month long at Gallery 5. The PLF’s Visuals art show, curated by Todd Raviotta and Parker S. Galore, opened the same night as the Carnival Of 5 Fires, and Todd Raviotta, who is also a staff photographer for RVA Magazine, made sure to document the entire night in yet another of his always excellent photoanimation films. Considering that he had a major role in putting the whole thing together, Todd is clearly not an unbiased observer, but the quality of the work collected in the art show, as well as the quality of the performances that took place that night, speaks for itself. I made it out for a few hours myself (you can see me dancing to The Big Payback circa 4:30 in the video), and everything I saw and took part in was absolutely amazing.
The video captures a far longer span of time than what I saw during my few hours at Gallery 5–it begins with mid-afternoon setup and runs all the way until the next morning–and features some fascinating behind-the-scenes moments (be sure to pay attention to the construction of REPACK’s complex black-light setup) as well as all of the highlights of the event. From burlesque dancers, to fire performers, to DJs, artists (some engaging in live acts of creation), The Big Payback, and even a brief glimpse of a certain well-known local vaudeville host with no pants on (yeah, I saw that), there’s some awesome stuff to see here. Todd even takes us through the PLF afterparty, which took place somewhere far out in the country and featured some additional fire-spinning, and all the way up to the sunrise on Saturday morning. This entire film is a great look at some of the great artwork and unique performances that are happening around RVA all the time, and for those who missed this event, it’s the closest you can come to being there. Check it out:
Don’t forget that the Carnival Of 5 Fires will continue throughout the month, with performances on the 12th, 19th, and 27th, all at Gallery 5. Click here for details, and be sure to make it down to Gallery 5 (located at 200 W. Marshall St.) anytime this month to check out the PLF Visuals art show, featuring way too many talented local artists to name here, which will be on display through the end of October. If you care about what’s happening in the RVA art scene, you need to see this exhibition.
Words by Andrew Necci
Images and Video by Todd Raviotta
