By Nancy Peckenham
The Newburgh Jazz Series, now entering its fifth season, is giving birth to two sister series that will bring a different kind of music to the Newburgh waterfront this summer: Gospel and Doo-Wop.
Aquanetta Wright is launching the two music series to be held on Tuesdays in July and August with the same headstrong enthusiasm she used to get the Jazz Series rolling in 2006. She came up with a concept and started planning with no money, just the belief that the series would help Newburgh and that people would recognize a good idea when they saw one, then pitch in to help.
Ferry Godmother Accentuates the Positive
Aquanetta made a similar move in 2005 when the Beacon-Newburgh ferry started running. Every morning for a year she rose at 3 am and went down to the ferry to wish commuters a happy day. “I thought people needed a positive image to start their day,” she recalled recently. “I never missed a day.”
Aquanetta dressed as the Ferry Godmother, down at the ferry dock.
Pretty soon the captain was calling her the social director and political activist after she became concerned about the environmental impact of the contaminated Consolidated Iron site. That’s when she decided to dramatize her role even more, donning shimmering ball gowns and calling herself the Ferry Godmother.
Several months later, the seed for the Jazz Series began. Aquanetta says that she wanted to create an attractive event to bring people with money to spend into Newburgh. “I wanted to make a huge splash with huge wake,” she said.
Thousands Attend the Waterfront Concerts
Last year, some 15,000 people attended the eight-weeks of jazz concerts presented every Wednesday and Thursday evenings on the waterfront. Last featured a wide-range of performers from the Chiku Awali African Dancers & Drummers to the big sounds of the Jazz Pioneers. She produces the series free-of-charge, calling on some of the hundreds of people she knows for help. A professional designer created the series logo; another created the newburghjazzseries.com website.
Two of the young dancers of Chikwu Ayali perform on the first night of the 2010 Newburgh Jazz Series.
Sponsors Needed for This Year’s Series
Despite the in-kind donations, Aquanetta says she is having a tough time finding sponsors to support this year’s jazz series. She can’t say enough good things about Dr. Cary Wagner of SmileWorks, and Price Chopper, which have been her top sponsors, along with another dozen smaller companies that believe in her work. She is less happy with the response she has gotten from the Hudson Valley Credit Union and she even attended its annual meeting to try to get answers about the programs it supports in Newburgh.
Aquanetta would welcome the support of any group, company or individual who can contribute to the 2011 Newburgh Jazz Series, the Newburgh Gospel Series and the Newburgh Doo-Wop series. If you can help, contact her at ferrygodmother@ferrygodmother.com.
“What I am trying to do is very high end, very polished but, most of all, very people-friendly,” Aquanetta said.
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