From the Festival Staff

Load in has started on Frame Dances at the Yale University Art School Gallery @ 1156 Chapel St. Frame Dances presents a new way of looking at dance.

Recipe by Carol Cohen, Stratford, CT

My Hungarian grandmother's recipe for Lekvar cookies.  (We bake these during Christmas.)

1 16 oz. brick of cream cheese
1 cup salted butter, softened
2 cups flour
dash of salt
2 flavours of jam (traditionally these are prune and poppy seed jams.  I prefer apricot and raspberry.  Sorry Grandma!)

-pre-set oven to 350 degrees
-blend first 4 ingredients in a bowl with a wire whisk until a dough forms.
-roll out dough as if it were a pie crust on a floured surface
-with a paring knife, cut flattened dough into 2x2" squares
-dab a bit of jam in the center of...

The Info Booth
by Info Booth Coordinator Marialena DiFabbio

Every once in a while, amidst the swarms of experienced Festival-goers who pass through our lovely establishment, the Info Booth welcomes a different kind of guest. They are drawn to our brightly colored tent by some unknown force - or perhaps it is the smiling faces of our wonderful volunteers sporting their signature blue t-shirts that entices them. Hesitantly, they pick up a festival program and stare at it perplexedly, as they take in the information on the pages. After a few minutes of rummaging through, they finally ask,...

By EILEEN WISEMAN
Ideas Program Curator

From their highly protected meeting place in London this week, the leaders of the world's 20 richest countries had their collective finger on the planet's fiscal button. Between the chatty photo ops and Michelle's literal (good gracious!) embrace of the Queen, these leaders were engaged in impossibly difficult and intensely urgent conversations and negotiations on the nature of, and the way out of, our global financial disaster. It certainly is a lot of intellectual firepower---the very fact of these folks coming together has driven up markets in...

By TIFFANY HOPKINS
Multi-Media Producer

One of the great joys of working for the Festival is the opportunity to meet so many interesting people and truly compelling artists. A few months ago, we were delighted to play host to Raymond Keane, artistic director of Barabbas Theater Company in Dublin, Ireland and director of Circus, their critically acclaimed show that we will be presenting this summer. He was in town to meet with our staff, confirm details about the show, and tour the space we would be presenting it in.

His first evening in town, a number of our staff took him out to one of the...

Here is a bit of news that should be of interest to Festival Fans regarding artists and thinkers who have been part of past Festivals.
This year's prestigious Man Booker Prize figures into the lives of both Salaman Rushdie AND Sebastian Barry. You will remember that Rushdie was in New Haven for the Festival in 2005. Seems there is controversy out there about his books omission from the short list for this esteemed prize. But on the other hand, Sebastian Barry's latest book THE SECRET SCRIPTURE has been short-listed. This will be the second time on the short list for Barry. We were so...

The New Haven Green is the place to be this weekend as Village of Villages opens once again from 1 to 5 p.m. today and Sunday. From dance to gospel singing, hip hop to martial arts demonstrations, we have it all, on multiple stages on the Upper Green. Don't miss these special attractions:
Quick Start Tennis -- Join the New Haven Parks and Recreation department and Pilot Pen Tennis for a QuickStart tennis clinic -- the best way for youngsters to get in the swing of things quickly! Lessons begin at 1 p.m. and continue until 4:30 pm.
Fine Craft Vending -- Something new at the Festival this year...