April 17, 2009 05:00PM EDT

Community Kickoff Party and Discount Tix!

While the official 2009 Tribeca Film Festival doesn’t start until April 22, the pre-Fest events kick off a few days earlier, and everyone’s invited! On Monday, April 20, the annual Community Kickoff Party will be held at Tribeca’s Barnes & Noble at 97 Warren Street. Hosted by Barnes & Noble, the party will run from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, featuring a slew of artists from all different realms, as well as great perks (discount Festival tickets!*) and opportunities for Tribeca residents.

First of all, local residents will benefit from great discounts on Tribeca tickets, which will be sold at an onsite Box Office inside B & N during the party. $15 tickets will be reduced to $13 and $25 tickets will be reduced to $22 for those providing proof of residency below Canal Street.

At 4:00 pm, The View’s Joy Behar will be doing a reading and book signing of her latest children’s book, Sheetzucacapoopoo: Max Goes to the Dogs. And in addition to that, kids are sure to be amused by a local magician making balloons and doing magic tricks.

The program continues at 5:30 with slightly less kid-specific entertainment, as Sarah Watkins (formerly of Nickel Creek, the acoustic-music group) performs in the Café area. Watkins’ debut solo album, which is self-titled, was just released on April 7, so this is sure to be an exciting performance.

At 6:30, Tribeca Talks kicks off with a special event, New York as Muse. Moderated by Tribeca’s Director of Web Content, Kristin McCracken, the discussion will center on the role that our very own city plays in some of the films programmed for Tribeca this year. The panel includes filmmakers Michael Sladek (Con Artist), Julio DePietro (The Good Guy), Gloria La Morte (Entre nos), and Josh Zeman (Cropsey).

As much as it is an international destination Festival, TFF is also a Festival for the local Tribeca community. That’s why vouchers will be distributed ensuring that a percentage of all Barnes & Noble purchases made during the event will go to local schools PS 89, IS 289, PS 150 and PS 234.

Throughout the party, enjoy delicious snacks provided by Tribeca’s co-hosts, Barnes & Noble.

It’s no secret that there are many communities and neighborhoods in New York that place significant value on arts & culture. That being said, the neighborhood of Tribeca has proven to be an extremely fertile ground for the growth of this young Festival, and the TFF can only attempt to fully express its gratitude. See you downtown!
 

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*Discounted tickets actually go on sale Sunday for downtown residents, one day ahead of the general public. For those of you who live in the ZIP Codes below Canal Street, come to the Box Office at Tribeca Cinemas (54 Varick Street, at Laight Street, one block south of Canal Street), beginning at 11:00 am on Sunday, April 19. Note: the discount for downtown residents does not apply to online sales; you have to come on down to Tribeca. See you there!


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