Bronx Cultural Trolley rolls through South Bronx Cultural Corridor Nov. 4th

The Bronx Culture Trolley rolls again on Wednesday, November 4, along the South Bronx Cultural Corridor with an evening of family activities. The evening features six art exhibitions at: Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos, Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx Blue bedroom Project, LDR Studio Gallery, BronxArtSpace, and the Bruckner Gallery. The evening will also include a book signing event and a live musical performance at Hostos Community College, and a karaoke after-party at the Bruckner Bar & Grill. The Bronx Culture Trolley is a program of the Bronx Council on the Arts (BCA). Admission to venues is free and all are welcome to hop on board and enjoy them.

November 4th’s trolley begins at the Longwood Art Gallery at Hostos Community College, 450 Grand Concourse at 149th Street, at 5 p.m. with a meet-and-greet reception and a viewing of Samaná: Images of the Dominican Republic. The exhibition features photographs by Marino Corniel, Elaine Eversley and Ryan Mann-Hamilton of the Samaná peninsula which was settled in the 1820s by freed slaves from the United States. The exhibition includes portraits and landscapes of this unique region with a special emphasis on the descendants of the African-American settlers and the impact of development projects on the environment and the traditional cultures of the peninsula. This show, on view thru November 7, is a presentation of Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture and is cu-rated by Wallace I. Edgecombe. For more information call (718) 518-6728.

While at Hostos, stick around for CrossBRONX Comes Home, a 6:30pm reading and book signing event celebrating the new edition of BCA’s online publication CrossBRONX (CrossBRONX.org). Dalhma Llanos-Figueroa, writer of the newly published novel, Daughters of the Stone, will read from and sign her book. Local writers will read poetry about the Bronx and audience members will be invited to tell their own stories. Call (718) 931-9500, ext. 21 for more information.

After the CrossBRONX event, you can step across the lobby to the Hostos Repertory Theater for Bachata on my Mind, a 7 p.m. performance featuring the newest voices on the New York Bachata scene. Part 1, Amares, stars José Vargas and Ninfa Molina and Part 2, Rumores, stars André Veloz. Admission is free, but a ticket must be obtained at the box office. This performance is part of BCA’s BX Indie Artist Series. For information call (718) 518-4455.

The trolley bell clangs at 5:30, 6:30, and 7:30 p.m. indicating the trolley’s departure from Hostos to make its way to the evening’s cultural events. The Bronx Culture Trolley is your free ticket to a cultural tour along the South Bronx Cultural Corridor of the lower Grand Concourse. Ad-mission to all participating venue attractions is free. The Bronx Culture Trolley runs on the first Wednesday of each month (except January and September) providing Bronxites and tourists alike a fun way to travel via a replica of an early 20th-century trolley car. Passengers are given the opportunity to sample several of the area’s hottest cultural attractions, dining establishments and entertainment venues along the way.

FIRST STOP: Bronx Museum of the Arts, 1040 Grand Concourse at 165th Street, for a tour of the museum and its current exhibition: Intersections: Grand Concourse at 100, part 2. This year the Bronx commemorates the centennial of the Grand Concourse, the visionary thoroughfare de-signed by Louis Risse, inspired by the Champs Élysées in Paris and was conceived as a means of connecting residents of Manhattan to the green parks of the North Bronx. To mark the occasion, the Bronx Museum of the Arts examines the past, present, and future of the Grand Concourse with Inter-sections, a year-long, three-part centennial celebration. This second of a three-part exhibition presents specially commissioned projects by three contemporary artists considering present-day conditions along the Grand Concourse: Katie Holten (Ireland), Kabir Carter, and Jeff Chien-Hsing Liao (Tai-wan).

In addition, a special Lobby installation by Acconci Studio will significantly alter the Museum architecture. This exhibition was organized by The Bronx Museum of the Arts in collaboration with Bronx County Historical Society. Special Advisor: Ray Bromley. This exhibition is on view thru January 10, 2010. For further information call (718) 681-6000 g.

NEXT STOP: Bronx Blue Bedroom Project, 309 Alexander Avenue #3A, for a Pre-Holiday Art Sale (through November 30). Framed art in various sizes will be on display for viewing and for buying. Visit the www.bronxbbp.com for details on the sale, or call (347) 776-7504.

NEXT STOP: BronxArtSpace, 305 East 140th Street) for a viewing of Five Artists: Metaphoric Environments featuring works by Beth Brideau, Matthew Burcaw and Charles Geiger and by Linda Cunningham and Tyko Kihlstedt. For information call (718) 401-8144.

NEXT STOP: LDR Studio Gallery, 137 Alexander Avenue, Suite 10, 4th floor, for a viewing of Visions of Horror. Halloween is a celebration of the awakening of the spirits of the dead. It is a night when the supernatural becomes more near and real to us as we dress and paint ourselves in expression of our inner selves. So the artists involved in this Halloween exhibition display their feelings about life, death and this most theatrical and creative of our American holidays. Artists include: Christian Correra (photographic prints of sculptures & installations), Jerry Landi (photography – arrangements of found organic objects), Claudia McGrane (collages), Michael McGrane (paintings), Kurt Rethorn (charcoal drawings), and Rich Rethorn (paintings & mixed media) who also curated the show. For information, call (917) 558-2389.

FINAL STOP: Bruckner Gallery at the Bruckner Bar & Grill, 1 Bruckner Boulevard, for a viewing of People, Eggs, Hats and Abstraction, a group exhibition curated by Barry Kostrinsky. Artists include Dan Asher (photography), Michelle Ross Ganly (mixed media), Bradley Alan Hart (paintings and installation), Coffee Joe (pages from his comic series), Brody Morales (landscapes and abstract), and Luis Rosado (photography), among others. Visit the Bruckner Gallery website at www.brucknergallery.com for more info on this exhibition or call (845) 729-5467.

After you view the exhibition, stick around for the Karaoke. Mistress Wanda’s Karaoke Survivor – Part Game Show, Part Karaoke. This ain’t your momma’s karaoke party! Join in for the official Trolley After-Party hosted by artist and all around bad girl Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz. Drink specials and full menu available. Come to sing, laugh or just watch.

For info on the Bronx Culture Trolley and the Bronx Cultural Card (which offers percentage off discounts at participating Bronx organizations and establishments), call (718) 931-9500, ext. 33.