(May 25 – 29, 2000) I remember one day about 8 years ago I got an envelope in the mail. It was filled with all sorts of strange little zines, newsletters, a Kentucky Fried Chicken paper hat, a Yosemite Sam trading card and a tape of songs by a band called Pandora’s Lunch Box. That was my introduction to Kenyata Sullivan from Wilmington NC and I have never looked at music or publishing the same way again.
What started as a simple network of artists, writers and musicians trading work via the US Postal Service has become a way of life for many of us. Out of this spawned the Wilmington Exchange Festival. Of course, there are those among us who believe that the festival was started by Kenyata because he was lonely and figured it was easier to get us all to come to him rather than the other way around. Well, whatever the reason, we love him for it.
WE2K almost didn’t happen due to a somewhat ugly falling out among members of the original WE Fest staff. Thankfully, a few of our favorite festers of years gone by gathered together and worked their asses off to make the magic of WE2K happen.
Due to the limited preparation time available, WE had to forgo their usual blind auditioning process of circulating tapes of songs and gathering votes in order to see who got to play a showcase. They opted instead to create what would essentially become a “reunion” festival. Old friends gathering in the lovely city of Wilmington to drink, make music and catch up on old times. What follows are some of the images that survived my drunken attempt at being a photographer for the week.
Enjoy,
Stephen
