New York Festival of Light Launches at "First Light"New Your Festival of Light (NYFOL) launches at "First Light" a celebration and preview of New York's first annual lighting festival, Thursday, October 24, 2013, at 6:00 - 9:00pm at the Elizabeth Street Garden in NoLiTa. The New York Festival of Light, a non-profit art organization whose mission is to bring to New York City, the beauty and wonder of lighting design, is launching a year-long initiative that will culminate in the city's first annual lighting festival to be held in November of 2014. NYFOL is the brainchild of Ira Levy, an award-winning New York City-based lighting designer and Liam O'Braion, a producer of large-scale entertainment events. The two have long admired the annual lighting festivals that take place worldwide in cities such as Berlin, London, Lyon, Montreal, and Sydney. The project, which has garnered the support from the lighting industry, is gaining momentum and the idea behind "First Light" is to give the producers an opportunity show the public a "taste" of the lighting extravaganza the likes of which New York has yet to see. "The festival is a celebration of light, in all of its extraordinary incarnations ranging from static, interactive, and projection," says O'Braion, "in addition to the ways artists, dancers, designers, musicians, and technologists collaborate with light to make their performances a delight for the senses." Some of today's most exciting fine and performing artists working with light are appearing at "First Light" and include:
* iLuminate - fresh off a run at New World Stages, uses light suit design and control to enable performers to dazzle audiences;
* 3_Search - a group at the intersection of fine arts, science, and technology;
* Nancy Burson - an artist/photographer acclaimed for her pioneering work in morphing technologies;
* Scott Chmielewski of Digital Media Designs - known for their incredible work at the Summer Olympics in Beijing's Bird's Nest;
* Okamoto Studio - an artist collective known for their design and production of sculptures out of crystal clear ice; and others including Matilde Alessandra, Celebrity DJ Donna D'Cruz, Houndstooth, Negin Sharifzadeh, Zero Times Everything - list in formation. The event will take place at the Elizabeth Street Garden, 209 Elizabeth Street, between Prince and Spring Streets. "With its historic monuments, the Elizabeth Street Garden provides rich texture for lighting and is an ideal canvas for our preview performance," says Levy. "It's a great site to show how lighting design enhances the city's architecture and magically changes the city's nightscape." Sponsors include:
• Venue Sponsor - Elizabeth Street Gallery
• Ignite the Imagination Sponsors - Clay Paky, Crossfire Productions, LLC, and PRG
• Light the Night Sponsors - A.C.T Lighting, Alfa Development, Elation, ETC, and GSS
• With Extraordinary Support From - 3_Search, Matilde Alessandra, Nancy Burson, Café Habana, Scott Chmielewski, Donna D'Cruz, Houndstooth, Ingo Mauer, iLuminate, Illuminating Engineering Society New York City Section, International Association of Lighting Designers, International Special Events Society, Lighting&Sound America, Live Design, Lombardi's Pizza, Maria McBride, Neuman's Catering, Nicole Renaud, Okamoto Studio, On-Site Energy, Pinche Tacqueria, Plasa Media, Negin Sharifzadeh, Scratch DJ Academy, The Grey Dog, The Naked Grape, and Zero Times Everything The New York Festival of Light Organization (NYFOL) is a non-profit art group whose vision is to create and provide a unique and delightful experience for residents and tourists; enhancing NYC's architecture through interactive, static, and projected lighting installations. Discovering a more imaginative future, NYFOL will encourage lighting designers to explore the promise of and possibilities for light in the public realm; showcasing the nature of light as a dramatic, kinetic form of artistic expression. The New York Festival of Light will highlight sustainable lighting solutions; leading the way with cutting edge design solutions that can enhance the urban environment thru energy-efficiency and sustainability. The organization is in the process of gaining 501(c)3 non-profit status. 
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