Events
Live Music
Sunday, May 29 from 12pm to 8pm
All day on the outdoor stage, you’ll hear everything from the classical singing of Placido Domingo protege (and Iraq veteran) Jesus Daniel Hernandez, to the country/southern rock of former Green Beret Derek Stoner and the punk rock of Major Glen (led by a former West Point professor). There is a reason this is the “Lollapalooza for veterans in the arts!”
Art Showings
Sunday, May 29 from 12pm to 10pm
This is your chance to view and buy prints and originals from veteran artists. View the work of former USMC Combat Artist and illustrator Elize McKelvey, the vibrant abstracts of former Navy Seabee Angelo T. Robinson, and the stunning mixed media work of Newburgh-based Navy veteran Auguster Williams. See samples from Frontline Arts, and watch demonstrations of their unique community-oriented Veterans’ papermaking program which teaches Veterans of all service eras and branches the transformational practice of making handmade paper from military uniforms.
Movie Screening of Last Out
Sunday, May 29 at 7pm
Last Out is a play written by and starring former Green Beret Scott Mann – it is perhaps the most 360-degree view of war and its after-effects that has ever been put on stage. But it has now been filmed and will be released on Amazon Prime, so to celebrate, the Savage Wonder Festival is proud to present this incredibly special screening with the cast in attendance and a Q&A to follow.
Rockeaters and Jarheads: Exit 12 Dance Company, featuring Mason Rodrigue, Dex, Ben Fortier, and Jesus Daniel Hernandez
Sunday, May 29 at 3pm
Until you have seen a former USMC veteran of Fallujah, Iraq choreograph dance, you’ve never seen dance. The award-winning Exit 12 Dance company was founded by choreographer Roman Baca to educate audiences about the reality of war by creating works of high cultural significance examining the lasting effects of violence and conflict on communities, families, and individuals. At the Savage Wonder Festival, Exit 12 will collaborate with singer Jesus Daniel Hernandez, an Iraq veteran who is also a protege of Placido Domingo – as well as former USMC machine-gunner Mason Rodrigue, former USMC MP Dex, and former USMC Iraq veteran Benjamin Fortier. It is a performance of Marine combat veterans that you will not soon forget.
Warrior Poets featuring Doc Oliver
Sunday, May 29 at 5pm
If you like poetry or spoken word performances, you’re going to love this. And if you don’t like them, you may love it even more. You’ve never seen spoken word performances like this. Poets, writers, and actors face off with each other, reading selections that tackle love, fear, lust, loss, combat, peace, internal angst and external enemies in complementary or contradictory ways. Featuring published poets ranging from Pushcart Award nominee (and Afghanistan veteran) Anthony Roberts to the belt-fed verses of former Marine machine-gunner Mason Rodrigue, and punctuated by the outlaw country singing of Afghanistan veteran and green-on-blue survivor Doc Oliver, this is a blend of poetry and music that will have you laughing, crying, and thinking all the way home.
The Short Films of Tyler Mendelson
Sunday, May 29 at 1pm
Poughkeepsie, NY native and former Marine Tyler Mendelson is one of the most well-known and popular veteran filmmakers from the GWOT (Global War on Terror) era. We are proud to feature two of his award-winning films: the autobiographical A Marine Corps Story and his acclaimed short film The Hun back-to-back.