Several INCIDENTs on deck

Your humble editor has been privileged to attend screenings of upcoming local films (LEADING LADIES, DISPOSABLE, REVOLTING) and public premieres of others (A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW) in recent months, but the very thought of bearing witness to the project in gestation the longest excites me greatly. After a pair of late-night previews during this past weekend’s Summer Camp Music Festival at Three Sisters Park in Chillicothe, IL, documentary maker R.C. Raycraft will present  INCIDENT AT KICKAPOO CREEK tonight, Monday, May 31, 7 p.m., at the Normal Theater, 209 North St., Normal, marking the 40th anniversary of its namesake.

Following the original Woodstock Music & Art Fair in New York by almost a year, the “Incident at Kickapoo Creek” was a Midwestern attempt to provide a mix of peace, love, rock, and nature on farmland near Heyworth, IL. Promoted by the late L. David Lewis and booked by then-UIUC student Irving Azoff, the Incident attracted B.B. King, Canned Heat, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Amboy Dukes with Ted Nugent, REO Speedwagon, dozens of additional performers, and thousands of young adults during Memorial Day weekend 1970 to the little town situated just south of Bloomington-Normal. The Raycraft film mixes interviews, police surveillance footage, sound recordings, and stories of intrigue involving illegal profits, biker security, law enforcement, and unhappy Heyworth townsfolk.

Raycraft, whose police stakeout footage routinely appears on THE TONIGHT SHOW as well as several “real time” crime shows a la COPS, began taping talking head footage in 1995 when he became newly intrigued by “the most successful rock festival you’ve never heard of” thanks to an original festival poster and other ephemera in his possession. Although he has previewed edits of the film every three to four years, this INCIDENT will not only rock at full strength but be accompanied by a 132-page book featuring many rare photos and a text history detailing the genesis and planning of the Incident.

If you happen to miss tonight’s show due to the holiday – especially those who like to wear your local-music street cred on your sleeves – then definitely give INCIDENT AT KICKAPOO CREEK a look-see at upcoming play dates, which include Saturday, June 5, and Sunday, June 6, at the Peoria Theater in Peoria, IL, followed by an outdoor show in Heyworth’s Centennial Park on Saturday, July 3, and the first formal stop on Raycraft’s “Electric Wine” tour at the Mackinaw Valley Vineyard in Mackinaw, IL, on Friday, July 9.

~ Jason Pankoke

[Updated 6/15/10, 6:45 p.m. CST]

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