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Nobody wanted Woodstock in Fort Greene Park. So it was no surprise when Fort Greene Fest organizer Peter Tulloch encountered resistance from the Washington Park Block Association, a group that was set against his July weekend of music, merriment and, they feared, mayhem.

“I understand their concerns,” said Tullah, “[but] this is a public park and I think in some ways it’s being viewed as their front yard.”

So on Saturday, the yard will finally be rockin’. Starting at noon, the festival will include food from local vendors, a screening of Rosie Perez’s film, “Yo Soy Boricua,” and music from artists like Lizz Fields, Claudette Ortiz and headlining act Talib Kweli (pictured); a lineup that Tulloch thinks will draw up to 5,000 people.

Vocalist Ortiz said that the festival should foster a sense of community rather than earn the ire of neighbors. “I am looking to buy a place around [Fort Greene Park] myself,” she said. “I would like to be able to walk across the street to an event like this.”

©2007 Community Newspaper Group