It’s the Afropunk Army.
Broke music lovers who want to attend the annual festival of black alternative bands and artists next year can get free tickets from Borough Presidents — if they volunteer some of their time.
The tickets, which cost $45–$75 dollars at this year’s festival in Commodore Barry Park, will be given to those donating eight hours of their time doing things such as distributing flyers for Borough President Adams’s upcoming town hall meeting with the chair of the New York City Housing Authority Chair Shola Olatoye and Councilman Ritchie Torres (D–Bronx) and promoting awareness about programs that already exist but people might not otherwise know about.
“We think even more so there will be folks that are already keen on going to the festival that are looking at this as a possible opportunity for public service,” said Stefan Ringel, a Borough Hall spokesman.
Afropunk — which has expanded from Brooklyn to three other locations around the world — offered free tickets in years past, but added a price tag for the first time in 2015, creating the free-tickets-for-volunteer program to keep the show available to all Brooklynites.
And Ringel said adding to those volunteer opportunities was a no-brainer for the Beep’s office.
“Afropunk has an incredible culture surrounding it, of social activism merging with popular culture or in some ways counter-culture to raise consciousness on a variety of issues already,” he said. “It’s about activating the festival with a year round movements that’s really plugged into public service.”
Details of next year’s festival aren’t available yet, but the two-day fest typically takes place in late August at Commodore Barry Park in Fort Greene. Part performers have included Bad Brains, Cee Lo Green, Janelle Monae, Suicidal Tendencies, Lauryn Hill, Ice Cube, and Kelis.
To get involved, visit www.afrop
