A new festival's in the works...

And it'll be in Orange County!! Thanks to troupe Incognito.

Mark your calendar for Sunday, Oct. 12, and plan to be at Mile Square Park Recreation Center in Fountain Valley from noon to 4 p.m. The festivities will include workshops with Sooz, Robin Johnson and others; Middle Eastern food from Chicken Dijon; and all-day performances. How great is that?

Nikki Malero, a member of Incognito and one of the event's organizers, also kindly agreed to share a little more about what they have in store.

Will the event focus on a certain form of belly dance (tribal, cabaret, gothic) or be open to them all?

Open to all.

What is the inspiration for the event? Did you see a need for more local events, or was it something else?

Yes, we want to see more events in the O.C. and South O.C. area.

How will it be similar to or different from other regional belly dance events, such as Raqs L.A. and Cairo Carnival?

Well, it will be smaller, of course. Plus, it is a privately sponsored event. This was the idea of Sherri Higley, Incognito's director and our instructor. So we're hoping that will put it's own little twist to it.

Could you elaborate on the kinds of volunteer opportunities you have?

We need people to help us set up, take down, decorate, check in people to the show and workshops, checking in performers, runners, and whatever else we can think of.

Where should people go for updates?

We will continue to post updates on www.sherrihigley.com, Tribe.Net/Nasira, www.myspace.com/troupeincognito, and the O.C. Bellydance Meetup group, as well as your site. And anywhere else I can think of.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

SPREAD THE WORD, POST EVERYWHERE! We want to advertise this as much as possible. We will also be advertising in The O.C. Register, so we are hoping to have a good public turnout, as well the BD community.

Thanks, Nikki! I can't wait...

(The photo of Incognito above was taken by Richard Lowe Jr. at MECDA's Belly Dance Carnival.)