PRESS RELEASE: Castillo Blanco is an Ambitious Addition to the Bywater's Creative Community

[Space Commander Chewbaccacabra]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Castillo Blanco is an Ambitious Addition to the Bywater Arts Community

New Orleans, LA - July 1st, 2014 - A powerhouse team of some of the city's best and brightest young creative professionals have purchased the old Super 10 Dollar Store with the white castle facade at 4321 Saint Claude Avenue and are rapidly transforming it into Castillo Blanco LLC., with the goal of creating one of most incredible art spaces and special event venues in New Orleans.

The team behind this ambitious endeavor includes: 

• Conceptual artist Ryan S. Ballard, the co-founder and President of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus and accomplished puppet master with the stage persona of Dr. Razzamataz.

• Attorney Brett Powers, Vice President of Chewbacchus and a principal force in several commercial creative endeavors including Secret Moonbase Productions LLC., Killer Robot Toys and Mosquito-Cam Aerial Cinematography Services.

• Accountant Eric Arvidson, the CFO of local tech success, Turbo Squid, and one of the leaders of the New Orleans Burning Man Community

• Richard Valadie, the owner of Mardi Gras float production company Royal Artists Inc., and the man responsible for the renowned artistry of the Krewe of Proteus, Krewe d'Etat and the Knights of Chaos parades.

• Local film industry professional, Chris Menge, whose work includes American Horror Story and several feature films.

Castillo Blanco LLC. combines the forces of all of these talented individuals.  The finished multi-disciplinary creative space will feature a contemporary Art Gallery, the Mardi Gras prop showroom of Royal Artists Inc., the operations office of Secret Moonbase Productions LLC., the new Den of the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, the working studio of artist Ryan S. Ballard, modular green screen walls and resources for local film production, facilities for concerts and special events and the “SPACE Sanctuary” featuring a sensory deprivation tank, a permanent interactive/psychedelic art installation and a laser lounge.

There will also be a "Flying Saucer Landing Zone" on the roof.  Just in case we get visitors from way out-of-town.

The first big permanent installation at Castillo Blanco is the the SPACE Sanctuary.  It will feature interactive LED mood lighting, lasers, magic mirrors, contemporary mystical art relics and most importantly, the very first float tank in New Orleans.  The in-house art and design team is collaborating with Colorado-based artist Victor Tilvaro to create amazing interactive "Magic Mirrors" that will be installed permanently in the SPACE Sanctuary.  Castillo Blanco is currently raising funds for the SPACE Sanctuary via Kickstarter in exchange for discounted time in the float tank, t-shirts, stickers and a series of original art commissioned specifically for the project.

Castillo Blanco will have its first open house on Saturday, August 8th, as a going away party for Brennan Steele’s sculpture “Big Al”, a three story tall CNC cut plywood alligator which is being built onsite.  Afterwards, Big Al will travel to Nevada for Burning Man where it will be burned at the annual festival.

For more info please visit: www.4321saintclaude.com

Media Contact:

Ryan S. Ballard

email: owliga...@gmail.com

phone: 504-301-8201

Art: www.ArtGoBang.com

Secret Moonbase Productions: www.swamprocket.com

Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus: www.chewbacchus.org

Space Commander Chewbaccacabra (Overlord)
Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus, LLC.
www.chewbacchus.org