If you follow the Beatles’ message and feel as though “All You Need Is Love,” why not spread a little love in the tradition of John Lennon? That’s the philosophy of Jim Marzano of Kingston’s Artists-in-Residence (AIR) Studio, who has been hosting his annual John Lennon Birthday Beatle Bash, a celebration of the music and memory of the late icon. “I’ve been doing it for almost 30 years in one form or another,” said Marzano. “I try to live up to and promote the peace and love of the Lennon years.”

The two-day event – dubbed the B+ Festival in honor of the nearby O+ Festival happening the same weekend – begins on Friday, October 7 with a screening of popular Beatle films like A Hard Day’s Night, Help! and Magical Mystery Tour, as well as a bunch of music videos. The following day, which would have been Lennon’s 71st birthday, Marzano and Pete Santoro will host a live music tribute to Lennon. Santoro, who played the role of George Harrison in Beatlemania on Broadway, is “a fabulous musician and walking Beatles songbook,” according to Marzano. The live music is often as popular with fellow musicians as it is with people who turn up simply to sing along.

“We end up with almost as many musicians as audience,” Marzano said. “There’s got to be 10 to 20 musicians who show up, and they all know the songs, so we get many different versions. Everyone in the audience knows all the words and ends up singing along. It’s a blast.”

Friday night will also feature a decidedly cosmic element, as Marzano will incorporate his monthly Extraterrestrial Ambassador & UFO Watch meeting into the mix. It actually makes more sense to combine the two than you might think. “John Lennon and May Pang wrote a piece about a UFO sighting that they experienced,” Marzano said. “I’ve had lots of experiences over the last 50 years, and I just try to get together with people who’ve had similar experiences. Some people haven’t actually had any experiences, but they’re believers. I think it’s the final frontier: to establish contact with our extraterrestrial brethren.”

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