1961: New American Cinema At The Spoleto Festival

According to Jonas Mekas's diaries, on May 17, 1961 he was contacted by Jerome Hill about the Spoleto Festival in Italy. Hill had convinced the festival's organizer, Gian Carlo Menotti, to include a section on the New American Cinema for that year's edition to be held in June and July.
Mekas declined to participate, as he was busy editing his first feature film Guns of the Trees, but he convinced an eager David C. Stone to organize the event in his stead.