(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) — State Theater of New Jersey, New Brunswick Cultural Center, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC)AND AboveArtStudios present New Brunswick HEART Festival Saturday, August 13 from 3:00-6:00 p.m.; hosted by New Jersey Radio Hall of Famer Bert Baron and TSO Productions Founder Sharon Gordon. This free, family-friendly festival celebrates all the arts and living history of New Brunswick and Middlesex County, featuring live music and dance performances, dance classes for children and adults, craft vendors and more. The festival will take place in downtown New Brunswick on Livingston Ave (Monument Square, 2 Livingston Ave).
“We are very excited to return and partner with over 40 arts and community partners for the third annual New Brunswick HEART Festival,” said festival organizers Tracey O’Reggio Clark of the New Brunswick Cultural Center and the Arts Institute of Middlesex County; Kelly Blithe of the State Theater of New Jersey; Dontae Muse of Above Art Studios; and Sarah Ferreira of the New Brunswick Cultural Center and the Middlesex County Institute of the Arts. “This year is bigger and better than ever with the addition of our arts market featuring local visual artists, a history section where attendees can learn about Middlesex County during the American Revolution, and a block party on Morris Street with more shows and activities.”
New this year, expanding the festival’s footprint, is the addition of a Morris Street Block Party, held in front of Above Art Studios (55 Morris St). The Block Party will include live music, food, vendors, a shovel tour, live painting and a community chalk art mural.
This year’s line-up on the outdoor stage on Livingston Avenue includes Hip-Hop, Reggae and Pop children’s singer Fyütch; New Brunswick Latin band Sonido Latino; award-winning dancer Omar Edwards; a salsa dance class party with Elvis Ruiz; a dance performance by Grupo de Danza Folklórica La Sagrada Familia; New Brunswick Brass Band; and a dance performance by InSpira Performing Arts & Cultural Center.
Other events and activities at the New Brunswick HEART Festival include the theater tour of the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) and the State Theater of New Jersey; a health and wellness tent with a Healing Garden; free balloon animals; creating buttons with the New Brunswick Free Public Library; and Japanese black ink drawing with the Highland Park Arts Commission. Additional activities include dance classes for children and teenagers hosted by American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School; Pipe Cleaning Architecture with the Zimmerli Art Museum, a history corner with two historical interpreters, a printer and a surgeon, who talk about what it was like in Middlesex County during the 1700s; Love letter readings from local troupe, Thinkery & Verse; and much more!
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On Friday 12th August HEART Festival kicks off with a Live Art Battle at Above Art Studios (55B Morris St) from 7pm-9pm. Featuring seven contestants, three timed rounds and a cash prize, the Art Battle will take place at the Studio and will be streamed live on Above Art Studio’s Instagram account @AboveArtStudios.
NEW BRUNSWICK HEART FESTIVAL LIVE SCHEDULE
15:00-16:00 – Latin band, Sonida Latino
New Brunswick Brass Band
La Sagrada Familia Folk Dance Group
16:00-17:00 – Hip-Hop, Reggae and Pop performer for kids, Fyütch
Tap dancer Omar Edwards
InSpira Performing Arts & Cultural Center
17:00-18:00 – Salsa Dance Class Party with Elvis Ruiz
The New Brunswick HEART Festival is presented by the New Brunswick Cultural Center; State Theater of New Jersey; On art studios; New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC). Partners include the Zimmerli Museum of Art at Rutgers University; Hub City Jazz Festival; George Street Playhouse; Crossroads Theater Company; American Repertory Ballet; Live Well-Vivir Bien New Brunswick; Middlesex County Institute of Arts; the city of New Brunswick; County of Middlesex, New Brunswick Development Corporation; Downtown New Brunswick; New Brunswick Community Arts Council; Elijah’s Promise; New Jersey State Veterans Chamber of Commerce; Mason Gross Community Arts; New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra; YSS (Youth Services System); Youth Advocacy Program (YAP); coLAB Arts; Civic League of Greater New Brunswick; AMARDV – Artist Mentoring Program Against Racism, Drugs, and Violence; New Brunswick Area NAACP; Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce; New Brunswick Jazz Project; Garden of Healing; New Brunswick Public Schools; New Brunswick Free Public Library; Metuchen Arts Council; Thought&Verse; REPLENISH, Esperanza Neighborhood Program, New Brunswick Public School District, CareSparc, Rutgers Department of Governmental Affairs, Robert Wood Barnabas Health, New Brunswick Tomorrow, Rutgers Collaborative Center for Community Engagement and Middlesex College Center New Brunswick.
