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The Easton community will celebrate its artistic side this weekend at the Riverside Festival of the Arts. The festival will take place Saturday, Sept. 15 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 16 from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Riverside Park and Amphitheater in downtown Easton. This is the 11th year for the festival.
In conjunction with the Riverside Festival, Lafayette Day will take place in Centre Square from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sat. and will feature food, free giveaways, music, and art.
The Riverside Festival of the Arts is a multi-arts event featuring the juried art show and sale which showcases some of the best artists and artisans from the tri-state area. Award-winners will be announced on Sunday at 4:45 p.m. “Author! Author!” sponsored by the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, will also take place on Sat. from 1-3 p.m. On Sat. evening from sunset to 10 p.m., a short variety of animation from Easton’s own Magik Studios and the movie Dr. Strangelove will be showed under the stars. Popcorn will be provided by Partyology.
Performances will occur throughout the two-day festival at the Riverside Amphitheatre. On Sat., the Chinese Waist Drummers will perform at noon. The 25-30 musicians will perform traditional styles drawn from China’s ancient culture. From 1-2 p.m., the Serendipity Dance Ensemble from the Kathleen Magyar School of Dance, Bethlehem, Pa., will perform ballet and modern dance numbers. Brittany Ann, a 16-year-old guitar player and folk songstress will perform from 3-3:30 p.m.
Saturday evening will consist of performances by: Maria Woodford & Jake Heck from 3:30-4:15 p.m., Joe Cassidy and the West End Sound, playing traditional and original folk and rock from 4:15-5:30 p.m., and Brian Molnar & His Band, performing original folk music with a hint of Dylan in the mix from 5:30-7 p.m.
On Sun., the Chansonnette Theatre group will perform songs from Smokey Joe’s Caf� from 2-3 p.m and at 4 p.m. the Easton Municipal Band will perform their “Variety is the Spice of Life” concert, featuring Broadway show tunes, big band sounds, light classical music, and patriotic themes.
“This is the dominant arts festival in this part of the Lehigh Valley,” says Anthony Marraccini, who serves as the Vice President of the Riverside Arts Festival, President of the Arts Community of Easton, and business manager and curator of Connexions Gallery. “The festival is an integral component for economic development and is beneficial to the community.”
Marraccini also spoke of the connection between the city and the College, saying, “We want college students to feel like this is their downtown, that this is a place where they can be comfortable.”