(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- The 3rd Annual New Brunswick HEART Festival took place on Saturday, August 13, 2022. The event was presented by State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick Cultural Center, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), and AboveArtStudios and hosted by New Jersey Radio Hall of Famer Bert Baron and Founder of TSO Productions, Sharon Gordon. The family-friendly festival celebrates the arts each year and includes live music and dance performances, dance classes, craft vendors, and more. Photographer John Posada was on hand to take photos.

This year's lineup on the outdoor stage on Livingston Avenue included Hip-Hop, Reggae, and Pop performer for kids, Fyütch; New Brunswick Latin band, Sonido Latino; award-winning tap dancer Omar Edwards; a salsa dance class party with Elvis Ruiz; a dance performance by Grupo de Danza Folklórica La Sagrada Familia; the New Brunswick Brass Band; and a dance performance by InSpira Performing Arts & Cultural Center.

Other events and activities at the New Brunswick HEART Festival included a theater tour of the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) and State Theatre New Jersey; a health & wellness tent with Garden of Healing; free balloon animals; button-making with the New Brunswick Free Public Library; and Japanese black ink drawing with the Highland Park Arts Commission.

Additional activities include dance classes for kids and teenagers hosted by American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School; pipe cleaner architecture with Zimmerli Art Museum, a history corner featuring two historical interpreters, a printer and a surgeon, that talk about what it was like during the 1700’s in Middlesex County; love letter readings by local troupe, Thinkery & Verse; and much more!

The New Brunswick HEART Festival is presented by New Brunswick Cultural Center; State Theatre New Jersey; Above Art Studios; New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC). Partners include Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University; Hub City Jazz Festival; George Street Playhouse; Crossroads Theatre Company; American Repertory Ballet; Live Well-Vivir Bien New Brunswick; The Arts Institute of Middlesex County; the city of New Brunswick; County of Middlesex, New Brunswick Development Corporation; New Brunswick City Center; New Brunswick Community Arts Council; Elijah’s Promise; New Jersey State Veterans Chamber of Commerce; Mason Gross Community Arts; New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra; Y.S.S. (Youth Services System); Youth Advocacy Program (YAP); coLAB Arts; Civic League of Greater New Brunswick; AMARDV - Artist Mentoring Against Racism, Drugs, and Violence program; New Brunswick Area NAACP; Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce; New Brunswick Jazz Project; Garden of Healing; New Brunswick Public Schools; the New Brunswick Free Public Library; Metuchen Arts Council; Thinkery& Verse; REPLENISH, Esperanza Neighborhood Program, New Brunswick Public School District, CareSparc, Rutgers Department of Government Affairs, Robert Wood Barnabas Health, New Brunswick Tomorrow, Rutgers Collaborative Center for Community Engagement, and Middlesex College New Brunswick Center.  

John Posada is a New Jersey based photographer specializing in photographing live theatre and music performances. For more than 15 years, John has photographed live events where he mastered the techniques of timing and capturing fast moving action under challenging lighting conditions. Currently, John has spent the last 3 years concentrating on photographing almost 200 theatre productions for over 70 different theatres. Click here for John's website.