The fifth annual New Brunswick Heart Festival, which is co-presented by Middlesex County arts entities including State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), New Brunswick Cultural Center, and I Am D. Muse, returns to downtown New Brunswick on Saturday, August 10. The free outdoor arts festival is open to the public and will surely celebrate the rich and vibrant history of the city and county in which it occurs.
Families are welcome to attend the festival and there will be events for guests of all ages. State Theatre New Jersey Director of Communications and Community Engagement Kelly Blithe says that those who attend can expect a wide variety of enriching activities that represent the diverse nature of Middlesex County.
“New Brunswick is well-known for State Theatre, George Street Playhouse, Crossroads Theatre and all the other theatres,” Blithe said. “Sometimes we forget we have visual arts, we have art museums, we have these visual artists here in New Brunswick, so we wanted to make sure we had a place for them as well.”
The event will kick off with a family-friendly magic show at 1 PM by magician Bill Blagg. This event will be held in the State Theatre New Jersey auditorium and is the only part of the day that requires purchasing a ticket to attend (available on stnj.org). After the magic show, festivities will kick off with performances by a variety of bands and other performances. Blithe commented on how these groups will bring energy to the streets of New Brunswick.
Photo Courtesy of Kelly Blithe.
“I want people to learn something new when they come to the festival,” Blithe said. “Whether they learn about a new organization in the area or are exploring a live performance like tap dance – I want people to be amazed and see something new.”
Groups that will perform at the festival range in genre from The Suyat Band playing funk and Motown hits to DJ IZM spinning tunes. There will also be other types of performers who will take the mainstage, including InsPira Performing Arts, New Brunswick Brass, Grupo de Danza Folklórica La Sagrada Familia, American Repertory Ballet and a poetry reading by Thinkery & Verse. These acts will take over the streets of Downtown New Brunswick all afternoon, with so much to see and explore.
Although the festival is thriving now, when the idea for the event first circulated five years ago in 2019, world events did not align. The first two festivals in 2020 and 2021 were held virtually in an attempt to still bring the vibrant spectrum of artists in the area to those held at home during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“A few of us in the New Brunswick arts scene were chatting about why we do not have an arts festival in the area,” Blithe said. “We decided we were going to put one together, but well the pandemic happened. And we did our first arts festival virtually – it was like a three-hour virtual event with performances and talks. The next year, we were hybrid -virtual and in-person - and now here we are, celebrating our fifth year.”
Photo Courtesy of Kelly Blithe.
Now, with an in-person festival taking flight, Blithe pointed to immense planning between the four host (and other) organizations being the reason why they have had so much success. Planning for the 2024 event has been happening for months, especially in the marketing efforts to get the word out about this community-oriented event. Blithe commented on how these efforts have helped spread awareness for the New Brunswick Heart Festival.
“This is a complete collaboration!” Blithe said. “It’s one of my favorite times of the year because we all do our own thing throughout the year but this is where we collaborate and work together.”
In addition to the live performances and DJ lined up for the afternoon, those who attend can also partake in free dance classes for kids, sponsored by American Reparatory Ballet. Beginning dance for ages 4-8 will take place from 4 to 4:30 PM and a contemporary dance class for those ages 9-16 will occur from 5 to 5:30 PM. The Princeton Ballet School will also offer tours of their new facilities in New Brunswick from 2 to 6 PM at NBPAC.
Whether someone is interested in music, dance, poetry or visual arts, the New Brunswick Heart Festival has something for all interests. The organizations encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to come and enjoy all that the area’s culture brings forward. Since the event is free and open to the public, anyone is welcome to express themselves and have a great time at this event in Downtown New Brunswick. Blithe hopes that all who do come out have a great time and leave with a greater understanding of the cultural heritage in Middlesex County.
“New Brunswick sometimes gets a bad reputation – people think of New Brunswick as old, run-down buildings,” Blithe said. “But we are not that anymore. Not only does this festival celebrate arts, but it also celebrates the history of New Brunswick and Middlesex County and I think it’s important for the youth of our region to learn about and explore our festival, whether they become a patron or performer of the arts.”
