New Brunswick Heart Festival to Take Place August 9th

originally published: 07/24/2025

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick Cultural Center, and New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), and the Arts Institute of Middlesex County present the 6th Annual New Brunswick Heart Festival on Saturday, August 9, 2025 from 2:00pm-6:00pm; hosted by New Jersey Radio Hall of Famer Bert Baron and Founder of TSO Productions, Sharon Gordon.

This free family-friendly festival celebrates the vibrant arts and history of New Brunswick and Middlesex County, featuring live music and dance performances; free dance classes for kids; food, craft, and art vendors; arts and crafts for kids; free face painting, Henna, caricatures, and balloon animals; and more. The festival will take place in downtown New Brunswick on Livingston Ave (Monument Square, 2 Livingston Ave).

Before the New Brunswick Heart Festival begins, State Theatre presents a 1:00pm performance inside the theater of LUMIA: A Futuristic Cirque Show. With over 70 minutes of non-stop entertainment, Lumia is sure to engage and entertain audiences of all ages. This groundbreaking production redefines the boundaries of technology and entertainment, blending breathtaking acrobatics with the latest advancements in visual technology. LUMIA showcases an array of holograms, interactive lasers, LED technology, light suits, and even robots that transform the stage into a vibrant canvas of light and movement.

Tickets for LUMIA: A Futuristic Cirque Show are $39-$62 and are available for purchase online.

After the performance, the audience can enjoy the FREE New Brunswick Heart Festival just outside the theater.

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This year's New Brunswick Heart Festival lineup on the outdoor stage on Livingston Avenue include the headline band, the Discoteks, performing disco and Motown hits; Afro-Peruvian music and dance by Socabón Peru Cultural Association; celebrated tap dancer Omar Edwards; the New Brunswick Brass; dance performances by InSpira Performing Arts & Cultural Center and Grupo de Danza Folklórica La Sagrada Familia; beats by DJ IZM; a performance by George Street Playhouse; National ACT-SO Bronze Medalist and singer Myles Cherette; and a set by the winner of this year’s State Theatre Jersey Talent show, pianist, Elias Nicozisis! Plus, a hustle dance class with Amy Garcia Phillips and the Contento Dancers.

Omar Edwards

Other events at the New Brunswick HEART Festival include a health & wellness area with Garden of Healing; and a history area featuring historical interpreters by the Arts Institute of Middlesex County’s East Jersey Old Town Village & Cornelius Low House. Additional activities include free face painting, balloon animals, Henna, and caricature; free arts and crafts with Dibble and Dabble; button-making with the New Brunswick Free Public Library; Japanese black ink drawing with the Highland Park Arts Commission; and chalk art with Sharpened Mindz. Also featured at the festival are free dance classes for kids hosted by Princeton Ballet School including Beginning Dance for ages 4-8 at 4:00pm and Contemporary for ages 9-16 at 5:00pm.

New Brunswick Heart Festival is presented by State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick Cultural Center, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), and the Arts Institute of Middlesex County.

The New Brunswick HEART Festival partners include Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University; Hub City Jazz Festival; George Street Playhouse; Crossroads Theatre Company; American Repertory Ballet; Consulate of Mexico in New Brunswick; Live Well-Vivir Bien New Brunswick; the city of New Brunswick; County of Middlesex, New Brunswick Development Corporation; New Brunswick City Center; New Brunswick Community Arts Council; Elijah’s Promise; Y.S.S. (Youth Services System); Youth Advocacy Program (YAP); coLAB Arts; Civic League of Greater New Brunswick; New Brunswick Area NAACP; Middlesex County Regional Chamber of Commerce; New Brunswick Jazz Project; Garden of Healing; the New Brunswick Free Public Library; American Hungarian Foundation; Esperanza Neighborhood Program; New Brunswick Public School District; CareSparc Community Connections; AARP; Sharpened Mindz; Rutgers Department of Government Affairs; Robert Wood Barnabas Health; Girl Scouts of New & North Brunswick; New Brunswick Tomorrow; Rutgers Collaborative Center for Community Engagement; Gay Men’s Chorus, Family Support Organization of Middlesex County, Emanuel Lutheran Church, The Pride Center of New Jersey, and Middlesex College New Brunswick Center.

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Crossroads Theatre Company Presents "sizwe Banzi Is Dead"
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Open Mic Poetry Night With State Theatre New Jersey Poet-in-residence Alyea Pierce
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