37th Annual River Festival
Molly Akin
5/19/2016 • 7 years ago
The information on this page may be outdated as it was published 7 years ago.
On June 4 from 11am-6pm, Cambridge Arts will welcome 150,000 plus festival goers to the East Cambridge waterfront for an exuberant celebration of the arts. Occurring in Lechmere Canal Park and along DCR Cambridge Parkway, the festival will feature staged and roving performances, hands-on artmaking and hundreds of artists and food vendors with work for sale. Cambridge Arts River Festival is FREE and open to all.
When: Saturday, June 4, 11am-6pm, Rain or Shine
Where: East Cambridge waterfront, along DCR Cambridge Parkway and Lechmere Canal Park adjacent to CambridgeSide
Who: Produced by Cambridge Arts Council, an award-winning city arts agency founded in 1974
People’s Sculpture Racing kicks-off the festivities at 11am as 17 handmade moveable sculptures take off on a 3/4-mile course starting at the north end of Cambridge Parkway. Named one of the top 15 art happenings in greater Boston by WBUR's The ARTery, People's Sculpture Racing was brought back to the community after a multi-decade hiatus at last year's event. Following the race, interact with the sculptures at the Sculpture Garden at the race start line.
Starting at noon six dynamic festival stages, including one floating in the Lechmere Canal, will showcase local music, theater and dance. Performances from local talent, community tables highlighting the work of nonprofits, poetry readings, interactive areas, roving performances, and the second annual running of the revived People’s Sculpture Race combine to make the 2016 Cambridge River Festival a vibrant one-day celebration of the arts. The World of Food, Arts Bazaar, and two Brew Gardens hosted by World of Beer offer refreshment and unique local artwork and crafts for purchase.
Interactive areas and roving performances provide hands-on art-making activities for children and playful fun for all ages. Keep an eye out for Cate Great’s roving circus antics and hop on the Bicycle Bonanza! Don’t miss the Cambridge Arts Poetry Tent hosted by past Poet Populist, Peter Payack to hear from the old guarde, the avant-garde and the up-and-coming! For a full list of activities and events visit www.cambridgeartscouncil.org/riverfestival.