NEW BRUNSWICK HEART FESTIVAL Returns Next Month

State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick Cultural Center, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), and I Am D.Muse will present the 5th Annual New Brunswick HEART Festival on Saturday, August 10, from 2pm-6pm; 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 1pm performance inside the theater of Bill Blagg: Family Magic. With over 60 minutes of non-stop magical fun, Family Magic is specifically designed to entertain and engage audiences of all ages. Bill Blagg’s unique blend of comedy, audience participation, and mind-bending magic will keep the audience on the edge of their seat eagerly anticipating what’s coming next. After the performance the audience can enjoy the free New Brunswick Heart Festival just outside the theater. Tickets are $15-$29 and can be purchased at STNJ.org.

This year's New Brunswick Heart Festival lineup on the outdoor stage on Livingston Avenue includes celebrated tap dancer Omar Edwards; the New Brunswick Brass; dance performances by InSpira Performing Arts & Cultural Center, Grupo de Danza Folklórica La Sagrada Familia, and American Repertory Ballet Dance Power Scholars; Motown and funk hits performed by The Suyat Band; beats by DJ IZM; a speaker from George Street Playhouse’s presentation of What the Constitution Means to Me; a poetry reading by Thinkery & Verse; and an opening set by the winners of STNJ's Jersey Talent show, the band, Crowfield! Plus, a salsa dance class with Elvis Ruiz at 5:30pm.

There will also be a free Studio Exhibition, open from 12pm-6pm and located in the State Theatre's Studio space, this exciting exhibit celebrates the history of the arts in New Brunswick featuring old playbills, posters, videos, 1920s-1970s memorabilia, student artwork, set pieces, and costumes from Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet; State Theatre New Jersey; George Street Playhouse; Crossroads Theatre Company; and Plays-In-The-Park.  

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