New Brunswick HEART Festival Returns This Weekend

State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick Cultural Center, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), and Above Art Studios present the New Brunswick HEART Festival on Saturday, August 12, from 3pm-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).  

In addition to the festivities taking place on Livingston Ave, there will be a Block Party on Morris Street, held in front of Above Art Studios (55 Morris St). The Block Party will include live music and spoken word performances, stunts by the local bike club, and a fish fry fundraiser for Above Art Studios.

This year's lineup on the outdoor stage on Livingston Avenue include award-winning, multicultural family music band Hot Peas 'n Butter; celebrated tap dancer Omar Edwards; the New Brunswick Jazz Project Brass; a dance performance by InSpira Dance; R&B/jazz band, LMNOP; DJ IZM, and spoken word artists Rashad Wright and Queena.  

New this year, is the Studio Exhibition, open from 3pm-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 and posters, video, 1920s-1970s memorabilia, and costumes from Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet. Also, new at this year’s festival is Thinkery & Verse’s The Livingston Tapestry Project. The Livingston Tapestry Project collects portraits and stories from locals who have a relationship to the Livingston Avenue Historic District. These portraits and stories will be featured on Instagram and other social media as a living tapestry of local history. 

Other events at the New Brunswick HEART Festival includes a health & wellness area with Garden of Healing; a backstage tour of State Theatre New Jersey; dance classes for kids and teenagers hosted by American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School; and a history corner featuring historical interpreters by 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; free tie dye station with Dibble and Dabble, a community art project with Zimmerli Art Museum; a community listening game with AARP; giant Jenga with Live Well/Vivir Bien; free back-to-school supplies from New Brunswick Area NAACP, and more!  

On Friday, August 11, the HEART Festival kicks off with a Live Art Battle at Above Art Studios (55B Morris St) from 7pm-9pm. Featuring seven contestants, three timed rounds, and one cash prize, the Art Battle will take place at the Studio and will be live-streamed on Above Art Studio’s Instagram account @AboveArtStudios.

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; 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, AARP, Family Worship, Melinated Moms, Sharpened Mindz, Rutgers Department of Government Affairs, Robert Wood Barnabas Health, New Brunswick Tomorrow, Rutgers Collaborative Center for Community Engagement, and Middlesex College New Brunswick Center.