Port to kick off festival season with an ode to the arts

Art in all its forms will take over downtown Port Washington Saturday as the city hosts its annual Festival of the Arts from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 30.

The city’s first festival of the season will  include music, visual arts and much more.

“We have so much happening at this festival. I’m so excited about it,” Port Main Street Inc. Executive Director Amanda Baldwin said.

“That’s the thing about this festival — there are a lot of unique experiences you can have all in this one day.”

Throughout the festival, Washington Street will be closed east of Franklin Street.

Vendors selling a variety of handmade goods, everything from clothing and jewelry to woodworks and foods, will be on Washington Street.

Near the intersection of Washington and Lake streets will be a music stage where Carlos Adames will perform Latin jazz from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and JD Rankin and the Soloman Royals will play reggae from 2 to 5 p.m.

There will also be two performing arts stages, one at Inventors Brewpub and the other in the Port Harbor Center parking lot behind Port Washington State Bank.

“There will literally always be a performance going on to watch,” Baldwin said.

At Inventors, Studio K Flamenco will perform from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m., Tamarino Tribal Dance from 12:30 to 1 p.m. and the Milwaukee Ballet from 1:45 to 2:15 p.m.

At the Harbor Center, Lofty Life Aerial will perform from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Kassumai African Dance from 1 to 1:45 p.m., Chinese Lion Dancers from 2:30 to 3 p.m. and Jared the Juggler from 4 to 4:30 p.m.

Jared the Juggler will also don stilts and walk through the festival grounds from 3 to 4 p.m.

“One of our biggest draws is that we provide family friendly activities that are free,” Baldwin said.

To that end, she said, the festival has expanded its offerings of free art projects and activities.

There will be two zones where these will occur — one in the Harbor Center parking lot across from the performing arts stage and the other along the city’s harborwalk behind the shopping center.

Activities include henna tattoos, caricatures, candle-making projects, a bounce house, bubbles and musical instruments that people can try out.

There will be a coloring contest where those attending can color a reproduction of the extension of the mural on Jackson Street west of Franklin Street.

“It’s a sneak peek at what will be happening,” Baldwin said. “This will have the ability to get them more involved in what’s happening in the community, and hopefully it will stand out a little more to them.”

There will be a chalk artist on the harborwalk, as well as an area where children can produce chalk art on their own, and an African drum circle by Mr. Lucky Diop.

There will be a piano that will be painted by the community following a paint-by-numbers concept.

Businesses will also have activities for people. Purple Turtle will have a community loom where people can add onto a weaving and Gallery 224 will have a fabric activity where people can make a custom iron-on patch. Art Perspectives will have artists giving demonstrations outside its gallery.