March 28, 2024

2nd Annual “The Looff: East Providence Arts Festival”

Music, Artists, Musicians, Food Extravaganza

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The 2nd annual Looff East Providence Arts Festival will be held on Saturday, August 20, 2016 at Crescent Park in Riverside with a rain date of August 21st. The popular festival will be held on the waterfront side of the former Crescent Park. The city arts festival is aligned with the famous Looff carousel. George Boyden opened Crescent Park in 1886 and increasingly added new rides and attractions until it became Rhode Island's 2nd most popular amusement park by 1893. Boyden named the park for its' crescent shaped beach. Boyden's Crescent Park boasted of the largest dance hall on the eastern shore. The park had Wild West shows, a midway, and to support the new craze at the time, he built a bicycle racing track. Boyden contracted Charles I.D. Looff to construct a carousel in 1892 and another in 1895. Crescent Park became the site for which Looff built and shipped his carousels across the country.

The looff: “a whirlwind of art, music and life” will be held on the grounds of historic Crescent Park from 11AM until 6PM. “The festival will feature over 60 artists, artisans and craftspeople, a full day of entertainment, food trucks and more,” said East Providence Arts Council chairman Rick Lawson. Lawson and his committee have been very energetic in promoting the arts within East Providence. “This event is very close to my heart as it brings the community together in such a positive way where we can showcase artists, artisans, and musicians and celebrate being Townies. I am very proud that we can hold our festival with no admission charge while still giving a full day of awesome entertainment. EPAC has a lot of great initiatives happening to help elevate the quality of life in our great city,” added Lawson.

By the end of the year the city will have completed a sculpture park in Watchemocket Square. “We are looking to open a center for the arts in the near future as a home base for the arts council and a place for the community to come together for live performances, gallery showings, art classes and whatever else we can imagine. I am very excited about the course EPAC is on,” said Lawson.

“Last year’s festival was a huge success, we are hoping to build upon that and make this year’s festival even better,” said Courtney Rook Repoza, Festival Director and Vice Chair of EPAC. “The East Providence Arts Council has been working hard to bring the community and art together; we have had a great year and this is our chance to celebrate,” added Rook Repoza.

EPAC will continue the tradition of bringing in top notch and varied entertainment. Some of the 2016 acts include a Frank Sinatra Tribute, the Oh No’s, Rendition, The RI Philharmonic Youth Ensemble, a "surprise” appearance by BIG NAZO Creature Characters and other great acts. “Food trucks and Food Vendors include, but aren’t limited to, Haven Bros., Portugalo, The Italian Gourmet, Championship Melt and Wolfies Freezer Delights,” said Rook Repoza. “The goal of the Looff Festival Committee is to offer something for everyone,” she said. The committee suggests you bring lawn chairs, your family and come “spend the day overlooking beautiful Narragansett Bay while experiencing great entertainment. Enjoy the opportunity to purchase art and try out some of the local food vendors.”

EPAC is a grassroots non-profit organization composed of passionate people and artists working to make East Providence a thriving arts community. The organization has made great strides over the last two years in accomplishing this goal. EPAC has hosted several successful events, has been awarded a grant from the RI Foundation for a Public Art Installation and is working on big plans for art and the community.

“Mark your calendars. The Looff is going to be an extraordinary event! Come celebrate the whirlwind of art, music and life!” said an excited Rick Lawson. Lawson reminds the community that the arts event is free to the public. The East Providence Arts Council is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to creating a thriving arts community in East Providence through promoting arts programs, recognizing local artists, and advising the City Council on the needs of the artistic community. More information can be found at www.eastprovidencearts.org.

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