The 38th annual East Providence HeritageFest

The 38th annual East Providence HeritageFest will take place July 13-15 this year at Pierce Memorial Field. This free-for-all event will have live music, a midway, food, craft and business vendors plus nonprofit exhibits, and other family fun. It will run from 6-11 on Friday, 3-11 on Saturday, and 1-10:30 on Sunday.

Some new additions to this year’s festival are a jazz brunch on Sunday and The HeARTspot Art Tent. The brunch is presented in part by Eat Drink RI. It starts at 1:00 and there will be specialty food and drinks available for purchase. Food and beverage offerings include mimosas, beer and wine, Borealis Coffee, The Burgundian (gourmet waffles), Gotta Q (bbq), Gastros Craft Meats, SoulFull (organic Southern fried chicken), Incred-A-Bowl (Asian rice bowl) and desserts from Sarcastic Sweets and Strawberry Shortcake. The New Providence Big Band featuring Miss Katie Kleyla will perform during the brunch.

The HeARTspot Art Center and Gallery will host the heritage Art Tent, showcasing work by a number of local artists. The tent will be open Saturday and Sunday from 3-11. They will also be offering Angel Card Readings and Reiki services.

HeritageFest is organized by East Providence Heritage Days Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. The organization’s mission is to show the importance of the arts and how they can better the community. The organization’s all-volunteer Board of Directors work hard to raise funds in order to make this event possible. Heritage Days Secretary and Treasurer, Alba Curti, says that the organization sees the festival “as a valuable service to [the] community which enhances the quality of life for [its] residents.”

The festival is known to be a “Townie Homecoming Weekend,” bringing members of the community together. You won’t want to miss this weekend full of good music, good food, art and fun!
 
Brendan Rush
Friday, July 13th at 7:30pm
Townie Brendan Rush will kick off this year’s HeritageFest. The 18-year-old rapper has gained thousands of views on his YouTube channel and thousands of plays on his Sound Cloud. He started gaining attention in 2016 and was flown out to Atlanta to meet with producers and Record labels. Last year, he was the first rapper to ever perform at HeritageFest.

KISSNATION
Friday, July 13th at 8:30
World-renowned KISS tribute band, KISSNATION, will be headlining the festival on Friday night. KISSNATION was formed in New York City, just like KISS. They have been performing for over 15 years throughout the country, and internationally as well. They have performed for KISS and have also officially worked with them for multiple events. VH1 even filmed them for the pilot of a reality show in 2002. KISSNATION differs from other KISS tribute bands because not only do they perform the band’s popular music from the 70s, but they play songs from the other KISS eras as well.

Bard The Band
Saturday, July 14th at 4pm
Bard the Band is a New England-based band who made their debut in Providence in 2016. Fascinated by the use of music in Shakespeare’s plays, Julia Bartoletti created this concept band. They set Shakespeare’s words to modern rock music. The lyrics focus on the women of Shakespeare’s writing. This will be a very unique performance, celebrating the work of Shakespeare.

John Emil
Saturday, July 14th at 4:45pm
John Emil is a singer, songwriter, and slide guitarist. He creates a distinct sound by incorporating country blues, folk, and bluegrass sounds into his songs. He has performed at major music festival all over throughout the country and internationally, as well. He has supplied music for many television shows such as Dateline, The Voice, American Pickers, and many international wildlife and nature documentaries. He recently became the first American musician to be published by London’s KPM/EMI, one of the world’s largest libraries.

8 Track Classics with David Tessier’s All-Star Stars
Saturday, July 14th at 6pm
David Tessier’s band of All-Star Stars is a local band with Townie Jon Patrick on the Keyboard. David Tessier is a Rhode Island guitarist. He was the former music director at the Trinity Repertory and Sandra-Feinstein Gamm Theater. He is currently the music director at King Richard’s Faire and a board member of EPHD Inc. Their set will include classic rock covers.

The Pete Silva Project
Saturday, July 14th at 7:30pm
Pete Silva leads this powerful band with his original music and select cover songs, putting the boom back in rock and roll. Pete is a veteran of the Southern New England music scene. In addition to teaching literature, he’s been a weekend jock at WHJY/94HJY for more than 25 years and is also a board member at EPHD Inc. Band members include Adrienne West, Paul Furtado, Bill Lehourites, Mark Garabian, Paul Gizelt, and Stephen Grimes.

The Hollies Greatest Hits starring Terry Sylvester
Saturday, July 14th at 9pm
Former member of The Hollies, Terry Sylvester, will be headlining the festival on Saturday night. Sylvester replaced Graham Nash in The Hollies in 1969. The band was known for their unique three-part harmony style. The English musician was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 as a member of the Hollies. His set will consist of The Hollies most popular songs.

The New Providence Big Band featuring Miss Katie Kleyla
Sunday, July 15th 1pm
The New Providence Big Band is a large band, containing 20 members. This swing band consists of vocals, saxophones, trombones, trumpets, and rhythm. The band will be performing during the Jazz Brunch on Sunday from 1-2:30.

School of Rock Seekonk House Band
Sunday, July 15th at 3:45
The House Band is made up of students under the age of 18 from the School of Rock music school in Seekonk. These students auditioned for their spot in the band and they play gigs and live shows at local rock venues throughout the year.

Legacy Band and Show
Sunday, July 15th at 5pm
The Legacy Band and Show is a high energy, seven-piece New England-based band with strong roots in R&B, funk, and soul. Lead vocalist David Cherry has been recognized as one of the nation’s leading James Brown impersonators. The band covers Top 40 hits, contemporary and old school R&B, Neo Soul, Modern Soul, and Quiet Storm. They also have some songs of their own. Their set will include performances of Prince, Bruno Mars, Temps, and James Brown songs. The band’s goal is to be known by an audience across multiple generations and to share their music with people of all ages.

Whole Lotta Heart
Sunday, July 15th at 7pm
Robin Lynn Hathaway, known throughout RI for her tremendous vocals, formed Whole Lotta Heart as a tribute band showcasing the music of HEART and HEART’s love for Led Zeppelin. Based out of Providence, this band is comprised of multi-instrumentalists with Robin and Capri Lanning-Cafaro on lead vocals. The band’s members include Tony Zambarano, Scott Camara, Steve Cafaro and Jon Hathaway who are all very experienced in performing and in working in music professionally. Robin is also on the board of EPHD Inc.

Penny Lane
Sunday, July 15th at 8:30pm
Headlining on Sunday will be The Beatles Tribute Band, Penny Lane. Based out of Connecticut, the band has a long list of The Beatles tracks that they perform. Penny Lane features phenomenal vocals, musicianship, authentic instrumentation and costuming. The members have had careers in music and are big fans of The Beatles, each portraying a different member.

Food and Beverage

• Borealis Coffee
• Coco Bongos-Non-alcoholic frozen drinks in specialty containers
• Del’s Lemonade
• Fanelli Midway- Fried Dough, Candied Apples, Cotton Candy, Popcorn
• Gotta Q-BBQ
• Haven Brothers- Chicken Tenders, Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, Philly Subs, Onion Rings, Mozzarella Sticks
• Incred-A-Bowl-Asian rice bowls, pasta, potato
• Matilda- Dominican inspired gourmet Paselitos (Empandas made with local artisan dough) with a side of rice, beans, and plantains 
• Sarcastic Sweets- Gourmet Cupcakes and Desserts
• SoulFull-Organic Southern Fried Chicken
• Stanley’s Famous Hamburgers- Burgers, Hot Dogs, Lobster Salad Rolls
• Strawberry Shortcake, Strawberry Smoothies
• The Sausage King- Italian Sausage & Peppers, Kielbasa, Steak Sandwiches
• What’s the Scoop- Soft Serve Ice Cream, Floats, Frappes

• Blue Cross Blue Shield of RI-Informational
• Coast 2 Coasters- Unique Printed Coasters, Custom Orders
• DAFNI Greek Gourmet-Authentic Greek drizzling oils, olives, wild handpicked herbs, medical herbal teas
• Fashion By Paul- Hand Engraved Name Rings, Full line Sterling Silver Jewelry 
• Henna by Heather- Henna Body Art 
• Hooked With Yarn Shop- Crocheted Amigurumi, Animals, Dolls
• Lady Pendants- Hand Bags, Fashion Jewelry 
• LuLaRoe- Women’s Clothing 
• MK’s Sports Merchandise 
• Tattoo Mania- Temporary Airbrushed Tattoos
• TechniArt Inc.- Promoting National Grid Program selling LED lighting at discount or wholesale
• The Willow Grove- Organic Skincare & Aromatherapy
• Traveling Cabinet of Curiosities- presentation of obscure objects from around the world
• Two Green Owls- Chemical Free Cleaning Cloths
• Wonderland of Pearls- Pick a Pearl Jewelry 

Non-Profit Exhibits

• Children’s Friend- Info on Foster Parenting 
• East Providence Jr. Townies-Info, registration, T-Shirts
• EP Kids- Face Painting
• EP Mohawks-Info, Registration, Raffle, Merchandise
• Falun Dafa Association of RI- teaching the craft of origami lotus flower, info on Falun Dafa advanced system of mind and body improvement
• Providence Rescue Mission- Informational
• RI Army National Guard-Rockwall & Display
• RI State Elks Association-Drug Awareness Trailer with demos, free trinkets, Elmo the Elk & Minion, membership drive, 50/50 cash raffle
• Roll Out The Black- Traveling Museum of Black Memorabilia 
• Ten Mile River Watershed Council- Info & Book Sale
• The Teddy Borges Memorial Fund- Selling 2019 EP Firefighters Calendar