MIDDLETOWN – The Middletown Arts Festival will showcase some of the top visual and performing artists from across Southwest Ohio.
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“This is our fifth year, and it’s a pretty exciting year. We have had great support from the community,” said Jackie Phillips, Middletown’s health commissioner, a board member at the Middletown Arts Center, and chair of the Middletown Arts Festival Advisory Committee.
The event is free and open to the public.
With a lot of hard work and planning that goes on behind-the-scenes, Phillips said the festival will feature a wide range of art, music, dance, theater and more.
“When we first started, our intent was to have a fun-filled, art-festival day to highlight all the different genres of art. It’s a day where guests can come downtown and enjoy the entertainment, hang out and see their friends,” Phillips said.
Middletown Arts Festival is always on the second Saturday of September. Dozens of artists and crafters will showcase their talents through a variety of mediums and sell hand-crafted items, including leather, glass-blown pieces, metal sculpture, drawings and watercolor.
The festival will kick off at noon from the Main Stage with a proclamation from City Councilman Steve Bohannon, the national anthem by William “Kip” Moore and music from Bethel AME Gospel Choir. Other officials participating in the opening ceremonies will include Phillips, along with Mike Scorti, Suzanne Sizer, Chris Laing, Angela Howard, Lee Hartman and Richard Isroff.
“Middletown is rich in arts. The arts have been around for so long, and you still run into people that do not know that. … Once people come down and walk the streets, they can see what’s happening downtown,” Phillips said.
After the opening ceremonies, the festival’s live entertainment — from jazz and R&B to country and pop — will happen on the Main Stage and the Governor’s Square Stage. Main Stage performances will include Chuck Evans and Friends at 1 p.m.; Cody Garrett at 3 p.m.; Cincy Mile high Band at 4:30 p.m. and headlining country artist AJ Gatio at 6:30 p.m. The Governor’s Square Stage performances will include Edde Osborne at 1 p.m.; Austin Line at 2:30 p.m.; Samuel Day at 4 p.m. and Alexis Gomez, a former “American Idol” contestant from Centerville, at 5:30 p.m.
Inside the YMCA gym from 1 to 3 p.m., students from the Performing Arts Academy will highlight musical selections from shows they have performed over the past year, including music from “Willy Wonka,” “Lion King,” “Alice in Wonderland” and “Peter Pan.”
There will be a variety of food vendors to enjoy, such as Schiavone’s famous meatballs, The Cone, Brent’s Smokin’ Butts, Donteea’s Cotton Candy, Funnel Cakes, Golden Grubb, Domino’s, Let’s Wrap, Monica’s Popcorn, Dawg House and more.
WANT TO GO?
What: Middletown Arts Festival
When: RESCHEDULED: Sunday, Sept. 16, noon. – 8 p.m.
Where: Downtown Middletown (from Manchester to Central).
Cost: Free. Items are available for purchase from artists, food vendors.
More info: www.MiddletownArtsFestival.com
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