Celebrating the Arts in Cambridge
Annual River Festival to showcase music, theater, dance tomorrow
A group of musicians entertaining the crowd at last year’s Cambridge River Festival. This year’s festival runs tomorrow, Saturday, June 6, from noon to 6 p.m. Photo courtesy of Cambridge Arts
Whether you’re an art connoisseur, a music lover, or a passionate foodie, you’ll find something of interest at tomorrow’s free Cambridge River Festival in Central Square. Join over 200,000 visitors and 150 exhibitors for a day of dance, music concerts, art demonstrations, poetry readings, theater, specialty foods, and crafts.
Stroll down Massachusetts Ave and visit the daylong festival’s six stages, each named to reflect an aspect of the ongoing mission of Cambridge Arts, the nonprofit arts agency that has hosted the annual event since 1977. There will be ongoing performances by a variety of singers, dancers, bands, storytellers, and other artists on each stage.
Unleash your inner dancer at the Engage stage, which will host an Iranian dance group as well as student ballerinas. Rock out with bands like Marc Valois & Blinders and the Barbazons at the Energize stage, or enjoy the smoother, softer music of Latin Jazz Septet at the Create stage. At the Connect stage, visitors can listen to folk artists like the Sun Parade, Ruby Rose Fox & the Steinems, and Cuddle Magic. Theater fans can enjoy a performance of Arabian Nights by the Central Square Theatre or participate in a stage combat workshop by fight director Nile Hawver on the Inspire stage. Find family-friendly shows on the sixth stage, Imagine, among them the bilingual musical fiesta Sol y Canto and Johnny Fireseed & the Junkyard Dogs, which performs music with an eco-friendly message on instruments made from trash or recycled or repurposed material.
View the full program guide here.
More than 150 specialty food vendors, craftspeople, and artisans will be on hand selling treats from around the world. Guests 21 plus can purchase craft beers and ciders in one of two Brew Gardens near the Connect stage in University Park Commons.
The festival kicks off with a sculpture race at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Pilgrim and Sidney Streets, where 17 sculptors will push or pedal their creations in a three-quarter-mile race. Contenders include a team of Harvard students, a collaboration of members of Somerville’s Artisan’s Asylum, a group of local teens, and professional artist Mitch Ryerson. All sculptures will be showcased in the University Park Commons Sculpture Garden after the race.
Also on the docket this year is a tribute to sidewalk chalk artist Robert Guillemin (CFA’62,’67), aka “Sidewalk Sam,” who died in January.
Once held along the banks of the Charles River, the festival is taking place for the second year in the Central Square Cultural District—what organizers all “the cultural hub of Cambridge”—but organizers hope to return it to its historical home along the river soon.
The Cambridge River Festival is from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday, June 6, in the Central Square Cultural District along Massachusetts Avenue, between Prospect and Sidney Streets, Cambridge, preceded by the People’s Sculpture Race at 11 a.m. Take an MBTA Red Line train to Central Square. The event is free and will be held rain or shine. Visit the festival’s official site or call the Arts Council at 617-349-4380 to learn more.
Ashley Mayrianne Jones can be reached at ashjones@bu.edu.
Comments & Discussion
Boston University moderates comments to facilitate an informed, substantive, civil conversation. Abusive, profane, self-promotional, misleading, incoherent or off-topic comments will be rejected. Moderators are staffed during regular business hours (EST) and can only accept comments written in English. Statistics or facts must include a citation or a link to the citation.