Exeter Arts and Music Festival Set for May 19

EXETER, N.H. - The second annual Exeter Arts and Music Festival will be bringing fun in the sun from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 19. According to Seacoast Online, this year's Exeter Arts and Music Festival will be “in town” instead of down the Parkway at the pavilion.

Vendors will be at the end of the Parkway near Water Street, occupying the area that the Farmer’s Market uses on Thursdays. The music will be staged across Water Street on the grounds of the historic Independence Museum near the Folsom Tavern.

“The music this year will be ‘unplugged,’ it will be more of an intimate setting,” Ruffner says. “There will be five acts at the Independence Museum and six more performers in the singer/songwriter Busker tent. At the end of Swasey Parkway we will have fine artists, potters, craftspeople, jewelry makers and glass artisans. Our Viking re-enactors will also be back. For children, we will be having face-painting, murals, Team Exeter Rocks will be doing rock decorating and the library and YMCA will be there, too. We’re using the opportunity to bring more of the action into the downtown area, with music on the bandstand in the center of town as well. We also have a lot of artist vendors returning from previous festivals in addition to new talent joining us for the first time.”

Oftentimes art and music festivals feature big names to draw in their crowds. Many of these artists-performers are national or international acts. But, this hurts local artists-performers. It reduces the number of opportunities for them to perform close to home. Traveling increases costs and reduces profits.

“This is a festival where all the musicians and artisans are from the greater Seacoast area. Reaching out to national acts is not the mission of this festival,” Ruffner explains. “We hope to offer locals and regionals more opportunities to get on the map and move into opportunities elsewhere. We are looking for artists and musicians to grow with the festival.”

Exeter Arts and Music Festival Music Schedule

Friday, May 18

• 5 p.m.: Bandstand Blues Jam featuring The Max Sullivan Group
• 7:30 p.m.: The Midnight Wrens

Saturday, May 19

• 10 a.m.: David Corson
• 11 a.m.: Kenny Brothers
• 12:15 p.m.: Red Tail Hawk
• 1:30 p.m.: Qwill
• 2:45 p.m.: Cold Engines

Singer/Songwriter Busker Tent in Swasey Park

• 10 a.m.: Lizzie & Peter
• 11 a.m.: Artty Francoeur
• Noon: Elijah Clark
• 1 p.m.: Kate McDougal
• 2 p.m.: Dan Searl
• 3 p.m.: Maurice Wynn

To read the full story, visit Seacoast Online.

For more information on the Exeter Arts and Music Festival click here.

Courtesy Photo / Exeter Arts and Music Festival