ArtsFest 2016 Celebrates the Arts and Artists of New Rochelle

It was there in the shining eyes of the children who clambered aboard the free ArtsFest trolley, and it was there in the graceful movements of the dancers who performed at the Whitney Young Auditorium on Saturday. It was obvious in the dreamy smiles of the people who visited artist’s studios, peeking “behind the scenes” to see where the magic is made. You could even catch a glimpse of it reflected in the shiny hood ornaments glinting on the classic cars clustered on Hamilton Avenue. “It” was joy, energy, excitement – all inspired by the diversity of arts to be found all around New Rochelle during ArtsFest.

Organized by the non-profit New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA), ArtsFest is an annual celebration of the arts and the artists who live and work in New Rochelle. This year more than 200 artists were represented at 39 venues, from visual artists working in every medium to dancers, singers, actors, poets and film makers.

ArtsFest kicked off Friday night with a drive-in movie at Hudson Park. The event was a collaboration between NRCA, YoFiFest and the City of New Rochelle’s Parks and Recreation Department, with volunteers chalking a grid for cars to park that let everyone get a good view of the inflatable screen. The evening started at 5:30, with live music by Third Stone and food trucks doing a brisk business; as dusk fell the screen lit up with the featured film, “The Blues Brothers,” and more than 300 people enjoyed the antics of John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd on a gorgeous end-of-summer night. Meanwhile, across town pop artist Charles Fazzino welcomed members of his Collector’s Club to a special reception at his studio on Relyea Place, while up-and-coming performer Bart Tesoriero and his band, The Art of Brooklyn, wowed diners at Alvin & Friends restaurant.

The next day volunteers were up with the sun to prepare for a day jam packed with activity, from the Classic Car Show (sponsored by AJ’s Burgers) to LEGO Day at the Huguenot Children’s Library. On Library Green downtown the NRPL’s Barbara Davis helped dozens of aspiring young artists make their mark on a community wall mural, while the College of New Rochelle welcomed visitors to its Castle Gallery for a show of photography by Gordon Parks and Toni Parks.

A steady stream of people of all ages lined up both days to ride the ArtsFest History Hop Trolley, a tour of downtown historic sites narrated by NRCA volunteers. The trolley tour introduced riders to the History Hop, which was created by Barbara Davis with support from New Rochelle’s BID and highlights buildings that tell the story of New Rochelle’s rich history; people can use the free History Hop brochure to take a self-guided tour, using their phones to “read” QR codes on blue signs around town.

All weekend New Rochelle artists opened their studios and shared their stories with visitors. They ranged from collaborative studios like The Arts at Five Anderson (featuring the work of Fanny Alliè, Kara Lynn Cox, Hilary Doyle, Erik Gonzalez, Will Hutnick, Mollie McKinley, Jeanette May, and Ryann Slauson), High Brook Studios (artists Frank Buddingh’, John Mignault, Stacy Miller, Kathy Rutsch and Scott Seaboldt) and Mateo Mattia/The Cobbler & Cordwainer (Matthew Demeo and David Ulan) to the private studios of artists Marie Hines Cowan, Jesse Sanchez, Patricia Miner-Sutherland, and Kyu Nam Han at Gallery Roc.

Visual arts were also the focus at a variety of galleries that ranged from institutions like Iona College’s Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery, The College of New Rochelle’s Castle Gallery and New Rochelle High School’s Museum of Arts & Culture to independent galleries like Gallery Roc and transFORM. And then there were galleries in unexpected locations, like the new art space at Jolo’s Restaurant on Lawton Street featuring paintings by Alexandra Rutsch Brock, the walls of R Patisserie and the H4H Gallery created at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore. The NRCA’s Rotunda Gallery even relocated its exhibit “The Arts of the Auto: Photography by Stephen Garnett” to AJ’s Burgers, right across the street from the Classic Car Show.

Some venues were mini-festivals unto themselves: The Pelham Art Center had a combination of exhibits and programming that included a glass-blowing demonstration and yoga as well as live music and free sample art classes, while the Lincoln Park Community Garden’s “Arts in the Park” event combined music, dance and food.

Beautiful weather – cool temperatures and plenty of sunshine – attracted visitors to ArtsFest outdoor venues like Hudson Park, where the Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouse committee offered free pumpkin painting on Saturday, and New York State Assembly member Amy Paulin presented a free concert on Sunday that was part of the nation-wide Concert Across America to End Gun Violence. At Ruby Dee Park on Library Green the spoken word was celebrated with WORDstock, featuring poets and playwrights and actors performing Sunday afternoon.

This year’s ArtsFest also included an emphasis on movement -- with local dance studios offering special classes and a free DanceFest performance -- as well as film making: There were free screenings of films from the Brooklyn Children’s Film Festival as well as student films created by teens in New Rochelle High School’s PAVE program, and the New Rochelle Public Library focused on films made in the Queen City including Terry Toons and silent movies from the Thanhouser Film Studio, which produced more than 1,000 films in New Rochelle between 1909 and 1919.

NRCA President Theresa Kump Leghorn worked at the ArtsFest information table all weekend and says she was struck by the number of new faces participating this year. “This is our 8th ArtsFest, and I think people really look forward to it,” she says. “Newcomers to New Rochelle don’t realize how the arts are woven into the fabric of this city. New Rochelle was known as an artist’s colony at the turn of the last century, and it continues to be a place that cares about the arts. That’s where NRCA comes in: We have been the city’s premier arts organization for 40 years, serving as an umbrella organization and a resource, and as a 501 c 3 non-profit organization our mission is to continue to support arts and artists.”

Of course an undertaking like ArtsFest requires lots of volunteers as well as financial support: ArtsFest sponsors this year included Gwen Appleyard, Charles Fazzino, ArtsWestchester, Montefiore, Alvin & Friends Restaurant, Iona College, Haina Just-Michael and Bernard Michael, Gallery Roc, AJ’s Burgers, the New Rochelle BID and John Reverrol (R Patisserie). “We are also very grateful to the City of New Rochelle and to the Parks & Recreation Department,” added Leghorn, “as well as to our tireless volunteers.”

For more information about NRCA and how to participate in next year’s ArtsFest visit the NRCA website at www.newrochellearts.org or email info@newrochellearts.org for more information.