The Creation of the Pawtucket Arts Festival
Kristine Kilmartin had recently married Pawtucket Rep. Peter Kilmartin and had only lived in Pawtucket for only a few months. The Smithfield native was driving through Slater Memorial Park in early January 1999 with her new husband when she asked why didn't the City take more advantage of its green space. Kristine wondered why the City couldn't do something like the Scituate Arts Festival in the City's 209-acre park. The Kilmartin's turned to Mayor James E. Doyle with the idea of creating an arts festival. After a month of meetings, discussion and planning the City created an 18-person committee to plan Convergence Pawtucket '99.
It had been more than a decade since the Providence Parks Department kicked off its first Convergence Festival in 1989.
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| Peter & Kristine Kilmartin |
Meanwhile Providence's Convergence XII would expand the arts festival Statewide by tying together other community festivals held throughout Rhode Island. Pawtucket's Planning Committee, co-chaired by the Kilmartin's, created its own festival in June 1999, tying into Providence Convergence, "with a local flavor." Most of the committee members were city officials, civic leaders, local business owners and a few local artists. The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council donated staff time for six months to oversee the planning, logistics and implementation of the programming.
Since its inception, Pawtucket's Arts Festival has created a citywide showcase of visual and performing arts, interactive workshops, music theater and dance performances. Where else could you enjoy a wide variety of music from the Rhode Island Philharmonic Pop Orchestra, Duke Robillard Blues Band, Planet Groove, Blackstone Valley Heritage Series, or watch the Big Nazzo Puppets, and the dragonboat races? Not to mention one-of-a kind art exhibits, attend the Everett Dance Theatre and the Sandra Gamm-Feinstein Theatre performances, meet writers and filmmakers at a film festival, and much, much more. And where else could your children learn the art of making glass, raku pottery or carving stone and wood. Or even have the opportunity to create scarecrows or puppets. Only in the City of Pawtucket if you had attended one of our art festivals.
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| Audience at Pops Festival in Slater Park |
Over the last four years, the Arts Festival has donated four permanent sculptures to the City, too.
The Art Festival's budget has grown in five years, initially set at $20,000 in 1999, to the 2003 budget of $96,156 ($57,184 is allocated to programming). Only a handful of sponsors helped the City to fund its Arts Festival in 1999. But the support and excitement in the business community continues to grow. In 2003, more than 214 local businesses gave over $70,000, including an additional $100,000 worth of in-kind donations, supported our biggest Arts Festival.
Attendance to Pawtucket's Art Festival has grown too, over the last five years. Probably our 1999 Arts Festival attracted a few thousand attendees. Last year we saw more than 30,000 come to Pawtucket to participate in one of the events.
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| Dragonboat Races |
Specifically, our first opening gala, held in the City library in 1999 attracted about 35 people. Last year more than 1,000 people came to this opening event held at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center. Crowds at the dragonboat races have steadily increased too - from 2,000 at the first race, to over 15,000 last year. Over 6,000 people attended the Rhode Island Philharmonic Pop Orchestra Concert in Slater Park. We expect this number to dramatically increase this year, especially with word of mouth advertising that is now taking place.
The steady growth of participating artists, corporate sponsors, volunteers and attendees over the last five years indicates a quality program, well managed, and has become a permanent fixture in the community.
Pawtucket's Art Festival has awakened a new pride in our community, and continues to stimulate our creative energies, along with having an economic impact on the City as well.
