About the Festival

History – 2004

On Sept. 10th, about 1,000 attendees came to the opening gala to dine on food donated by 60 area restaurants. The evening’s entertainment included the performances of the SOS Big Band and the Narragansett Bay Chorus Barbershop Quartet. Meanwhile, many could see quality one-of-a-kind art work at the openings of the Pawtucket Arts Collaborative Gallery juried show and “Woven Expressions”, at the Slater Mill Gallery, featuring handwoven items from some of Rhode Islands premiere textile artists. Also, at this site there was a visual arts (sculpture) exhibit by Jack Gresko. Across the street, there was also a public showing of a Youth Art Exhibit at Slater Mill that drew 75 entries from local public, private high schools (grades 9 thru 12), the Pawtucket Boys and Girls Club, and the Pawtucket YMCA. Charlie Hall, of Ocean State Follies, served as the evenings Master of Ceremony.

On Sept. 11th , almost 20,000 spectators attended the City’s 5th Annual Rhode Island Chinese Dragonboat Festival to watch 45-foot brightly colored dragonboats race and to learn more about Chinese Folk Art and Dance. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Affairs Office in Boston sponsored kite flying by Taiwan artist, Buteo Huang, a Taiwan Photo Exhibit, the Taipei Folk Dance Theatre, and the Yam-Yam Puppets. Other Chinese groups provided funding to hire the Gu-Zheng & Dulcimer Performance, the Chinese Yo-Yo Flag Dance, and Taiwanese Aboriginal Dancing.

The Pawtucket Arts Collaborative organized its 4nd Annual Trolley Tour. Two trolleys on a continuous loop to four mill buildings brought hundreds of art lovers from the City’s Visitor Center to meet artists in their Pawtucket studios, giving them an opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind artwork.

Meanwhile, across the street at Slater Mill Historic Site, an Ethnic Heritage Festival was held to celebrate the ethnic diversity of the City. Dominican and Cape Verdian bands played along with Revels Circle of Song, a group of 40 singers that sang about the experience of the immigrants coming to America in the 1830s.

On the second weekend, The Rhode Island Philharmonic Pops Orchestra drew thousands of people into Slater Memorial Park for their concert, opened by the Music School Jazz Band. In downtown Pawtucket, at the historic Pawtucket Armory, Aurea presented Under a Latin Sun, Latin-American inspired poetry and music featuring Charles and Consuelo Sherba, Nigel Gore, Emmanuel Feldman with Rhode Island Philharmonic Resident Conductor, Francisco Noya.

At the Stone Soup Folk Fest (Sept. 25th and 26th) at Slater Memorial Park , musical performances included Chris Thompson, Atwater & Donnelly, Martyn Joseph, Jennifer Roland, Rachael Davis, Humphries & Sandy O, Bill Staines, Patty Larkin, and Killaloe. Rhode Island’s hottest Rhythm and Blues Band, the Rockin’Soul Horns, also played on Sept. 26th at the downtown Veterans’ Amphitheater.

During the three week arts festival, Stone Soup Coffee House, at the Boys and Girls Club Art Center, offered three Saturday nights of great folk music that included: Joyce Katzberg, John Fuzek, Late Bloomers, Corinne Wahlberg, Kincora and Windharp, and Marjorie Thompson and Geoff Muldaur.

This year, Mirror Image sponsored its 6th Annual Pawtucket Film Festival. At the six-night film festival (18 short films and three feature length films were shown), filmmakers were present at the filming of their films and answered questions from the audience. Local musicians also played before the screening of the films.

Finally, the magic of puppetry was also experienced directly by both young and old at Yorrick’s Marionette Theatre. Also, young actors of the The All Children's Theatre of Pawtucket troop presented “The Legend of Juan Bobo and the Horse of Seven Colors. “ The Gamm-Feinstein Theater opened its doors to its play “An Enemy of the People, by charging “pay what you can.” Story teller Mary Begin, also brought the heritage of storytelling to all.

The fourth Annual Camera Contest concluded last years arts festival, sponsored by The Camera Werks. Winning photographs were chosen and appeared in the 2004 City Calendar.