Dedham Community House Hosts Music and Art Festival

New Kids on the Block rocked Fenway Park on Saturday night, but dozens of musicians and artists brought the "right stuff" to Dedham Square.

Thecelebrated creativity with its fourth annual on Saturday. The event featured tunes, artwork and booths displaying local creativity. 

"It's been a fine day," Dedham Community House program director Joshua Walther said. "The music has been really good, and there's been a variety of people showing up."

Walther has helped organize the last three festivals. The DCH program director said this year's event boasts the largest musical lineup to date.

"The festival grows more and more every year," Walther said. "Our goal is to make the festival a yearly staple in Dedham."

Attendees received the opportunity to sample many different musical tastes during the afternoon. Featured local musicians included Sarah Blacker, the Adam Ezra Group and Dirty Strange, a rock band formed by Dedham's Nick and Zandy Papps.    

Dirty Strange's Nick and Zandy Papps embraced the opportunity to perform in their hometown as the band debuted new songs "Gone" and "Vain" during the festival. In addition, Nick Papps recalled spending time at the DCH as a child. 

"I used to go to day camp here when I was 7 years old," Nick Papps told the crowd during Dirty Strange's performance. "A lot has changed."

Artists utilized the venue to display paintings, jewelry and other crafts available for purchase. But acrylic and watercolor painter Emily Macneil said the poor weather may have impacted her sales at the event.

"The rain has been disastrous," Macneil said. 

Overcast conditions proved far from ideal for the festival, but participants were "hangin' tough" throughout the day. 

"Children have been having a great time," vendor Barbara Trainer said, "and the music has been fabulous."

Trainer and Watertown artist Monica Fairbairn hosted a booth featuring handcrafted jewelry. Trainer said sales were slow at the event, but emphasized the festival is successful because of the hard work of its staff.

"I'm amazed at how organized this has been," Trainer said. "It takes a lot of work to get an event like this off the ground, and the people here are doing the right things."

The DCH staff may take a "step by step" approach to help the festival grow.

"Our goal is for more and more success every year," Walther said.