Newton To Honor Arts, Culture Leader Linda Plaut

NEWTON, MA — Linda Plaut spent more than four decades bringing all aspects of culture and the arts to Newton in an effort to make the city a more diverse, understanding and thoughtful place. On Sunday, Plaut’s life will be celebrated at Newton City Hall in a tribute to the longtime director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs that will include music, dancing, poetry and singing.

"We wanted to honor her with an event that she would have loved," Paula Gannon, Cultural Affairs associated director, told Patch.

Plaut moved to Newton from New York in 1974 and soon immersed herself into her adopted hometown planning and promoting events in the city. In 1988, she was named director of Cultural Affairs and spent the next 30 years developing events that ranged from Newton’s Harvest Fair, to SpringFest, to the Festival of the Arts in Newton, to the Newton Youth Players Theatre, to the Heartbreak Hill International Kids Road Race and the Fourth of July celebrations. If that seems like a lot, that's just the tip of the iceburg. She organized exchanges with Newton sister cities in Ireland, Italy, Japan and Israel, and created fairs celebrating Russian, Chinese and Indian cultures and the list goes on.

Plaut’s influence truly spanned the test of time in Newton as she served under five mayoral administrations.

"This is what she loved," Gannon said. "She was the lifeblood and the breath of culture in Newton."

Plaut worked on the projects that were her passion until shortly before her death in February following a short illness. Four months after her passing, Gannon said there was a groundswell of interest from the arts community and those who knew Plaut for a public celebration for her life.

"Linda Plaut is the reason for all the cultural events in the city," Gannon said. "She either thought of them or cultivated them through ideas from the community. She had this amazing way of generating support for her projects. She was always open to trying new things and giving people a chance to bring their ideas to fruition."

The Newton Festival of the Arts, which is scheduled to include more than 50 individual performances over a two-month period, has been renamed the Linda Plaut Festival of the Arts.

Sunday’s event will take place at the Newton Cultural Center at Newton City Hall from 3 to 5 p.m. Any questions, call the Mayor’s Office for Cultural Affairs: 617-796-1540.

Related:

• Newton's Director Of Cultural Affairs Linda Plaut Has Died
• Newton's 5th Annual Festival Of The Arts Honors Linda Plaut
• Jun 16 | Tribute to Linda Plaut