ArtBeat 2015: Community Festival and Weekend Fun!

One of Somerville’s biggest events of the year is coming up: ArtBeat Festival from Friday, July 17 6:00 PM to Saturday, July 18 6:00 PM.

This year’s festival and theme is Loops. We’ve got a killer lineup with over 15 bands, dance performances, Butoh cheerleaders, hula-hoopers galore, food, kids activities, 80 craft vendors y mucho mas!

ArtBeat is one of the area’s largest and most innovative arts festivals, with over a dozen bands, dance troupes, 75 craft vendors, food and hatch-themed activities.

On Friday night we have music and interactive performances, then on Saturday we shut down Davis Square for the craft vendors, two stages of music, dance in the Somerville Theater, and a host of great interactive peformances.

Let’s celebrate of all things that loop, encircle, repeat and play back in endless cycles. We invite artists and all community members to explore how looping—the repetition of a pattern, sound or idea—informs a work of art or a concept. “Loops” evoke many things: music that repeats a riff throughout an entire song or performance, a dance in which movement suggests circles, or a visual work of art that suggests planetary orbits. Perhaps we need a parade that circles the Davis Square block repeatedly throughout the festival, or a theatrical performance in which scenes are repeated in Groundhog Day-esque fashion. It’s time to abandon linear thinking! It’s time to loop back. We look forward to your creative interpretation of this theme!

For more information check out our full schedule at http://www.somervilleartscouncil.org/artbeat/2015/schedule

Presented by the Somerville Arts Council and Mayer Joseph A. Curatone.