Elevate the Arts Fest by Jim Murphy.
Arts Alive is excited to host their third annual outdoor community arts festival and fundraiser, Elevate the Arts Fest, on Sunday, August 11th from 11AM-4PM. The event will be held rain or shine in the Commercial Street lot on Gilbo Ave. in downtown Keene.
An afternoon full of artists, arts activities, performers, games, and music, Elevate the Arts Fest represents Arts Alive’s mission of increasing access to art, culture, and creativity as a human right. Admission and all activities are free, enabling attendees to support local artists at the arts market and Arts Alive at the raffle fundraiser.
An arts market with over 20 vendors will offer a variety of creations to peruse, ranging from handmade jewelry, ceramics, and artwork to screen-printed skateboards, honey, cookies, and wood crafts. 17ROX Artist Studios, based in downtown Keene, organizes the market. Each vendor has an item in the raffle that festival-goers can enter to win.
One of the awesome local makers at our artisan market! Photo by Jim Murphy.
Live music starts at 11AM with local band Touch the Ocean, who will then host an open mic. Musicians and performers will be sharing their work in 10-minute sets until 2PM. At 3PM, the headliner, internationally performing group Theo Martey & The Akwaaba Ensemble, will give a 45-minute performance of traditional west African drumming, dancing, and music. Other performers include Doug the Devil Stick Man, who will take a pause from making balloon animals to engage visitors with a street performance at 2:30. All the while, puppet performers from Sandglass Theater will roam the festival. Monadnock Media Group will also be broadcasting live from the event.
Theo Martey and The Awkwaaba Ensemble! Photo courtesy of akwaabaensemble.com.
Throughout the festival, arts activities with demo artists will be available to engage the creative senses of all ages. These activities include community mural painting, DIY terrariums, a WakaDoodles art area, bouquet-making with dried flowers, face painting, origami, and juggling balls with Flying Gravity Circus. Giant games of checkers, chess, connect four, and cornhole will also be available for everyone to enjoy. Food vendors will be available throughout the day: Yahso Jamaican Grille will offer tasty Jamaican cuisine, Toasty Buns will have their signature hot dogs, Frisky Cow Gelato will provide ice cream, and Shaken not Stirred will offer the summertime classic lemonade. Through this festival, Arts Alive aims to raise funds to continue the organization’s mission of supporting the arts and local artists and arts organizations. Tickets for the raffle fundraiser will be available for purchase throughout the day. Prizes donated by local businesses, arts organizations, and artists will be available to win and enjoy. The raffle drawing will be held at 4PM.
Josh Greenwald left, Nicole Colson right, Renee Monteil center volunteering at the raffle table. Photo by Jim Murphy.
Elevate the Arts Fest is a volunteer-organized event for the community. Any enthusiastic volunteers are invited to help with setting up or cleaning up the day of the festival. Find more information at monadnockartsalive.org/elevate-the-arts-fest.
Arts Alive is grateful to the 2024 event’s sponsors: The Putnam Foundation, Belletetes, Savings Bank of Walpole, Mascoma Bank, Fairfield’s Auto Group, Brewbakers Cafe, Stripe-It-Seal-It, Monadnock Media Group, Indian King Framery, Aloha Keene, 17ROX Artist Studios, and The Production House.
