UPDATE (10:45 am): The outdoor events planned for 2023 Newtown Arts Festival have been canceled due to the impending weather forecast, according to the Newtown Arts Festival Committee. The two concerts (Red Matter tonight, Flagpole Radio Cafe with Loudon Wainwright III tomorrow night) will go on as planned.

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Planning for the 2023 Newtown Arts Festival has been pretty much underway since the gates closed on last year’s multiple day event at Fairfield Hills. Newtown Cultural Arts Commission is about to raise the curtain on 2½ concentrated days of music, artisans, dance, literature, arts and crafts, and other audience-interactive activities.

Arts Festival events opened this week with a pair of play readings at Newtown Meeting House. Works by Dean Alexander were featured on September 19, and then Morgana Kate Watson’s writing was in the spotlight on September 21.

Red Matter, a Greenwich-based band that “combines cosmic jams, Americana song writing and Grace Slick style vocals,” will headline a concert on Friday, September 22, on the grounds of Fairfield Hills to mark the beginning of the 11th Newtown Arts Festival weekend.

The concert will begin at 7 pm.

Tickets are $25 and available through newtownartsfestival.com.

The Arts Festival Wine and Beer Garden will be open during the concert. As in the past, guests will be able to take their wine or beer and sit at the concert. Food trucks will also be on-site.

Outside food or beverages will not be allowed.

Arts Festival Weekend

The 2023 Newtown Arts Festival will then continue Saturday and Sunday, September 23-24, 11 am to 5 pm rain or shine both days. Entrance will be at the corner of Trades Lane and DG Beers Boulevard, near the main entrance of the Fairfield Hills campus, Wasserman Way at Trades Lane.

More than 75 artisans, from wood turning and jewelry to jams and jellies, will be in the center of the Arts Festival, spread out over the playing fields of the Town-owned campus.

Tickets for the two-day festival are $5, payable at the gate or online now at newtownartsfestival.com. Children under age 5 are admitted free.

Cash, credit, and debit cards will all be accepted at the gate; online payment is through credit and debit cards only.

Parking is available at nearby Reed Intermediate School, opposite the main entrance to the campus.

Handicapped parking is available within Fairfield Hills.

Those planning to attend should note that while humans of all ages are encouraged at the festival, canines are not allowed within the festival. Service animals only will be granted access.

Sponsored by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, proceeds of the art festival funds scholarships for Newtown residents who are graduating high school seniors and grants for Newtown artists and organizations that bring the arts to Newtown.

For full details visit newtownartsfestival.com.

Flagpole Radio Café With Wainwright

In addition to the events at Fairfield Hills, The Flagpole Radio Café is scheduled to return to the stage this weekend for a full show. For the first time, the special event is also a 2023 Newtown Arts Festival event.

The popular music and comedy event is planned for Saturday, September 23, at 7 pm, at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street.

Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Loudon Wainwright III will be the special guest.

The regular ensemble hosting Wainwright for the evening comprises musicians Jim Allyn, Rick Brodsky, Howie Carlough, Cadence Carroll, Chris Durham, and Francine Wheeler — a/k/a The Flagpole Radio Orchestra — and actors Martin Blanco, Barbara Gaines, Kate Katcher, and David Wheeler as The Flagpole Radio Ensemble.

(Read more here: Flagpole Radio Café Joining Arts Fest, Hosting Grammy Winning Wainwright)

Tickets are $45 and available through flagpoleproductions.org.