The fourth annual Newtown Arts Festival continued its month-long celebration of events and performances last weekend with the Rooster Ball Dinner & Dance on Friday, September 18, and its original event — a two-day outdoors festival — on Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20. Both were presented on the Fairfield Hills Campus.

The Newtown Arts Festival is sponsored by the Newtown Cultural Arts Commission.

“Tonight is the kickoff of our signature event, the Newtown Arts Festival,” said Festival Director and Chair Terry Sagedy at the Rooster Ball Dinner & Dance on Friday, as attendees gathered under the main tent set up for the weekend.

Mr Sagedy explained this was the third year the Rooster Ball Dinner & Dance was held, and the night included a 50/50 raffle and auctioning an original artwork, “Making Music,” by resident and artist Tracy Van Buskirk. The linoleum block print had been selected in January by the town’s arts commission to serve as the logo for the 2015 arts festival events.

Guests mingled under the tent for the Rooster Ball Dinner & Dance before dinner and dancing began.

Saturday morning, Newtown Arts Festival Live Entertainment Committee Chair Robert Rabinowitz announced the start of the outdoor festival, directing early event goers to different tents and areas for events and performances throughout the day.

In the Poetry Salon tent, First Selectman Pat Llodra was called upon to announce and introduce Newtown’s first Poet Laureate.

Mrs Llodra explained that Newtown Cultural Arts Commission had been tasked recently with appointing a poet laureate.

“I am absolutely thrilled we are here today to announce [Newtown’s first Poet Laureate],” Mrs Llodra said, before naming Lisa Schwartz as the poet laureate.

When Ms Schwartz spoke, she said Newtown joins another eight towns in the state with poet laureates.

“This is a job I take enormous pride in assuming,” said Ms Schwartz before she read a poem, “Homage to Art,” she wrote for the occasion. (See related press release, “Schwartz Named Inaugural Newtown Poet Laureate,” which is accompanied by Ms Schwartz’s poem.)

Mrs Schwartz said being Newtown’s Poet Laureate means being an ambassador of the arts.

Mrs Llodra suggested having the inaugural poem written by Newtown’s first Poet Laureate be put on display, adding Newtown has many other notable poets and artists, like Mark Aldrich, who was in attendance at the event.

“What a great kickoff this has been today,” Mrs Llodra said.

Vendors were already set up by the time the Poet Laureate announcement was made on Saturday, and people were already milling around, buying handcrafted items and learning about different local organizations, schools, and groups at booths.

Music performances on Saturday and Sunday included the Mad Hatter Chorus, Americana group My Dad’s Truck, rock group Father Nelson and the Backsliders, and jazz group Grupo Los Santos, the Newtown High School band and the NHS Singers, the rock group Darkest Shade, rock group Off the Hook, and rock/fusion group S-Curl Accident.

Dance performances were offered throughout the weekend by Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet, The Graceful Planet, Lathrop School of Dance, Sabrina’s Encore Productions and the Lisa Mennilli Dance Academy, Dance Etc., the NHS Community Performance Troupe, Pilobolus, Connecticut Dance, Gray School of Irish Dance, NewArts Newtown Musicals, and Vitti’s Dance Studio Ballroom and Latin Dance, according to the Newtown Arts Festival schedule.

Lantern making was featured in one tent on Saturday, and an inaugural Newtown Lantern Parade was held during the evening featuring handmade lanterns made earlier in the day as well as during special events held in previous weekends. The parade began at the baseball field on Mile Hill South and proceeded along the new trail to the arts festival grounds.

According to the Newtown Arts Festival schedule the Society of Creative Arts of Newtown (SCAN) featured still life painting on Sunday by members of the group, along with progressive painting for the public to participate in and an experimental arts demonstration.

Other activities during the festival, according to the arts festival website, included demonstrations and instruction on knitting and tatting by Stefanie Lagana, and different booths offered an array of activities.

“Every year the festival gets bigger and better— more participation from community art groups, more volunteers, more attendees, and more events,” Mr Rabinowitz said September 21, following the outdoor festival weekend.

Each event throughout the month-long Newtown Arts Festival has been well attended according to Mr Rabinowitz.

“The outdoor festival itself is only $5 for adults (children 12 and under free), and I don’t know where you can get more cultural events and arts activities and performance for only $5,” said Mr Rabinowitz, “from all the local dance companies plus Pilobolus to top local bands to top New York City bands, like Grupo Los Santos, to the entire NHS marching band and the NHS Singers,  from published poets and writers and playwrights, top classical ensembles, amazing vendors, and amazing food.”

While Mr Rabinowitz said the outdoor festival is the biggest part of the entire Newtown Arts Festival, he reiterated it is still just a part of the month-long celebration of the arts.

“I think events like this one show us all how important and valuable the arts are to each and every one of us. They define us as human beings,” Mr Rabinowitz said.

Festival Events Continue

Newtown Friends of Music will host a performance by the Grammy-winning Ying Quartet, with guest pianist Eleanor Freer, on Sunday, September 27, at 3 pm, at Edmond Town Hall.

The first concert of the NFoM 2015-15 season, the program for September 27 is expected to include works of Schubert, Childs and Schumann.

Tickets are $25, with those ages 5-18 admitted free with a ticket-holding adult. Season tickets and additional information are available at newtownfriendsofmusic.org or by calling 203-426-6470.

In a new collaboration with Garner Correctional Institution, a reading of the play Menace by Marquise will take place in the lower meeting room of Town Hall South, 3 Main Street, on Wednesday, September 30, beginning at 7 pm. Admission is free, but reservations are requested at NewtownArtsFestival.com/events. Beth Young of Newtown will direct the reading.

Town Players of Newtown’s production of Bus Stop also continues performances on Friday, September 25, and Saturday, September 26, at The Little Theatre, 18 Orchard Hill Road.

Tickets are $22 for the performances, which have an 8 pm curtain, and $10 for ages 10 and under. Call 203-270-9144 or visit newtownplayers.org for reservations, directions to the theater, and additional information.

This article was updated to reflect an art exhibition listing that was never mounted.