As part of the East End development being planned by Community Action Organization of Scioto County (CAO), the East End Revitalization Partnership, a committee with some of those development focus areas in mind, is ready to welcome guests to the first East End Arts Festival at Earlytown Park at Labold Field, formerly Buckeye Park, directly across from Spartan Stadium on Williams Street.
The festival is a celebration of art for the East End community, which otherwise only has one other annual celebration, the Fourth of July event hosted by Friends of Portsmouth. The event is aiming to provide an opportunity for the community to gather and celebrate the culture of the East End, art, history and recent progress, and future development.
“I grew up in the East End and I can say there isn’t enough there for kids to do, there aren’t enough events and reasons to celebrate,” CAO Business and Community Development Manager Joseph Pratt said. “This is the first step in remedying that problem by bringing the community together over music and art while celebrating the East End.”
The highlight of the event is a concert series featuring the talents of three largely popular bands, poetry by local writers, a street art display and street art inspired face tattoos, food trucks and vendors, and more.
The music will feature LuvDisk at 3:30 p.m.; Mikey Mike and the Big Unit at 5 p.m.; and Shane Runion Band at 6:30 p.m.
Poetry will be read at 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 6 p.m.
Portsmouth Street Art Project will have live art displays of people painting in real time, as well as face painting tattoos in the style of street art.
Food trucks and vendors will showcase a multitude of offerings across food, art, and other items.
The committee will be available to discuss the future development of the park and have new East End t-shirts on display. The shirts, designed by North Shore Printing, feature a collection of imagery that represents the community designed by local artists.
The event is made possible, thanks to the Ohio Arts Council. Additional support came from Bernita Corporation, Boneyfiddle Project, and the City of Portsmouth
“We’ve been working on a plethora of developments for the East End, including housing, parks, and more. It has been a lot of work, but we’re starting to see progress. “We have big news when it comes to housing soon,” Pratt said. “We have already received the playground equipment, but we still have a lot more to do. We are excited to talk about these projects over art and music and the wonderful East End community. This arts festival is the start of something great for the East End, a spark to ignite their excitement for their community, and I appreciate the Ohio Arts Council for supporting our endeavor, as well as Bernita Corporation.”
Community Action Organization of Scioto County is a 501©3 non-profit serving southern Ohio, primarily Scioto County, in a wide capacity. Through dozens of programs across five major departments, Workforce Solutions and Community Development, Early Childhood, Social Services, Energy Solutions, and WIC, the agency assists community members in nearly every need someone may have. If there isn’t an in-house program to support a need, then they have a partner they can refer. The agency is “helping people, changing lives” at 433 Third Street, Portsmouth. To learn more, call 740.354.7541. or visit www.caosciotocounty.org.
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