MIDDLETOWN, CT – When Rachel DeCavage, owner of Cinder + Salt, and other local businesses got together in 2021 to start Middletown Arts Fest, they wanted it to be a steady event for the Middletown community to enjoy during the summer.
“Middletown was a collaboration between various businesses, but we coordinate a lot of it here at Cinder + Salt,” DeCavage said. “It’s a collaboration between Middletown Framing, Middlesex Music Academy, Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet and Rani Arbo who works for Wesleyan.”
Middletown Arts Fest has two more vendor art events in 2023, one on Aug. 4, and the last event of the season is on Sept. 1. Both are from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and are free to attend.
Middletown Arts Fest started in 2021 and has gotten bigger throughout the years, DeCavage said.
“There are many more businesses involved; we had about 10 vendors in the first year. Now we have about 50,” she said. “All of our events have also grown. We now have a waitlist for performers. There’s a lot more engagement.”
As the Middletown Arts Fest becomes increasingly popular, DeCavage said they’ve started getting people and vendors from other cities and towns besides Middletown.
“We have had many people from New Haven and Yale students attend the arts fest, which is pretty cool,” she said.
There have already been two Middletown Arts Fest events, one on June 2 and the other on July 7.
“July was great, but we had a freak hailstorm in June,” DeCavage said. “We told people to go home because of the hail and lightning, so June was a bust.”
DeCavage said they are excited about the Middletown Arts Fest on Aug. 2 because it’s the most vendors they’ve had.
“Right now, we have 56 confirmed vendors for August, but we are working on a couple of different pockets to have more vendors because we’ve gotten more applications, and we don’t want to turn anyone down,” she said. “We have candle vendors, jewelry, ceramics and original artwork. We also have a couple of vendors who will be doing face painting and Henna.”
Middletown Arts Fest started when DeCavage connected with the ballet academy because they wanted to put up a stage, and she wanted to have a First Friday’s event or a Makers Market.
“We pulled in Middletown Framing because they used to show Middletown Art Walk,” she said. “So we decided to get together and make it a big thing.”
“We have gotten support from the city and the Downtown Business District, so we know everybody likes it to happen,” DeCavage added.
DeCavage said the mission of the Middletown Arts Fest is to get people to Main Street to engage with the arts.
Middletown Arts Fest is a collaborative effort. Cinder + Salt runs an open mic and an indie maker’s pricket, where about 40 vendors are set up to sell their wares. Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet coordinates performances on the stage, Middlesex Music Academy helps coordinate bands and performers around Main Street, and Middletown Framing handles visual arts and gallery showings.
“We each have a different role in getting all the arts to happen, and we all. Work together to get everyone on Main Street,” DeCavage said.
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