Middletown to host one-day arts and music festival: How to go

Visitors from across southwest Ohio will encounter a variety of arts experiences during the one-day Port Middletown Arts and Music Festival in downtown Middletown on Saturday.

“An event like this is vital for the city because it provides an opportunity for us to present our downtown to the broader Southwest Ohio region, and there are ongoing improvements occurring in downtown Middletown,” said Jeff Payne, executive director of Downtown Middletown Inc.

The festival will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown Middletown. It is free and open to the public.

“We will be opening up the town for everyone to come and enjoy,” Payne said.

John Ferrando, event coordinator and owner of Haute Fusion Glass Studio & Gallery in downtown Middletown, began spearheading the event in 2019, and it moved to Central Avenue. The festival wasn’t held in 2020 or 2021 due to COVID-19. This year, the event will largely run along Broad Street (from Central to Manchester.) Broad Street will be closed to traffic.

“I have a passion for art,” Ferrando said. “It’s what I do for a living, and I have a passion for this community. I really feel that the arts, culture and the heritage in this community play a key part in the sustainability and the revitalization of what we’re already going through in downtown, and I think that the heart of that is the arts. I believe that a lot can grow from a rich arts community. I’ve seen it firsthand as an artist that’s participated in many other area festivals in other communities.”

The festival will offer a total arts experience that aims to promote, encourage, educate and develop a public and personal appreciation of the arts, culture and heritage within the region. As many as 3,000 guests have attended the arts festival in the past.

“I don’t want this to be where you’re just walking around from one tent to the next. There are tons of art festivals around our region that focus on lining their streets with vendors, and then, lining the streets with people to come and buy art,” Ferrando said. “I want this to be more of an interactive, immersive, regional experience, where we are celebrating the arts through all five senses.”

There’s a celebration of culinary arts, and also an art of fashion, which might incorporate small businesses downtown that are boutiques. The celebration of sound will bring in live musical performances that are diverse, including jazz, country and classical.

“I want all the various forms of art to be an immersive experience. Not just something where you’re walking around and observing with your eyes, or visual art,” Ferrando said.

There will be a 3-D chalk muralist. Guests can come and interact with the chalk murals throughout the day and take Instagram-ready photos.

Port Middletown Arts and Music Festival has partnered with Arthur “Hakim” Stokes of TAJE Music Entertainment to provide live music for the event. There will be two stages with live music on the Governor’s Square Stage and on the Courtyard Stage.

“When you get a crowd for a festival for a day, you try to give them as much variety as you can…There’s something for everybody,” Stokes said. “Everyone loves music.”

Other highlights will include an open house at Middletown Historical Society as part of a statewide initiative to host open houses at historical societies. The Middletown Art Center will have the “2022 Photography & Digital Art Competition and Exhibit” and “The Bold Colors of A.S. Murrill” exhibitions on display. MidPointe Library Middletown will have the bookmobile and free, family-friendly activities on Donham Plaza. Many of the artists will have artwork and handcrafted items for sale. All the downtown businesses will be open.

In conjunction with the Port Middletown Arts and Music Festival, the Sorg Opera House will host the Sorg Shakedown Market 2 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., outside in the parking lot at the Sorg, along with a paid/ticketed, indoor concert with Terrapin Flyer at 8 p.m. There will also be building tours throughout the day. The Sorg is within walking distance of the Port Middletown Arts and Music Festival.

How to go

What: Port Middletown Arts and Music Festival

When: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday

Where: Downtown Middletown

Cost: Free. Items are available for purchase from artists, food and beverage vendors.

More info: www.downtownmiddletown.org. For questions or more information, email portmiddletownartsfestival@gmail.com or check out the Port Middletown Arts and Music Festival on Facebook.

Governor’s Square Stage Performances:

Evan Fiehrer 11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Scott Houchens Band noon – 12:45 p.m.

Noele Williams 1:15 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Rick George 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.

Nite Owl Blues Band 3:45 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

LYD Band (Live Your Dream) 5 p.m. – 6 p.m.

Courtyard Stage:

Noele Williams 11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Rick George noon – 12:45 p.m.

Evan Fiehrer 1:15 p.m. – 2 p.m.

Scott Houchens Band 2:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m.