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RiverWalk fest: Beautiful art in a beautiful setting
The following bands will perform at Saturday’s RiverWalk Arts Festival in New Castle, Pa.:
Noon-1 p.m.: Dante DiThomas Swing Band 1-2 p.m.: New Castle Playhouse Mini Stars 2-3 p.m.: Dixieland Band 3-5 p.m.: Sweaty Betty Blues Band 5-6 p.m.: Ken Stuart Group 6-7 p.m.: Hard Candy 7- 9 p.m.: The Second Avenue Band
For more information, call Bernie Frank at 724-758-2818.
By REBECCA SLOAN
NEW CASTLE, Pa.
The city’s scenic riverside will bustle with creative genius Saturday during the first RiverWalk Arts Festival. The festival, which begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m., will feature local artists demonstrating their skills and peddling their wares.
Sculptors, painters, wood carvers and more will fashion beautiful creations for onlookers while encouraging appreciation for the arts.
Festival coordinator Lori R. DeJohn said the event was initiated by local art lovers who want to bring the community together.
“This is an opportunity for children, parents, grandparents and friends to come together to gain appreciation of various mediums — oils, watercolors, photography, clay, wood, metals and more,” DeJohn said.
Acrylics, candles, ceramics, pastels, oils, jewelry, graphic art, fiber art, photography, pottery, sculpture and wooden art will be displayed and sold.
Local churches and entrepreneurs also will share their talents by preparing ethnic food that represents the heart of the New Castle community.
DeJohn called the newly designed RiverWalk in downtown New Castle the perfect setting for this array of talent.
“Those who haven’t seen it will be amazed at the beauty and innovation of the design, which makes it perfect for a display of art, music or peaceful relaxation,” she said.
The RiverWalk is in the vicinity of 240 E. Washington St. and is part of a downtown revitalization project that began in 2002 and was funded through a state grant.
The RiverWalk provides pedestrians with easy access to downtown shopping and entertainment while allowing them to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Shenango River and Neshannock Creek, which meander through the heart of the city.
The RiverWalk Arts Festival is free, and no tickets are required.
New Castle Mayor Tony Mastrangelo helped spearhead the event.
Mastrangelo was originally from New Castle but spent most of his adult career in Chicago, where he and his artist wife, Lorri, were very active in the Chicago art community.
Lorri Mastrangelo died of cancer shortly after her husband was elected New Castle mayor.
Mastrangelo and Rocky Medure, a prominent New Castle developer and entrepreneur, agreed an art appreciation event in memory of Lorri would be ideal. Her paintings will be displayed.
Photographs by the mayor’s son, Eric, also will be displayed during the festival.
Besides encouraging art appreciation, DeJohn hopes Saturday’s event will help deflect New Castle’s negative publicity.
“We feel that recent stories originating from New Castle residents do not show what a wonderful community we have,” DeJohn said. “The people of New Castle come from very strong ethnic roots and resent current news stories which demean the efforts of our ancestors.”
The art event is an opportunity to introduce the real New Castle to surrounding communities and put to rest the notion that our community is comprised mostly of the unwelcomed negative news stories.”
Saturday’s festival also includes live entertainment.