The unfortunate, but understandable news broke this week that the Rose Arts Festival would be canceled for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead of an article prepping for the upcoming fest, I want to share my Rose Arts Festival recollections. It’s time to reflect on the joy this event has brought to the Norwich community historically and in the present.
Credit: CS Marchand Photography
The famed Rose Arts Festival was revived in 2017. The initial run of the festival began in 1965. At its height, it was a week-long annual cultural tour de force in the Rose City. With music, an art show, parades, and other activities, it was an event that Norwichites looked forward to all year long. Growing up in Norwich in the 1980s, I have fond memories. (cover photo credit: Candice Flewharty)
Beginnings of my Rose Arts Festival Recollections
I attended my first ever concert at the Rose Arts Festival. It was Arlo Guthrie, with John Hartford as the opener. The year was 1987 and I was four years old. Later, somehow my dad was given a bootlegged copy of the show on cassette. Although it was the only concert I attended at the Rose Arts due to my young age, past performers of the festival include such heavyweights as Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, and Dr. John. I remember attending the art show yearly on Chelsea Parade, wandering through the maze of artists’ displays. What I recall most about the Rose Arts Festival was the Norwich pride, to have such a grand event right in our humble town. Remember–this was way before big headline acts were regularly playing southeastern Connecticut casinos.
Norwich Pride
When I heard that the Rose Arts Festival would be revived in 2017, after being dormant for 19 years, I was elated. With music, a display of the arts, and road race, Rose Arts was back! The return of Rose Arts coincides with a resurgence of Downtown Norwich and Norwich pride. As a kid, I heard stories about bustling downtown Norwich, when the stores stayed open late on Thursday evenings, and Christmas carols could be heard overhead during the holiday season. My personal recollection of downtown Norwich was vacant buildings and decay.
During my youth, downtown Norwich grew in fits and starts. The Liberty Tree Coffeeshop was such a cool place but only lasted a few years. The popular, Putts Up Dock mini golf closed after having succumbed to a fire.
No longer just some desolate streets to drive through, downtown Norwich is now a destination. The resurgence of Norwich includes a number of great spots to grab food and/or a beer, including These Guys Brewing Company, Epicure, Billy Wilson’s, and Namoo. Even outside of downtown spots, like Brick and Basil and Canggio, have changed Norwich from a culinary wasteland to a bright spot for a good meal in eastern Connecticut.
2018 Rose Arts Festival Recollections
In 2018, I was asked to partake in the festival. As an author, I shared a table at Rose Arts with my friend Andy Heist (Moonlight Photography, www.moonlight.photo). I sold my books and he sold prints of his photography. Although it was a brutally hot and humid day in late June, the event was truly exceptional.
As Andy and I unloaded our stuff to set up on that day in late June, my first impression was of passion–the passion that a large number of individuals, all volunteers, have for the event and this city. Out of the goodness of their own hearts and sacrificing copious amounts of time, they worked on creating this festival. The swarm of volunteers was setting up Chelsea Parade as the Larry Pontbriant Memorial Road Race was finishing.
Like a Reunion
Once Andy and I were set up, it was an all-day reunion. I am a proud Norwichite who lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts, currently. That day I witnessed the largest number of people I knew from Norwich since my high school graduation. From my first-grade soccer coach to individuals I met recently, writing for Norwich Magazine, the crowd ran the whole gamut of my Norwich connections.
It was truly fantastic personally to see all these faces. But of course, they weren’t there to see me. They were there to enjoy a day at the Rose Arts Festival, Norwich’s premier arts event! Jason Wallace, the music coordinator for Rose Arts, did a bang-up job picking the talent. The headliner, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, had the crowd up on their feet dancing.
The Rosebud parade, the Rose Court Competition, and other fun events showcased such strong community pride. The Rose Arts Festival continued throughout the evening in not only Norwich’s bars, but art galleries and restaurants, all used as music venues scattered throughout downtown.
2019 Rose Arts Festival Recollections
A year later, I shared a booth with my friend Andrew Burnett. Andrew is the owner of Drew’s Honeybees (www.drewshoneybees.com). Again, I sold my books and Andrew his skincare products such as lip and skin balms. By this time, the Rose Arts Committee had asked Andy if he would be one of the photographers for the event.
Coordinators Kelly August and Danielle Dubro did another amazing job at setting up the Rose Arts Festival in 2019. The sense of community pride was overwhelming. A line-up of food trucks included Norwich’s Canggio and Brick and Basil among the options. And the beer in the beer tent was Norwich’s own Epicure Brewing.
The festival headliner was Dumpstaphunk, an offshoot of the Neville Brothers. These guys play the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and here they were, bringing the funk (which they did) to Norwich, CT! In 2019, my son Danny was old enough to hang out with me for most of the festival. It was a joy shuttling him to all the events, including a kid’s play area, a mist tent, and the music stages to let him dance.
The Rose Arts Festival came full circle for me, as I remember being my son’s age wandering through the artists’ displays on the same Chelsea Parade some thirty-odd years earlier. The Rose Arts Festival is truly wonderful in its own right and even more so as the event showcases such pride in our underdog city. For the music alone, the Rose Arts Festival in 2019 turned out numbers in the thousands. With artists like Dumpstafunk, Will Evans, and Wright, the festival drew fans from all over.
A Look to the Future
Although the 2020 Rose Arts Festival is not going to happen, we can look forward to next year’s event and reflect on the past. For further information, make sure to keep apprised at www.roseartsfestival.com.
Looking for more places to visit in the Norwich area, try these Backyard Road Trips:
Zack,
Fortunately for me, your dad sent put a link to your Rose Arts post. Thanks for putting it together. It’s a nice piece of work. I’m long gone from Connecticut, but it must be in my blood, ’cause I still get a little tingle when I read something positive about the old stomping ground.
Stan Polanski
Thank you, glad to hear you enjoyed it!