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To the editor:
My sincere thanks to our community for the unprecedented turnout at the 60th Marblehead Festival of Arts. The energy throughout the four-day celebration was inspiring to everyone who attended and visited our beautiful town.
A heartfelt thank-you goes to the hundreds of volunteers who gave their time and talents to make the festival a success. You are the backbone of this event, and it simply would not happen without your dedication, enthusiasm and countless hours of service.
I am deeply grateful to the Select Board and Administrative Aid Kyle Wiley for granting the use of town property and to Police Chief Dennis King for approving the race route and helping coordinate the logistics of our events. And the Fire Department emergency medical technicians for their constant readiness and help. Thanks also goes to the Recreation and Parks Department and the School Department for all of their help during the festival. And a special thanks to all the churches and the MAA for once again having us as guests to show off the art of Essex County.
Special thanks also to Bill Smalley and his hardworking facilities team, who somehow managed the constant juggling of tents, tables, chairs and countless other details throughout the festival — and then tackled the cleanup afterward.
Our 60th festival introduced several exciting new events that were met with tremendous enthusiasm. Meghan Perlow’s Speed Puzzling Competition was an instant success, while the iPhone photography and iPad design classes, along with Tom Saltzman’s presentation on his famous Halloween displays, coordinated by Jim Murphy, all sold out.
The festival officially kicked off with the 5K/10K Road Race, co-chaired by Stacey Faris, Joan Klemm and Kathy Wilder. The kickoff continued with a record-setting Champagne Reception the following weekend. My thanks to Chris Buchanan and his team for hosting such a wonderful evening.
Our exhibits, chaired by Meghan Perlow, enjoyed record-breaking attendance and artwork sales. My sincere thanks to all of the exhibit chairs and volunteers who worked tirelessly to set up, judge, staff and dismantle these events.
The Artisans’ Marketplace, co-chaired by Susan Schrader and Sally Marcy, welcomed more artists than ever before and successfully expanded to a three-day event. The participating artists were thrilled with both the attendance and their sales. Performing Arts at Crocker Park, led by Brian Wheeler, drew record crowds who enjoyed an outstanding lineup of performers. Thank you to Brian and his entire team for creating such memorable evenings by the harbor, and it was a treat to see Brian perform on stage.
The Literary Festival expanded with many outstanding new programs under the leadership of Margo Steiner and her committee, and the Film Festival made a successful return thanks to Terry Steimer. We are especially grateful to the Warwick Theater for generously hosting this year’s Film Festival. Live theater was brought back this year with the production of Brian Friel’s “Afterplay.” All three of these events were also very well attended.
The Children’s Festival welcomed more than 400 attendees and was beautifully organized by first-year chair Jessica Norton. Doug Park and Russ Wells also did an outstanding job leading the Boat Building and Regatta, which earned rave reviews from participants and spectators alike.
Other popular events that took place was Silent Book Reading, co-chairs Alessandra Donovan and Xhazzi Kindle, and Festival Fitness sponsored by Form 01945 that had 90 attendees!
Thanks to the Chamber Music Players under the direction of Julie Earp, who entertained us throughout the festival with some wonderful “artistic” music to go along with the magnificent art displayed.
Thanks to Barbara Dillingham, who seamlessly managed the info booth, and Paula Reynolds and Caron Weiner, who co-chaired the logo store. The Cod and Whale auction was a big success this year as well as the auction of donated framed logos in honor of Edward Joseph Robinson, who was an avid fan of the festival.
And a special thanks to Jessica Briggs, chair of creative services, who designed the new 60th program book and logo poster.
We are sorry that we had to cancel the Street Festival, chaired by Dave Kinney and Kiki Taron Kinney, but we felt that we needed to protect the health and safety of the performers and volunteers due to the heat. The Street Festival looks forward to returning next year.
As I reflect on this milestone 60th festival, I am filled with gratitude that everything came together so beautifully. Thank you to our remarkable board and back-end contributors whose dedication, teamwork, creativity and countless volunteer hours contributed to make this festival possible.
I truly could not have managed the enormous undertaking that is the Marblehead Festival of Arts without them by my side. If you see them around town, please give them a well-deserved high five.
Jim Murphy — vice president
Joe Tavano — vice president, marketing, communications and fundraising
Susan Summers — secretary
Kathy Hempel — treasurer
Bill Smalley — facilities, logo contest and premiere
Meghan Perlow — arts and exhibits
Chris Buchanan — Champagne Reception
Ed Lewis — information technology and technical support
Ellen Garvey — information technology and technical support
Roger Cowles — information technology and technical support
Jessica Briggs — creative services
With heartfelt gratitude and appreciation,
Cynda Rohmer
The letter writer is the president of the Marblehead Festival of Arts.
