The 27th Cambridge River Festival celebrates the Charles River

Cambridge (Massachusetts), USA – Ideally located along a serpentine swath of the Charles River,
the 27th Cambridge River Festival returns on Saturday June 17th, from 12
Noon-6pm, to honor the flourishing arts and cultural community of this diverse
city. The festival takes place along a mile-long stretch of
Memorial Drive between JFK Street (three blocks from the Harvard Square subway
station) and Western Avenue. Sponsored by the Cambridge Arts Council, this
spirited festival spotlights musical and artistic talents, a creative and
playful Kids Area, as well as its famed International Bazaar and vendors
offering a wide-ranging selection of food from around the world.
This event is free and held rain or shine.Nationally known and local musical performers from jazz, folk, gospel, Latin and
world music will grace three music stages.

Passim Stage – By the Weeks Footbridge at DeWolfe Street

Performers selected by the Passim Folk Music & Cultural Center. Since 1958, Club
Passim has entertained a diverse audience in its efforts to cultivate and
preserve folk music. Club Passim helped launch the careers of musicians such as
Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Ritchie Havens, and many others. Hosted by Naomi Arenberg
and Brendan Hogan, WGBH Radio.

12 Noon Silver Leaf Gospel Singers Soulful gospel music

1pm Anne Heaton Band Pop sensibility with piano and vocals

2pm Jake Armerding Folk, bluegrass, classical, and pop

3pm Kenny White Band Piano-based melodic rock

4pm & 5pm Session Americana Traditional American blues, country, rock, and folk
& friends with surprise guest artists

Regattabar Stage – By the Weld Boathouse at JFK Street

Performers selected by the Regattabar located at the Charles Hotel in the heart
of Harvard Square. Since opening in January 1985, Regattabar has been a leading
jazz club in New England. Hosted by Eric Jackson, WGBH Radio.

12 Noon & Edmar Castaneda Trio Colombian harpist weaves a hybrid style of Jazz

3pm and South American music

1pm Boston Horns Infectious rhythms of funk, jazz, and world beat
and New Orleans masterpieces

2pm Somi New African Soul – Jazz music infused with
soul, African folk, and urban grooves

4pm Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey Post-modern Jazz trio influenced by
indie rock, electronic music, and pop

5pm Entrain Rock, blues, calypso, ska, zydeco, jazz, and funk
from the eclectic sextet from Martha’s Vineyard

The Revolve Stage – Corporal Burns Park on Flagg Street

The third stage will send voices soaring with an outstanding array of local
opera, choral, and gospel groups.

The City Formerly Known As Cambridge

The Institute for Infinitely Small Things, a collaboration of local artists,
will hold a series of renaming expeditions of streets, neighborhoods, and parks
in each of Cambridge’s 13 neighborhoods, before, during, and after the festival.
This project will study the economic, political, and cultural interests that
inspire place names, resulting in the publication of a new map, The City
Formerly Known As Cambridge. Community input gathered in the first three
research expeditions will be displayed at the Mobile Mapping Studio by the Weeks
Footbridge.

Make Your Own

The Kids Area offers children (and adults!) the opportunity to create their own
puppets at the Puppet Factory. The award winning improvisational group,
ImprovBoston will coach kids in Puppet Karaoke, a chance to try out their new
creations in playful theater games. Real life musicians from the group Uncle
Monsterface will sing “a sock-puppet-quirk-rock” opera for children of all ages.
The puppets (and their creators) can join the Grand Puppet Parade at 5:00 p.m.
Also featured at the Pup Tent, Will Stackman’s Punch & Judy Show and Great Small
Works’ Lyzer the Miser.

Rolling Along the River

At 12 Noon, a half-mile bicycle ride will begin at Herter Park on the Boston
side of the Charles River, and end with a parade at the festival. The street
band Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society will lead the parade from JFK
Street to Flagg Street on Memorial Drive. The ride is organized by Hub on
Wheels, a program that increases public awareness and the appreciation of
cycling by involving children and their parents in the healthy activity of
bicycle riding. Following the bike parade, Hub on Wheels will host an
informational table to answer questions about bicycle safety. For information
about how to participate in the bike ride, visit their website at
www.hubonwheels.org.

Exotic Shopping and Dining

The ever-popular International Bazaar and World of Food will feature over 100
vendors this year, selling ethnic foods, paintings, sculptures, ceramics,
pottery, jewelry, woodwork, photography, and metalwork.

The Cambridge River Festival, an annual event since 1974, happens each year with
the generous funding of donors and sponsors. For the third year, Novartis
Institutes of Biomedical Research is the lead sponsor for the festival —
continuous support since they arrived in Cambridge in 2003. Media Sponsor WGBH
89.7: Boston’s NPR Arts and Culture Station will host the music stages. The
employee-directed foundation of Draper Laboratory has renewed their sponsorship
for a second year, as has Bank of America and Dunkin’ Donuts. New sponsors in
2006 are The Boston Globe, Pam Grilling Spray, AARP Magazine, Poland Spring,
PowerBar and Zoe Foods.

Website: www.cambridgeartscouncil.org.