PVDFest staging a downtown comeback in June 2022

PROVIDENCE – PVDFest, the annual citywide arts celebration, is planning for a full comeback to the city’s downtown in June.

PVDFest has been significantly modified over the last two years due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday organizers announced they expect to bring the free outdoor arts festival back into the city June 10-12. The event, put on by Mayor Jorge O. Elorza, FirstWorks, the Providence City Council and the Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism, is slated to bring artists and performers from around the world back into downtown Providence for the first time since 2019.

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This year, as part of a limited return, multiple PVDFest Happenings events showcased public arts projects and performances, including shows at Roger Williams Park. Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism Director Stephanie Fortunato told Providence Business News the PVDFest Happenings were very successful bringing artists into various parks and neighborhoods in the city.

However, Fortunato said event organizers are looking to have PVDFest return to a “more traditional model” of having all its events back downtown.

“There’s been a lot of pent-up need for something like this,” Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism spokesperson Timothy Rondeau said.

FirstWorks Executive Artistic Director Kathleen Pletcher said the organizers will have the advantage of being outside in June for the event to take place in the city.

Before the pandemic hit, PVDFest attracted more than 100,000 individuals to downtown. In addition to canceling the 2020 event, organizers also had to cancel the downtown “Party in Providence” that was scheduled for Sept. 25-26 due to concerns about the delta variant at the time.

Fortunato said the community, since the pandemic started, learned how to have safe public outdoor gatherings, including gathering for the return of WaterFire this past summer. She said her department is currently working with events putting together COVID-19 mitigation plans and making recommendations about how to adhere to public health guidelines while still enjoying a large gathering.

It’s unclear what specific health measures will be in place for PVDFest. Both Pletcher and Fortunato said the department will be watching the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines closely through the upcoming months until June, and modifying any plans the organizers have for the festival as the health crisis evolves.

“We will be responding in kind,” Fortunato said. Rondeau also said the organizers are encouraging the public to get vaccinated – including boosters – now and wear masks, if needed, for the event to return to form.

Calls for artists, such as musicians, dancers and other performing artists, looking to participate in PVDFest opened Monday, Fortunato said. Interested artists, as well as food vendors and volunteers, can inquire with PVDFest online.

Fortunato said organizers are looking to create a “multidisciplinary festival” and “transform the experience” of downtown Providence.

Pletcher said opening the portal for artists now will give people time to think about how they can bring their energy and talents to PVDFest.

“We take parking lots, streets, public plazas … and turn them into stages,” Fortunato said. “We’ll be looking to do that once again. I think with a three-day festival, there will be an opportunity to engage as many artists as we have in the past.”

Added Pletcher: “The idea is [for artists to bring] outstanding creative expression, traditional culture, whatever helps our audience and community being invigorated through the arts.”

(UPDATES throughout with comment from Pletcher.)

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.