AUBURN — A downtown arts festival could benefit from a few more months of planning, according to Auburn Economic Development Specialist Alan Manoian.
Manoian said he and an organizing committee have agreed to schedule an arts and culture festival for May 2015 instead of October. It gives galleries, arts and performers more time to plan for the event, he said.
“There were so many people who wanted to be a part of this, but their schedules and other commitments made it so they couldn’t,” Manoian said. “A lot of people agree that this is important, that it’s a kind of event people have been waiting for. That’s the message I’ve been getting.”
It might also let the festival expand to include Lewiston. It was originally planned to be along Auburn’s Main and Festival Plaza riverfront.
“This may go beyond downtown Auburn, which would be wonderful,” Manoian said.
Manoian first began talking in July about creating a festival to “celebrate the expression and experience of our city’s human story through glorious visual art, sculpture, poetry, theatrical performance, architecture, and engaging panel discussions.”
Stages would be set up on both sides of Main Street, in front of business and around Festival Plaza — with the tunnel between Main Street and the Androscoggin River just south of the entrance to Gritty McDuff’s serving as a Poetry Alley.
The festival would also offer walking tours around the area highlighting history and the downtown’s architecture. Boating tours along the river could be part of the festival, as well.
He’s met several times with arts group representatives, artists, gallery owners and performers this summer to help organize the festival.
“The potential here is extraordinary,” Manoian said. “That’s why we decided to hold off, bring a strong committee together to work this through to do a springtime event that I think could be one of the biggest and finest in Maine.”
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