This weekend will be one big celebration for Newton as the city is treated to both a carnival and an arts festival.
The Linda Plaut Festival for the Arts will be held all weekend, from Friday evening to Sunday evening. And on Saturday and Sunday, the city is hosting its annual carnival at City Hall.
It seems impossible to predict the weather these days, but as of Thursday, Saturday and Sunday look looks they’ll be cool with a slight chance of rain.
Friday, May 17
From 6 to 7:30 p.m., the Linda Plaut Festival for the Arts kicks off with a Newton Family Singers American folk and pop music concert at Second Church in Newton, 60 Highland St., West Newton.
Saturday, May 18
From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the city will host its annual City Carnival (FunFEST) outside Newton City Hall. There will be games, live mural painting, crafts, live music and more. The carnival will be followed by a performance of “Pinocchio” by the Commonwealth Lyric Theater. Admission is free, and if you can’t make the carnival on Saturday, don’t worry. It’s also being held all day Sunday.
From 4 to 7:30 p.m., the Linda Plaut Festival for the Arts continues with “Spoken Word: Amanda Shea & Grey Held,” at the Allen Center. Shea has hosted BAMSFest and many poetry events, and she’s led youth workshops in spoken word, visual arts, and public speaking. Held, who’s had three poetry books published, is an NEA Fellow in Creative Writing and won the 2019 Future Cycle Poetry Book Prize. He also works with Newton arts organizations to direct projects that connect poets with wider audiences. There’ll be three other performances, too.
Sunday, May 19
From 2 to 6:30 p.m., the Linda Plaut Festival for the Arts continues at the Hyde in Newton Highlands with a concert by Dennis Montgomery III and Pleasant Praise. Montgomery, who grew up singing and playing piano in Baptist churches in Louisiana before heading to Berklee in 1983. Come and also hear Opera, Broadway, Soul, and more. If it’s too wet, performers will move indoors.
The Festival concludes with a concert by Thaddeus Hogarth, a celebrated guitarist, vocalist, harmonica player, songwriter and educator whose music is influenced by funk, blues, R&B and rock.