BI Creative District hosts 1st festival

The new Bainbridge Creative District will host its inaugural Bridge Festival from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sept. 10 at Waterfront Park.

The festival will feature multiple stages with live music, performing arts, dance, and artist, quilt and artisan craft booths. There will be food vendors, a wine bar, a beer garden, interactive art activities for kids and more. Arts & Humanities Bainbridge and the city will also be announcing BI’s first poet laureate.

“The island’s remarkable creative culture and economy is its beating heart,” said Inez Maubane Jones, executive director of AHB and co-chair of the creative district. “The Bridge Festival is a day to showcase the incredible and prolific talent and celebrate with friends, neighbors and visitors.”

Soul musician David A. Tobin, from Germany, will headline the event. Regional musical guests include the Jenny Davis Jazz Quintet, country and blues musicians Betsy and the Boys, and tequila funk band Reposado. Seattle-based vibe creator Deejay Hershe will DJ as well.

The dance stage will showcase classical Indian dancing, UV Performing Arts, Bainbridge Dance Center, Beat poetry readings by the Kitsap Black Student Union, international singer Stephanie Reese, the Bainbridge High School marching band, rapper Mackrayz, and more.

Kids activities, such as a jam board mural project, will be provided by Scrappy Art Lab and the Kids Discovery Museum.

SMASH, Bainbridge Pride, Lynwood Cinemas Podcast, the BI Museum of Art, BI Historical Museum, and Bainbridge Performing Arts, among other creatives and organizations, will also have booths at the festival.

Food vendors include: Sauced, the original Filipino Fusion food truck of Kitsap County, serving up traditional Filipino dishes with a Mexican twist; Emma & Otto’s is a BI-based, women-owned, multigenerational family business that makes ice cream served in waffle cones; One Two Kai catering, run by chef Kaafi Tuinukuafe from the Tonga islands, specializes in seafood, barbecue and sourdough pizzas; and Aunt Dolly’s will bring some of West Africa’s most savory dishes.

“The Bridge Festival will not only celebrate our recent accreditation as a creative district, but it will showcase the vitality of our arts community and inspire advocacy for it so that the island remains a thriving place to live, work and visit,” said Stefan Goldby, president & CEO of the BI Chamber of Commerce and co-chair of the creative district.

For details go to: www.bainbridgecurrents.com/bainbridge-creative-district/.

Reposado

Reposado