Neighborhood Festivals 2019

What are the neighborhood festivals?

Lively one-day neighborhood Festivals take place each year just prior to the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in downtown New Haven. Neighborhood Festival Committees, local arts and business partners, and Festival staff and volunteers host local talent, family activities, and vendors in New Haven’s historic and culturally rich neighborhoods.

Festivales emocionantes del barrio suceden cada año antes del Festival Internacional de Arte e Ideas en el centro de New Haven. Los comités directivos de la comunidad, los socios locales de arte y negocios, y el personal y los voluntarios del Festival organizan el talento local, las actividades familiares y los vendedores en los barrios históricos y culturalmente exhuberantes de New Haven.

Where and when are the festivals?

  • Dixwell, Fair Haven and The Hill neighborhoods have been involved in Neighborhood Festival programming for several years.
  • The 2020 festivals will take place in May and June; final dates to be confirmed

What’s in it for me and my community?

  • Make new friends, network, and gain exposure for your business
  • Reach a broader audience: 5,000 people are expected to attend the Neighborhood Festivals (nearly 100% from New Haven or Greater New Haven), and the Arts & Ideas Festival draws 100,000 attendees
  • Show off your neighborhood and get to know your city

How can I get involved today?

Join the Neighborhood Festival Committee for your selected neighborhood. Planning begins in October and runs throughout the spring.

  • Attend meetings at agreed-upon dates
  • Support in other ways if your schedule prohibits attending meetings
  • Distribute Neighborhood Festival information electronically and in person
  • Help make programming decisions

Other ways to get involved

  • Make a donation
    • Snacks (bags of chips, fresh fruit, hard candy) 
    • Giveaways (water bottles, toys, company logo bags)
    • Cash gifts of any amount make a huge difference, allowing festivals to pay local artists, provide free food, and more. Do you own a local business? Special sponsorship recognition starts at $100. 
  • Perform
    • Apply directly to your Neighborhood Festival Committee or online. The application will be posted below soon.
  • Volunteer
    • Marketing and promotion: Distribute Neighborhood Festival information
    • At the Festival: Help set up and break down site, serve food, keep areas clean, refresh supplies
    • Sign up here
  • Come to the festivals!

Now what?

  • For more information and to get involved, contact Community Engagement Manager Aleta Staton at astaton@artidea.org or (203) 498-3744
  • Look for updates here as we get closer to May and June 

Join a Neighborhood Festival Committee Volunteer with Us

A Look Back at the 2019 Festival

Made possible with the support of the City of New Haven Mayor’s Community Arts Grants Program