According to Ezrati, owner of the Tivoli Bread Company Mike Gonnella said he was happy to support the street festival because it always was a wonderful day for the participants — and for his own business.
Ezrati noted that this impact on local business was not total serendipity. In fact, it has been the policy of the festival to limit outside vendors at the Festival.
“Tivoli has some of the best restaurants and delis in the area,” she noted. “There is no need to bring in food vendors, and the festival’s hands-on character means that other sources of entertainment are unnecessary. Sticking with the activity of street painting, providing some acoustic music, water, and local produce keeps the festival mellow.”
Street Painting celebrates Hudson Valley artists, producers and performers. Although the publicity for the festival, including a Facebook page “Tivoli Street Painting” that was launched last year, draws artists from as far away as Vancouver, Canada, most still come from Red Hook, Rhinebeck and the village itself.
The music, organized by Joe Tobin of the Acoustic Medicine Variety Show, is locally written, produced and performed. Tobin has made an art of identifying local musicians and attracting them to local venues. And the local produce, since this is held in the fall, will be free apples for the artists courtesy of local farmers.
The added twist this year is that the street artists will be encouraged to pay tribute to Red Hook’s bicentennial. Although the official celebrations end with the Hardscrabble Day parade on September 22, festival organizers hope the many bicentennial events over the last few months inspire this year’s artists.
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