READY TO DANCE: The Grupo de Danza Folklórica La Sagrada Familia is among the attractions at the New Brunswick HEART Festival this weekend.

State Theatre New Jersey, New Brunswick Cultural Center, New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), and Above Art Studios present the New Brunswick HEART Festival on Saturday, August 13, from 3-6 p.m. in downtown New Brunswick’s Monument Square, 2 Livingston Avenue.  

The family-friendly festival celebrates the arts and history of New Brunswick and Middlesex County with live music and dance performances, dance classes for kids and adults, craft vendors, and more. New this year is the addition of a block party in front of Above Art Studios at 55 Morris Street, with live music, food, vendors, a spades tournament, live painting, and a community chalk art mural. 

This year’s lineup on the outdoor stage on Livingston Avenue includes hip-hop, reggae, and pop performer Fyütch; New Brunswick Latin band Sonido Latino;  tap dancer Omar Edwards; a salsa dance class party with Elvis Ruiz; a dance performance by Grupo de Danza Folklórica La Sagrada Familia; the New Brunswick Brass Band; and a dance performance by InSpira Performing Arts & Cultural Center.

Other events and activities include tours of the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) and State Theatre New Jersey, a health and wellness tent with Garden of Healing, free balloon animals, button-making with the New Brunswick Free Public Library, and Japanese black ink drawing with the Highland Park Arts Commission. Additional activities include dance classes for kids and teenagers hosted by American Repertory Ballet and Princeton Ballet School; pipe cleaner architecture with Zimmerli Art Museum, a history corner featuring two historical interpreters — a printer and a surgeon who talk about what it was like during the 1700s in Middlesex County — and love letter readings by local troupe Thinkery & Verse.

The festival begins Friday, August 12 from 7-9 p.m. with a Live Art Battle at Above Art Studios. Featuring seven contestants, three timed rounds, and one cash prize, the Art Battle will take place at the studio and live-streamed on Above Art Studio’s Instagram account @AboveArtStudios. 

For more information, visit stnj.org.