SEEING THE BIG PICTURE: Taken at last year’s Communiversity event, this photograph shows one Stone Soup Circus member enjoying the fun. The popular group will be back again this year when Communiversity takes over the town on Sunday, April 26, from 1 to 6 p.m. Booths include one from this newspaper, Town Topics, on Nassau Street in front of Landau and Forest Jewelers, so stop by and say hello! (Image Courtesy of the Arts Council of Princeton)

The Princeton University Marching Band and those madcap Stone Soup Circus people are set to entertain the 40,000 visitors expected to attend this year’s Communiversity on Sunday, April 26.

Between 1 and 6 p.m. the Arts Council of Princeton, in collaboration with Princeton University and the municipality, will turn the town into a giant outdoor music festival and market for the 45th Annual Communiversity ArtsFest along Nassau and Witherspoon Streets, on the Palmer Square Green and on the University campus in front of Nassau Hall.

The festival draws local and student performers, artists and crafters, chefs, merchants, community groups, and volunteers in celebration of Town and Gown with over 200 booths showcasing original art, contemporary crafts, unique merchandise, and food. Non-stop live entertainment for all ages will take place on six stages.

There will be music from returning artists Big Wake, Princeton School of Rock, Canto Del Sur, and The Shaxe. Up-and-coming newcomers are regional artists Lauren Marsh and Underwater Sounds. Other performers include Sarah Donner, The Blue Meanies, Sheltered Turtle, Yang Yi Guzheng Academy Ensemble, and the Princeton Girlchoir.

If you’ve been curious about how your name would look in Arabic script, the Arts Council’s newest Artist in Residence, Faraz Kahn, will enlighten you. Stop by his spot on Palmer Square Green to learn the rudiments of Arabic calligraphy and contribute your name to a pennant that will be featured in an outdoor display.

If you’ve longed to see the inside of the Chestnut Street Fire House, now is your chance. Members of the artists group Art+10 will be painting portraits of firefighters, their fire trucks and equipment between 1 and 5:30 p.m. at an open house for Princeton Engine Company No. 1, which dates to 1794. The station houses a rich collection of memorabilia and the paintings will be for sale with a portion of the proceeds going to the Fire Company.

Come hungry as there will be plenty to eat from local chefs. Vendors include D’Angelo Italian Market, Elements, Mistral, House of Cupcakes, Mamoun’s Falafel, Mediterra, Nomad Pizza, The Taco Truck, Triumph Brewing, Winberies, the Witherspoon Grill, and Blue Point Grill, to name but a small selection of what will be offered.

As usual there will be a large contingent of non-profit organizations presenting their causes and over 40 artists will showcase their individual and group talents. Dance performances will feature American Repertory Ballet/Princeton  Ballet School, the YWCA dance troupe, Lisa Botalico Fiesta Flamenca. Ballet Folklorico, Raks Odalisque, and others.

At the East Pyne Arch on the University campus there will be a cappella singing from student groups Old NasSoul, Tigerlilies, Katzenjammers, Wildcats, Acapellago, and others throughout the afternoon.

Princeton University’s radio station, WPRB 103.3 FM, will celebrate 75 years in broadcasting on the Chambers Street stage. According to its website, the student-run station was one of the first college radio stations in the country and began in 1940 as WPRU, “broadcasting through the heating pipes of a Princeton University dorm.” (Check out its history on wprb.com.)

Street performances will take place throughout downtown and visitors will be able to encounter art at almost every turn with visual artists in action throughout the day at several locations with ACP faculty members demonstrating different techniques and media.

Kids will be happy to see the ever-popular “Nana’s-Make-A-Mess” with an assortment of materials to inspire original artwork and Sidewalk Chalk at Tiger Park on Palmer Square.

History

The Town and Gown celebration began in 1971 when the Arts Council of Princeton held “The Art People’s Party” with musicians, artists and crafters. In 1974, the annual party was held on the McCarter Theater grounds and was dedicated in honor of William Shakespeare’s birthday. In 1976, when it was held on the Washington Road Bridge, festival attendees arrived by boat.

When students from Princeton University joined the party in 1985, the name “Communiversity” was coined. Over the years, highlights have included a giant banana split fundraiser in 1987 and a “Communiversity Brew” from Triumph Brewing in 2001.

In 1991, the event drew a crowd of some 10,000 people. In recent years that number has grown to four times as many.

Paint Out Princeton

In 2013, the Arts Council introduced Paint Out Princeton to great success and this time around, local painters will be at their easels around town painting scenes of the day. The painting en plein air will continue for the second year in a row on Sunday May 3, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the grounds of the Morven Museum and Garden during the Morven in May festival from May 1 through May 3. Visitors will be able to see artists at work (register by emailing: info@artscouncilofprinceton.org) and the artwork produced at Communiversity and at Morven will be displayed in the Paul Robeson Center for the Arts through May 9, with a closing reception from 3 to 5 p.m.

Town Topics

Be sure to stop by and say hello to the staff at the Town Topics booth located on Nassau Street in front of Landau and Forest Jewelers. Witherspoon Media Group is a proud media sponsor of the event and will be receiving entries for its Youth Poetry Contest on the theme of “What Princeton Means to Me.” Student poets should drop off their poems to the Town Topics table before 5 p.m. Submission should include name, age, grade, and school. Don’t forget to title your poem and include a contact phone number. Winning poems will be published in an upcoming issue of Town Topics newspaper.

Parking

In addition to street parking where it can be found, parking garages can be accessed via Hulfish and Chambers Streets. The Spring Street garage can be also accessed via Wiggins Street as well.

The owner and operator of Princeton Shopping Center, EDENS, is sponsoring a Communiversity shuttle that will transport passengers from the Princeton Shopping Center to the festival entrance at the corner of Wiggins and Witherspoon streets between from 12:30 and 6:30 p.m. Visitors can park for free at the Shopping Center and take the shuttle. Signage will be posted at the various pick-up locations.

Additional free parking can be found in Princeton University’s parking lots, which will be open during the event. For more information, visit: www.princeton.edu/parking.

For more information on Communiversity, visit www.artscouncilofprinceton.org or call (609) 924-8777.