To the Editor:

On behalf of the Arts Council of Princeton’s Board of Trustees and staff, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone involved in this year’s Communiversity ArtsFest. With over 200 participants consisting of artists, merchants, food vendors, and nonprofits, plus hundreds of volunteers and the tens of thousands of visitors who came through downtown Princeton, it was an amazing day for all.

This year, we turned our focus to Princeton-based artists and businesses to give the event that special hometown feel. If you attended, you noticed art was everywhere and in every form. There were seven stages featuring musicians and dance performers of all ages.

It is always a delight to see artists set up their easels sporadically throughout the town and on campus enjoying plein air painting. The interactive children’s art activities, ceramics and painting demonstrations, and perennial favorite sidewalk chalk murals along Palmer Square were some of the highlights for art lovers.

Sustainable Princeton did an incredible job executing several new sustainable initiatives, including Resource Recovery Tents and water refill stations. We look forward to continuing our work with them. Thanks to the good work from the Princeton Bicycle Advisory Committee, an impressive amount of people rode their bike to Communiversity or walked.

As a Princeton-based nonprofit with a mission of building community through the arts, we are appreciative of the collaborations with community partners that helped us to produce another hugely successful town-gown event. With much appreciation we thank: the students of Princeton University, University President Christopher Eisgruber, and the Office of Community and Regional Affairs; Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert; the Princeton Police Department; Princeton Fire Department; Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad; Princeton Regional Health Department; Princeton Public Works Department; the Princeton Clergy Association; Princeton Merchants Association; the Princeton Public Library; Sustainable Princeton, Mary Harris Events; consultants Sue Bannon and Ellen Malavsky; our major sponsors AT&T, Baker Auto Group, Palmer Square Management, Princeton Garden Theatre; and the local media. You can find a complete list of all of the generous Communiversity ArtsFest sponsors and in-kind sponsors at artscouncilofprinceton.org.

Thank you all for making the 48th annual Communiversity ArtsFest a wonderful homegrown event!

Taneshia Nash Laird

Executive Director, Arts Council of Princeton