Triumphant return: Artists, craft enthusiasts flock to stART on the Street festival in Worcester
WORCESTER — Art, food and emotion.
stART on the Street — billed as the largest one-day art and cultural festival in Central Massachusetts — had all that, and much more, as it returned to the city Sunday.
Normally held on the third Sunday in September, there hasn’t been a stART since 2019, shut down for a few years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More: Classic Worcester festival off to a new stART
“Like a reawakening,” is how Tina Zlody described the scene, as thousands of visitors milled about to check out food trucks, craft booths and various performances on Park Avenue that stretched between Highland and Pleasant streets.
Wearing funky Ruth Bader Ginsburg earrings crafted after the late U.S. Supreme Court associate justice as she sold bottled water from one of the volunteer tents in the midst of all the action, Zlody teared up when she talked about her brother, Michael Zlody, who died nearly two years ago from COVID-19.
“This is the first (stART) festival without him,” said Zlody. “It’s an emotional day to look around here and see how happy people are.”
Seasoned professionals
With a team of 12 volunteer coordinators, plus 75 more volunteers on the day of the event, Zlody and her fellow stART directors — Nikki Erskine, Stacy Lord and Laura Marotta — ran the event like seasoned professionals.
Zlody estimated the festival’s total price tag was approximately $25,000 to cover police details, bathroom facilities, permitting and insurance. Plus, artists who gave live performances were paid or provided with setup materials.
Jennifer O’Connell of Millbury had a front-row seat at a performance stage a few feet away from Zlody’s tent, where she listened to singer-songwriter Cara Brindisi perform “Sunflower in September.”
“I love it,” said O’Connell of Brindisi’s song.
It’s not the first time O’Connell heard it because Brindisi, who will compete on this season’s TV show “The Voice,” sang the tune to one of O’Connell’s loved ones.
“She sang it for my father when he was a hospice patient,” said O’Connell. “She also sang Crazy Jane and some old Johnny Cash songs.”
New Twist
A new twist on this year’s festival is stART joined forces with Creative Hub Worcester in order to maintain the festivals’ reputation of being a first-class event.
“It was a natural marriage to support each other,” said Zlody.
Additionally, the number of craft vendors, usually around 350, dropped to 200 to provide the necessary space to keep folks safe during the lingering effects of COVID-19.
“A lower footprint for air,” was how Zlody described the benefit of having more space between tents and booths.
Wide variety
Like all previous stART festivals, there were a wide variety of attractions.
The Worcester Art Museum displayed a miniature, interactive Egyptian pyramid for young children to coincide with the museum’s current Jewels of the Nile exhibit.
“It’s so great to bring everyone together, to be outside and see the city,” said Audra Kaplan of Worcester, as she watched her 16-month-old son, Danny, crawl into the pyramid.
Amongst the bustle was a noticeable banging sound and the source was Jon Maynard of Spencer, who was forging a single piece of steel for a handmade knife.
Maynard normally works in his Steel Sorcerer workshop in Spencer, but there he was Sunday, wearing protective gear as he banged away on the red-hot steel for onlookers.
“It’s so exciting after COVID to get in front of people who are so excited about my craft,” said Maynard.
Chris Palagi had some sweat on his brow after demonstrating the art of ancient swordsmanship.
“We’re going to do our thing all day long,” said Palagi of Massachusetts Historical Swordsmanship, a community of historical European martial arts practitioners from Central and Western Massachusetts.
Simple Pleasures
Some festival goers enjoyed simple pleasures, like Kim Harrist of Worcester, who watched as her young granddaughters, Ava Rose and Michaela Goteiner, had their hands artistically decorated by a henna artist.
“Being out with my grandkids and being out in the community, that is what this is all about,” said Harrist.
Amari Greggs took a break from developing lesson plans as a student-teacher at Worcester State University to enjoy an Orange Mango Italian Ice at Mrs. Moriconi’s food stand.
A stART first-timer, Greggs said she not only loved the Italian ice, but also being out and about, without concern about the dangers of COVID-19.
“It’s nice to be in the community again and not hide from people,” she said.
Shawn Connolly and Bryan O’Donnell felt the same way as they put up their comedy tent, where comedians delivered their funniest material.
“The whole event is so fun,” said Connolly, whose first stART was back in 2019 when he held the comedy show in a U-Haul.
This year, he upgraded to a tent.
“It’s so fun to be able to be out here and be part of the festival. It feels like we’re getting back to normal,” said Connolly.
Back to normal
Getting back to normal for the organizers of stART includes the planned return of stART at the Station in December.
That is if COVID-19 numbers don’t spike this winter. If they do around the time of the festival at Union Station, then Zlody said organizers will evaluate the situation.
But that is a few months down the road.
Sunday’s stART was all about fun and as Zlody called it, a “reawakening.”
“We as a community lost so much to COVID-19. There was angst and we were all isolated.
“It’s great to again hang out, enjoy music, food, creativity and the arts.”
Contact Henry Schwan at henry.schwan@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @henrytelegram
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'A reawakening': Sweet emotion as stART on the Street festival returns in Worcester
