'Discover Summit Arts' During Festival This Week

For lovers of art, film, dance, theatre, music, Summit has your interests covered this week.

The "Discover Summit Arts Festival" kicked off Sunday morning with the third annual “Festival of Fine Arts and Crafts.” Hosted by Overlook Medical Center, Summit Downtown, Inc. and Jean Criss Media, LLC, this weeklong celebration featuring 40 events will continue through this Saturday with live entertainment, art exhibitions and lectures, healing and culinary arts, and much more.

“Lyle Brehn and Janet Whitman came up with this idea about trying to do a destination for the arts in Summit,” said Marin Mixon, Executive Director of Summit Downtown, Inc. “Janet used to be our mayor. [Janet and Lyle] been involved with the Minuetto Music Festival for a couple of years, [which is taking place Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday evenings this week]. They just love the arts. They are supporters of the Visual Arts Center. They take courses over there. They are very involved, long-time citizens that are great volunteers. They started a grassroots group last fall that SDI is a part of, and it’s basically a weeklong series of events.” 

In addition to the festival co-founders, “a committee of many volunteers representing many organizations in the Summit area has been working for the past year to make the event a great success. Jean Criss of Jean Criss Media, LLC, is the Festival productor,” according to a Discover Summit Arts Festival summary.

The festival events will be happening all over the city, including locations like Overlook Medical Center, Summit High School, and Reeves-Reed Arboretum, Mixon said. There will also be some walking tours in the city and artwork displayed at various retail operations in downtown.

Monday is Culinary Arts and Healing Day, Mixon said. Chefs will be at MONDO Summit and the Fortnightly Club, cooking some dishes.

“From 2 to 4 p.m., we’re having something called Sidewalk Samplings where about a dozen of the restaurants are going to put out goodies to let people sample,” Mixon said. 

For a complete schedule of events, please visit the Discover Summit Arts Festival Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DiscoverSummitArts.

According to a press release from Jean Criss Media, LLC, festival highlights include:

Monday, June 24 — Culinary & Healing Arts Day, Sidewalk Samplings

Tuesday, June 25 — Public Art Walk, Breath & Body Works, Minuetto Music Festival                 

Wednesday, June 26 — Creative & Healing Arts, Breath & Body Works, Sound of A Summer Night

Thursday, June 27 — Creative & Healing Arts, Summit GREENMarket, Minuetto Music, Tales & Tunes

Friday, June 28 — Visual Arts Center of NJ Exhibit/Gallery Talk, An Evening of Summit Theater

Saturday, June 29 — Made with Clay by Laura, Argentine Tango School, Minuetto Music

Most events are free. Events requiring paid tickets include:

• Documentary, The History of the Eagles Part 1 screening by Film Society of Summit, Sunday, June 23, 6 p.m. at MONDO Summit.  Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door.  Tickets can be purchased online at www.smarttix.com, or at MONDO Summit.  Online purchases will include a service fee of $1.50 per ticket, and tickets purchased online will be sent via mail.

• Culinary Arts and Healing Day, Monday, June 24, featuring Celebrity Chef  food and beverage tastings, art exhibits, and entertainment hosted by Jean Criss Media, LLC.  There are two events which will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Twin Maples, and an evening program from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at MONDO Summit.  Tickets are $20 per event and can be purchased online at http://www.jeancrissmedia.com/#!contact.

• An Evening with Klimt, by Bottle and Botega, Monday, June 24 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Hat Tavern (Grand Summit Hotel). Tickets are $40 and can be purchased online at https://sites.cimplebox.com/c/bb/registration.aspx?s=4014&c=2251&eid=10622&r=0.0865791, or please call 908-376-6440 for further information.

• Vocal Healing Workshop by Breath and Body Works, Tuesday, June 25 from 10 to 11 a.m. at MONDO Summit.  Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by emailing Michelle Oram at breathandbodyworks@gmail.com.

• Minuetto Music Festival, a series of three concerts held Tuesday, June 25, Thursday, June 27 and Saturday, June 29.  Concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. at Central Presbyterian Church.  Tickets are $30 for all three performances and can be purchased by calling 908-264-5324, or visiting the website at http://continuoarts.com.

• Reeves-Reed Arboretum will host, Concert: Sounds of A Summer Night, alumni from NJPAC Teen Jazz Program, Wednesday, June 26. Concert begins promptly at 7 p.m. and will take place rain or shine; grounds open for picnic goers at 6 p.m.  There is a $10 minimum donation to RRA made at the door; the event is free for RRA members.

• An evening of Summit Theater, a collaboration of performances by Dreamcatcher Repertory Theater, Stony Hill Players and Summit Playhouse, Friday, June 28, 8 p.m. at Summit Playhouse.  Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling 800-838-3006.

• TangoFest, a full day of Tango history, dance, art dance and more by Authentic Argentine Dance School, Saturday, June 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at MONDO Summit.  Tickets are $20 for general admission all-day pass, and can be purchased online at www.DanceTangoNJ.com or at the door.

All other events are FREE. 

According to a Discover Summit Arts Festival summary, festival sponsors and donors include: AVE Living, The Wine List of Summit, Mayor Ellen Dickson, MONDO Summit and their Merchants, The Artisans’ Ball, Michael de la Force Images, Joni Rose Fine Art, the Manley-Winser Foundation, the Summit Area Public Foundation, and private contributors. Media sponsors include Jean Criss Media, LLC; Summit Downtown, Inc.; and the Suburban Chamber of Commerce.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Summit Area Public Foundation — Discover Summit Arts, which is a 501c3 may go to http://www.sapfnj.org/ and click “donate now” or send a check to P.O. Box 191, Summit, NJ 07902-0191 and make checks payable to SAPF-DSA.