‘Riverfest: 25 Years' A Retrospective Exhibit

NARROWSBURG — “Riverfest: 25 Years,” a retrospective exhibit of approximately 50 posters from 25 years of Riverfest, opens with a reception on Friday, May 15 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Delaware Arts Center’s Loft Gallery in Narrowsburg, N.Y. The exhibit will be on view through June 6.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Twenty-five years ago, the first Riverfest, billed as a music, art and environmental festival, came to Main Street in Narrowsburg. The inauguration of Riverfest was, in part, a means to bring attention to the businesses on the street. Festival goers were treated to performances by the Hellbenders and campers from French Woods Performing Arts Summer Camp. There were pony rides and a petting zoo. Original work by artists and craftspeople was highlighted. Information about the river and the region abounded.

This year’s Riverfest, the 25th Annual event, will be held on Sunday, July 26, with the now classic dog parade, music on the bandstand, local crafts, environmental displays, and art.

The centerpiece of Riverfest has always been the Riverfest poster auction. (The poster auction debuted in 1992, Riverfest’s second year.) Local artists are invited to create original artwork, painted or mounted on a Riverfest poster, and the finished posters are auctioned off in a lively and sometimes thrilling display as bidders vie for their choices. Proceeds raised benefit programs of the DVAA. In 1992, a dozen posters were auctioned off. In 2014, over five dozen posters were bid on and sold.

To honor Riverfest’s 25th anniversary, DVAA is hosting “Riverfest: 25 Years,” a retrospective of posters, in the Loft gallery from May 15 to June 6. Artists featured in the exhibit include Robin Dintiman, Dale Emmart, Ellen Cibula, Rocky Pinciotti, Paul Vasquez, Linda Sokolowski, Hank Schneider, Dorothy Hartz, Niall Barrett, Frank Holmes, Laverne Black, Barbara Buckman, Jeff George, Ramona Jan, Jay Brooks, Steve Layman, Elise Freda, Joan Hill, Candy Spilner, Barbara Yeaman, Allan Rubin, Noah Baen, Riter Palleri, Claire Markus, E.M. Schongut, Sandy Schultz, Vera B. Williams, William Jung, Linda Slocum, Nancy Lew Lee, and the late Charles Searles and Judith Leire. The posters on view are on loan from private collections.

Alliance Gallery is located at the Delaware Arts Center at 37 Main Street, Narrowsburg, N.Y., and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information call 845-252-7576 or visit delawarevalleyartsalliance.org.