This Saturday, Arts in River Park features music, artists and vendors. Held at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center at 6151 H Street, the fifth annual festival will feature some unique family fun including Afro-Cuban dance and percussion, Mediterranean food from Crest Cafe, and the traditional Chinese medicines acupuncture and qigong (pronounced "chee-gong").

It all began when funding was cut from the California Arts Council (CAC), putting many arts organizations out of business in 2003. Brenda Waters, winner of the 2003 CAC Director's Award, felt that the best way to help artists was to bring them together to show off their diversity and promote them at the same time.

So in 2003 she helped organize an event called the H Street Festival in which 50 local arts organizations, artists, and vendors participated. In 2006 the festival moved to River Park and changed its name to Arts in River Park, and it has been held at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center on H Street since 2007.

Last year there were 300 artists performing, and in previous years, between three to four thousand people have shown up. Waters stressed that the entire event is free of charge, and not-for-profit, though performers will earn a stipend or honorarium.

"I put [artists] on a pedestal and promote the heck out of them," Waters said in an interview with The Sacramento Press.

"We take a lot of groups that are not known but would like to be, and we put them on a pedestal, and they get honored by other people, and get jobs," added Waters, who has been an arts promotions coordinator for over 21 years.

"This is their career," she added. "They have to spend a lot of money to buy their supplies and they spend an inordinate amount of time to do their art. I'm not doing this for myself, I'm doing this for the artists, and hopefully I've made a difference [because] arts and culture can really break down a lot of barriers."

One successful artist who has previously performed at the arts festival is Michael Bayard, who is returning this year to play a composition with keyboardist Doug Matson. Bayard, who has performed with such world-renowned artists as Ray Charles, Tony Bennett and Paul Simon, also held the post of percussionist for the Sacramento Symphony for 17 years from 1980-1997.

It was Christmas Eve 2008 when Bayard posted his now famous video "Spin Cycle" on YouTube, which subsequently has been featured on the local PBS station KVIE and still receives regular airplay. Besides creating an educational percussion program called Rhythm Magic, he is now "finding and using unusual objects to create unusual music."

He will be performing a piece called "The Typewriter" for piano and typewriter, which was originally written by Leroy Anderson for the Boston Pops, as well as more traditional music by Gershwin, Cole Porter, and classics from Bennett and Sinatra.

"This Saturday, people will have fun, and I would encourage people to come for a unique and innovative experience," Bayard said of the festival.

"There's a great multicultural element, giving the opportunity for artists to share their talents," he added.

The event takes place on three stages. Here is the schedule:

Outdoors
10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Everyone in Rhythm
1:30 - 4:00 p.m. Sacramento Fire Department Engine 8 display of engine

Main Stage
Emcees:
John Embrey III, Community Volunteer
Nick Toma, Co-host Good Day Sacramento
Mike Montgomery, Board member, River Park Neighborhood Association
Greig Gorman, Stage Manager

9 a.m. Introductions and announcements
9:15 - 9:35 a.m. Ebo Okokan, African Cuban dance and percussion
9:45 - 10:15 a.m. Cherry Fizz, a capella quintet
10:30 - 10:50 a.m. Flying Monkey Productions, youth musical theatre
11 - 11:35 a.m. Earl J. Rivard III, Argentinian bilingual folk singer
11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. The Kennelly School of Irish Dance
12:30 - 1:15 p.m. Michael Bayard and Doug Matson, percussion and keyboard duo
1:30 - 2:15 p.m. Anderson-Gram, folk singers
2:30 - 3:00 p.m. Dragon Fire Martial Arts
3:05 - 4:15 p.m. Prima, band performing original and cover songs combining rock, reggae and ballad

River Park Stage
Emcees:
Alex Read, Board Member, River Park Neighborhood Association
Kristy DeVaney, Assistant Editor/Art Director for Senior Magazine, Chef at RH Phillips Winery, and author of cakegrrl.com

9 - 9:45 a.m. Anderson-Gram, folk singers
9:45 - 10:15 a.m. Tabin Crume, Central Library storyteller
10:30 - 11:00 a.m. Laugh and Sing with Michael
11:15 a.m. - Noon Cousin Jimbo, banjo player/fiddler
12:15 - 1 p.m. Earl J. Rivard III, Argentinian bilingual folk singer
1:15 - 1:45 p.m. Tabin Crume, Central Library storyteller
2:00 - 2:30 p.m. Flying Monkey Productions, youth musical theatre
2:45 - 3:45 p.m. - Singer/songwriter, recording artist Janis Kelly will be joined by special guests for her final appearance in Sacramento

In the lounge area, qigong classes will be taught by licensed acupuncturist Joe Macchiavelli at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., and free acupuncture at 11 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m.

*Images courtesy Brenda Waters and Michael Bayard