September is here, students are back in school, and Providence’s signature arts and musical festival is back for another big year.
PVDFest begins tonight with a 4:45 p.m. performance from Squonk, the Pittsburgh-based group that has been staging spectacular outdoor shows for more than 30 years. Squonk’s “Brouhaha” will run twice today and twice on Saturday.
You can check out the full schedule by clicking here, but here are some of the other fascinating things to watch at this year’s PVDFest:
Parade
3 p.m. (Saturday)
This year’s grand marshals are Agonza, Ramona Bass-Kolobe, and Chip Douglas, and the parade begins at the intersection of Greene Street and Washington Street and proceeds down Washington Street to Kennedy Plaza.
Headliner: Moonlight Benjamin
7 p.m. (Saturday)
This Haitian-born artist blends Caribbean melodies with gritty ’70s blues-rock, creating one of the most unique performances you’ll ever see.
Murals
2:30–6 p.m. (Saturday)
One of the most exciting parts of PVDFest every year is the mural battle, where the most creative people in the city embark on large-scale artwork in a public space in front of a live audience.
Food truck village
(Friday and Saturday)
The best collection of food trucks in Rhode Island will once again be providing food and drink in downtown.
Contest
(Friday and Saturday)
The Globe will be handing out commemorative PVDFest posters featuring work by a local artist, and we’re hosting contest at all the food trucks for you to win a $100 gift card to the food truck of your choice. Look for the flyers at the food truck to scan and enter to win!
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via email Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.
