Head held high and love in heart as stART on the Street will bid farewell

WORCESTER ― stART on the Street , which went from what was considered a good turnout of several hundred people in 2002 to become the region's largest one-day arts and cultural festival drawing thousands of visitors, will bid farewell at this year's event on Park Avenue set for Sept. 15.

The festival has supported more than 250 local artists and crafters annually, as well as live music and performance on multiple stages, food vendors including a vegan court, interactive demonstrations and nonprofit engagement.

However, despite its growth and popularity, "orchestrating an event of this scale has become increasingly daunting," the nonprofit, all-volunteer organization stART on the Street said in an announcement about the pending end of stART.

"The ongoing challenge of recruiting dedicated volunteers and the substantial costs associated with hosting such a large-scale event, combined with the commitment to maintaining accessibility for vendors and attendees, were all factors that ultimately led Team stART to make this difficult decision," stART said.

'Not an easy decision to make'

The final stART on the Street festival, which will also be the 20th, will be on Park Avenue from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 15 with a rain date of Sept. 22. Over 250 artisans, performers, interactive demonstrators, nonprofits and food vendors are expected to come together "for one last unforgettable day of art and community. In celebration of 20 years, the festival will feature limited-edition merchandise, a retrospective of stART stories and special surprises," stART said.

stART on the Street also organizes the annual stART at the Station, a holiday-themed craft show at Union Station. The final stART at the Station will be on Dec. 8, "offering one last chance to experience the magic of stART," stART said.

“This was not an easy decision to make. We understand that this final chapter of stART will be received with as much emotion as it was for us to make it," said stART on the Street co-founder and co-director Tina Zlody. "We owe our success and growth to the unwavering support and creativity of our community members, artists and volunteers.”

Co-founder and co-director Stacy Lord said, “stART has always been more than just a showcase of art; it's a vibrant celebration of creativity and joy. The connections we've made, and most importantly, the unforgettable memories we've created together, will always be a part of us.”

The next chapter awaits

In 2002 an independent group of local artists called Worcester Artists Really Trying (WART) wanted to nurture and nudge along the long-promised Arts District, which had been unfolding in its Main South target area at a rather slow pace. The artists decided the much-needed momentum should start in the street. Main Street, from Madison Street to Hermon Street, was closed to traffic and the festival drew what was considered to be a good turnout of hundreds of people. It was the start of stART on the Street.

The festival was on Main Street from 2002 to 2004, took a year off, and moved to Park Avenue in 2006. After the move the event took off exponentially in terms of participation and attendance. There was no stART on the Street in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic, but thousands welcomed the event back on Park Avenue in 2022.

Also in 2022, stART on the Street became a merged program of the nonprofit arts organization Creative Hub Worcester . Zlody became a co-director of the merged program, along with Lord and Laura Marotta of Creative Hub.

Creative Hub hosts local programs and is renovating the former Ionic Avenue Boys Club at 2 Ionic Ave. to become the home of Creative Hub Worcester Community Arts Center.

"As one chapter closes, new ones open for the directors of stART on the Street," stART said. Lord and Marotta will be getting ready for the groundbreaking of the center in the fall, whlie Zlody plans to offer consulting services in event planning and management and continuing her directorship at the Worcester Public Market’s Market Pantry store.

"After much deliberation and heartfelt discussions about the future of the event, we had to also consider the changing priorities of our core group,” Zlody said. “The three remaining directors have decided that this is the natural end of our journey. We have accomplished so much in 20 years, and we hold our heads high with love in our hearts as we say goodbye.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Head held high and love in heart as stART on the Street will bid farewell