Once again, Burlington won’t suffer fools this summer. The city will celebrate them.
Burlington City Arts announced Wednesday it will bring “stupendous street performers, exciting entertainers, and magnificent musicians” to entertain at its 18th annual Festival of Fools on Friday, July 31, and Saturday, August 1. The free, family-friendly festivities will take place on the Church Street Marketplace and in City Hall Park.
And unlike last summer, when construction projects closed several streets, getting downtown is a breeze.
Crowd favorite Cate Great will return. The witty, multifaceted circus performer has delighted audiences internationally. “A familiar face at Festival of Fools, Cate’s performances are known for their charm, precision, and ability to delight audiences of all ages,” Burlington City Arts said in a statement.
Festivalgoers will get to meet juggler Jacob D’Eustachio. The son of two New York City professors took time off from high school to tour the U.S. with the renowned Zoppé Italian Family Circus. That education proved valuable. He was accepted to École de Cirque de Québec and has since performed in 15 countries on 5 continents. He has juggled with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, performed at the Kennedy Center and competed in Moscow. Now he’ll bring his talent and humor to the streets of Burlington.
Live music is booked for both evenings. The Big Takeover, from New York’s Hudson Valley, will rock City Hall Park on Friday with its original pop music rooted in the rhythms of Jamaican reggae, rocksteady and ska. Jamaican-born singer-songwriter NeeNee Rushie leads the seven-piece band.
Burlington City Arts promises a full slate of entertainment but has not announced the rest of the festival lineup. “We gotta save some mystery for the coming months,” communications director Elena Rosen said.
Budget cuts and the loss of the festival’s longtime presenting sponsor prompted BCA to cancel last summer’s event. But downtown businesses, led by the owners of Main Street’s Café HOT., rallied to raise the money to throw a smaller fest, the Fools Block Party, which started in the evening on Friday, August 1, and ran through Saturday, August 2.
This year’s revelry will start earlier in the day on Friday, making it a bit longer but still a trimmed-down event compared to past years when it ran for three days. Still without a presenting sponsor, BCA reconfigured its funding model “and figured out how to make it work with the amazing community supporters that we have, including the Pomerleau Family Foundation,” Rosen said. “And a lot of the amazing businesses who supported us last year are coming back.”
The three-day festival typically drew 50,000 people, and many downtown business owners called it their best weekend of the summer.
“Festival of Fools is a joyful expression of what BCA is all about — building community through creative expression,” executive director Doreen Kraft said in the statement. “Each year, this Festival not only fills our streets with incredible artistry and energy, it also supports the local businesses that make downtown Burlington so vibrant. It’s a powerful reminder that when we invest in the arts, we strengthen both our community spirit and our local economy.”
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