Artists have once again proven that they are the boss in downtown Riverhead, where they took over East Main Street, chalk in hand, on Sunday for East End Arts’ 29th Annual Mosaic Street Festival.
Usually held Memorial Day Weekend, this year’s festival was held a week later, on Sunday June 1, and after Saturday’s rain and winds, families took to the streets, admiring the talents of their neighbors and working as groups to make the asphalt come alive.
The festival is fashioned after the Italian I Madonnari Street Painting Festival, where artists use a street chalk art form dating back to the 16th Century.
East End Arts has been the glue holding this section of East Main Street together for decades, and with the renovation of the Suffolk Theater now contributing to the neighborhood, it’s an area that the arts organization hopes the community will envision as the Riverhead Downtown Arts District.
While East End Arts will temporarily relocate to Griffing Avenue during the Riverhead Town Square project, it is expected to return to its East Main Street campus when the construction is compete.
In the meantime, for a few sunny hours Sunday afternoon, Riverhead belonged to the artists.
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