by Charles L. Reynolds

Board members of the Somerville Arts Council (SAC) met at the Somerville Community Access Television (SCAT) offices in Union Square June 22 to finalize plans for ArtBeat 2004, a festival taking place in Davis Square July 16 and 17.

“We strive to make each festival different,” said Gregory Jenkins, the council’s executive director. “This year’s theme is ‘play.’

“We’re interested in exploring how people and community come together when they are playful, creative and expressive. We hope to celebrate Somerville’s rich and varied traditions of play,” he said.

The festival will begin the evening of July 16, said Rachel M. Strutt, program director for the Somerville Arts Council.

“Friday night, we’ll have a couple of bands,” Strutt said. “We’ll start with a Brazilian band. We may do some kind of karaoke that will be fun and interactive. Then we will segue into multimedia stuff – DuoTone, which is DJ C. and DJ Flack, will have a video behind them.”

Strutt said the evening will also include animated shorts from Karen Aqua, and will end with a performance by Electric Video Moods, who pair remixed songs with live dancing.

On Saturday, the festival will host a performance by the Open Air Circus, Strutt said. A Somerville-based non-profit organization, the Open Air Circus offers summer classes and performance opportunities for children and adults, and works to encourage neighborhood participation in the arts, promoting leadership and self-esteem for children and teens.

The SAC is also considering a demonstration by the Subversive Choppers Urban Legion (SCUL), a Somerville organization passionate about riding wildly modified bicycles known as “choppers,” said Emily J. Arkin, vice chair of the SAC board.

SCUL may host a “SCULympics” to demonstrate the bicycles’ capabilities, Arkin said. The group would like to involve the general public in bicycle-related games and contests.

In the plaza between Starbucks and Buck-a-Book, the SAC plans to have martial arts demonstrations and a performance by Class Acts, a company that presents politically-themed theater, Strutt said.

Other items on the ArtBeat 2004 bill include Dance Dance Revolution, tarot card readings, a possible appearance by the Boylston Chess Club, and interactive comics.

Strutt said another interactive event will be returning from last year, but with a new twist.

The Walnut Street Center, which presented the Human Quilt at last year’s ArtBeat, will create the Human Etch-A-Sketch for this year’s festival, Strutt said.

Games for Gain!, a newly-formed political organization, will be playing Balderdash and Scattergories, and the group’s goal is to register voters, said Strutt.

Still, some ArtBeat attendees may prefer local to national politics.

“We’re hoping to get a dunk tank,” said Strutt. “Maybe you could dunk the aldermen and the mayor, and maybe it can be some kind of fundraiser.”

Anyone who’s interested in volunteering at ArtBeat this year is invited. “Spread the word,” Jenkins said. “People should just come.”

ArtBeat is the evening of July 16 and all-day July 17 in Davis Square. For entire ArtBeat schedule, visit www.somervilleartscouncil.org. The SAC also needs volunteers for help with set-up, t-shirt sales, information tables, dog tag sales, stage management, and youth participatory events. Call 617-625-6600 x2985, or e-mail Rachel@somervilleartscouncil.org.