ArtBeat is back and will be popping up at 7 hills Park on July 10. — Design by Stephanie Vecellio

By Fernando Cervantes Jr.

With the arrival of the summer, more events and festivals have been planned due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions imposed by Governor Baker. One of these events is ArtBeat.

Organized by the Somerville Arts Council (SAC), ArtBeat is a festival celebrating Somerville’s local art community. In its thirtieth year, ArtBeat will be held on July 10 at 7 Hills Park, a few blocks away from Davis Square.

According to the ArtBeat website, this festival’s theme will revolve around “Pop”: “It’s been a long, rough year, yet things are getting better and we’re all emerging from hibernation. By summer, we expect things to pop – artistic activity, street life, and optimism! We’re looking forward to business bustle, backyard barbecues, and popping in to visit friends and neighbors.”

Although most Covid-19 regulations will be lifted by July 10, ArtBeat will hold a slightly modified version of their normal events.

From the official ArtBeat website, “Now, as our safety guidelines have been lifted, we are planning a more traditional ArtBeat event but with some changes. While there will be street closures, like in the past, we will have less traditional craft vendors on the streets; instead, more roaming performers.”

SAC Office Manager Heather Balchunas also outlined the different offerings that this year’s festival will have. “There’s going to be a dance component at the very beginning of the festival, there is going to be music, the Somerville Flea is going to be curating the ArtBeat craft vendors this year. Community vendors are going to be taking places as well,” Balchunas said.

During the pandemic, people were mostly isolated from the rest of the world, which has had a large impact on people’s mental health. Balcunas highlighted how ArtBeat is one way of bringing people back to pre-Covid times. “Because art is important and having access to that safety is something, that in a cultural and emotional end is a need and when you’re denied that, that is a public health concern. We were very mindful of that and we wanted to be able to have, enable people to access these things,” Balcunas said. “It is going to be an exciting festival.”