By Alexandra Pecci
Correspondent

PORTSMOUTH — Chowder, chili, theater and music are all in store this summer at Prescott Park.
Celebrating its 35th anniversary, the Prescott Park Arts Festival is full of affordable events for the whole family.

“It’s the ultimate family experience,” said Ben Anderson, executive director of the Prescott Park Arts Festival, the organization that runs the summer long series of events. “It’s a gorgeous park, it’s affordable, it’s great entertainment, and it’s quality family time.”
Kicking off with a Chowder Festival on Saturday, June 6, the Prescott Park Arts Festival packs in entertainment on most nights of the week throughout the summer. Events include a signature musical, a concert series, food and music festivals, and an art exhibit, sale, and craft demonstrations that run all season.
“All of the events that we present are for families,” said Anderson, and all of them are free. Although there’s a $5 to $8 suggested donation per person, it’s voluntary.
“We work hard to secure sponsors who fund the festival,” Anderson said. “People give what they can, and that’s important to us; that it’s affordable entertainment for everybody.”
Over the course of the summer, the Prescott Park Arts Festival will host 180,000 people at its events.
Below is a list of some of the festival highlights. For a complete list of Prescott Park Arts Festival happenings, visit its Web site, prescottpark.org, or call 436-2848.
FOOD FESTIVALS
The season starts and ends with food festivals, kicking off the summer with the 25th Annual WOKQ Chowder Festival and closing with the 20th Annual WHEB Chili Cook-Off & Fall Festival at Strawberry Banke. The festival is also adding a brand new event this year — the New Hampshire Fish & Lobster Festival.
“It will be showcasing the local fishing industry and featuring locally landed fish species with restaurants preparing and serving seafood,” Anderson said, as well as having fishing boats on display for tours and other events.
Chowder Festival: Saturday, June 6, at 11:30 am
Fish & Lobster Festival: Saturday, Sept. 19, from noon to 4 p.m.
Chili Cook-Off: Saturday, Oct. 10, at 11:30 a.m.

MUSIC FESTIVALS
The park hosts eight types of music festivals throughout the season, including a Jazz Festival, Folk Festival, WOKQ Country Music Festival, and two KIDS Fests. The Folk Festival will feature Samantha Robichaud, a 20-year-old fiddle virtuoso who’s graced the stage at Carnegie Hall and the Grand Ole Opry.

Weekends in July and August
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
CONCERT SERIES
Tom Rush and David Francey are two of the artists featured this year for the festival’s Wednesday Night Concert Series.
“We have Richie Havens coming, which is pretty cool, especially with it being the 40th anniversary of Woodstock,” where he opened the show, said Anderson.
The festival has made an effort to boost the quality of artists that they present for the concerts, and Anderson said it’s paid off, with the series experiencing a big jump in attendance last year.
Wednesdays at 7 p.m., July 1-Aug. 29
‘GREASE’ ON
THE MAIN STAGE
This year, the Portsmouth community got to vote for which musical it wanted to see, and “Grease” was the winner. The signature musical production runs four nights a week.
To accommodate families with small children, Anderson said for the first time, “Grease” will also run two matinee shows, one in July and one in August.
June 26-Aug. 23, Thursday-Sunday
Thursdays and Sundays, at 7 p.m.
Fridays and Saturdays, at 8 p.m.
Two Saturday matinees, TBD