EAST PROVIDENCE - The economy may be bleak right now, but not the spirits of the Townies. This was the 29th annual East Providence Heritage Festival held at Pierce Memorial Stadium and Field. The Heritage Festival gives money to an organization in need every year. This year’s proceeds go to East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP). The Heritage Festival is known for good music, fun entertainment and great food.

In addition to the traditional Portuguese sausage and peppers, clam cakes, dough boys and candy apples, Chinese and Thai flavors were among those served by new food vendors in town. Twelve-year-old Kyle Brown was particularly excited about the Thai food.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” said Brown.

“It’s always a good time” said Debbie Brown, Kyle’s mom.

Debbie and her husband Joseph have been attending the Heritage Festival for 15 years. They’ve been bringing Kyle since he was born.

“I do have one request. I enjoy the bands we have, but we need a Kiss tribute band,” Mr. Brown said.

“Everything has run well this year,” said Junior Butler, Vice Chairman of the Heritage Committee.

“We’ve had the best Friday ever in about 10-12 years. Despite the bad economy, in a sense it is helping us. People are staying home this summer instead of traveling, and because they’re home, they will more likely attend the festival.”

This was true of at least one attendee.

“We couldn’t afford to travel this year, so we came here” said Donna Tavares.

“It’s fantastic. This is a great place to spend time with the kids. It’s inexpensive, affordable family time.”

Along with the food, there were plenty of other vendors and entertainment. Henna tattoos, purses, jewelry, face painting, and caricature drawings were some of the favorites. The caricature drawings were done by Noa Juarez, who is in her seventh year at the festival. She was also offering sign-ups for her Summer Art Camp at her Riverside studio, Noa’s Art.

“I have some families who come every year to get their kids drawings done” said Ms. Juarez.

“Kids grow up and these families make the drawings collectibles. It makes me feel good.”

Good causes

There were also booths supporting certain causes. East Providence Battle Monument Foundation, established in 2001, was just one of them. The purpose of this foundation is to keep the current monuments clean and waxed so they don’t turn green. They also try to move some monuments to make them more visible, like the World War II monument in Riverside Square.

“We want to preserve and restore the memorials of the city,” said John Rebello, secretary of the foundation.

They are hoping in the near future to build a parking lot and an area to put all the memorials in. Their proposed building place is near the Henderson or “Red” Bridge near Massasoit Avenue. Unfortunately, they are still dealing with red tape from the state of Rhode Island. They hope to build new memorials for Iraqi Freedom and Afghanistan veterans in the future.

The Heritage Festival so far is the only event they have going to collect donations, but they plan to hold more events in the future. Glenn Maciel is the president of the foundation, and served in the Army. Tom Currier is the vice president and served in the Air Force. Contributions made to East Providence Battle Monument Foundation are tax deductible.

Another good cause is the East Providence Education Foundation, whose intends to break a Guinness World Record and raise money for schools in East Providence. Friday, Oct. 23, is the current date set to break the record, which is also the Townie Pride Parade. The goal is to run a chain of red and white beads around Pierce Field at least once, which is 1,320 feet, or 63,360 beads. Bags of beads were sold and put on a needle to string them into one long chain.

“Every single penny goes back to the children” said Millie Morris, a former school committee member and current member of the EPEF.

“We give applications, and once a year we award grants to certain teachers or schools,” said Ms. Morris. Grant money ranged from $100 to $1500, the $1500 given to East Providence High School this year.

Bands played on

Friday night began with two performances from Neil Young tribute band Forever Young. The first performance kicked off with people young and old filling in the seats and sitting on nearby tables and tents. Just as they finished, a sudden rain shower with thunder and lightning sent people scrambling for cover under tents. A few attendees left, but most stuck around for the weather to calm down. Some vendors closed early and others just covered their goods until the rain stopped.

The weather held out for Saturday and Sunday, both beautiful warm summer days. During the day on Saturday, Fraternidad Folklórica Boliviana de Rhode Island performed in costumes and music to represent their Bolivian culture. They entertained the crowd for about an hour with four dances and a few songs to represent their culture.

Following their performance were The Ladies of the Rolling Pin. The Ladies of the Rolling Pin are one of a few women’s Border Morris Dance teams. Border Morris dancing originated in England and the Welsh border area. The women were dressed in baker’s wear, complete with apron and chef hat, colorful rags dangling from the aprons, and armed with rolling pins. On their faces was smeared flour and cake batter. The crowd was entertained by the funny costumes and the wonderful dancing.

And now, Tavares

That night Tavares performed their classic hits. A crowd of a few hundred people gathered on Pierce Field. Some chose the stands while others set out blankets and lawn chairs. Children were running around playing with the glow-in-the-dark and light-up toys sold by vendors, while the adults sang and clapped along to the tunes. After the show, the classic cars rolled away off the lawn as people gathered their belongings, some looking for last minute food.

“It was a very nice evening. The weather was perfect and the food was good,” said Jack Archibald.

“My kids were dancing. Tavares is a band all ages can relate to,” said Kevin Drainville.

“What the festival tries to accomplish works. I can let my kids roam around without worry.”

The Drainvilles have eight children; four they brought Friday night, and the other four children they brought Saturday. Kevin Drainville has been attending for 20 years, while his wife Carrie has been attending nine years.

For the kids

Children enjoyed the rides this year as well, particularly the classic Tilt-A-Whirl. The ride is a favorite of Brett Nascimento, Kate Mendillo, and Alex Peters. All three attend Silver Spring Elementary School and came with their families.

“It’s a wonderful festival, and I’ve been coming here for 20 years,” said Mary Nascimento, Brett’s mother.

“It’s a nice relaxing night, and the kids are having fun,” said Bill Keogh, a longtime resident of East Providence.

“It’s a hit.”

The weekend ended with The Kelly School of Irish Dance, Belly Dancing by Sarah, and The Machine performing Pink Floyd. Whether it was the food, the music, weather, or seeing old friends, attendees agreed that the East Providence Heritage Festival was the place to be last weekend.