Black Ships Festival returning to Bristol

By Kristen Ray
Posted 10/14/18

After a successful first showing at Independence Park this past July, the Black Ships Festival returns to Bristol next summer for its 36th annual celebration.

Beginning Aug. 9, 2019, the …

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Black Ships Festival returning to Bristol

Posted

After a successful first showing at Independence Park this past July, the Black Ships Festival returns to Bristol next summer for its 36th annual celebration.

Beginning Aug. 9, 2019, the community will commemorate alongside the Japan-America Society of Rhode Island the negotiation of the Treaty of Kanagawa by Newport native Commodore Matthew Perry. Originally hosted in Newport, the three-day festival brought roughly 3,500 people to downtown Bristol in the town’s first year taking on the event.

“The Town of Bristol is excited to be supporting an event that boosts our local economy and brings visitors into our different storefronts,” said Chris Vitale, Bristol’s economic development coordinator.

“Our goal is to help make next year’s event even more successful.”

In the past, the festival has been comprised of a wide variety of events, including a martial arts fair, Taiko drum performance, sushi sake sail and formal gala welcoming Japanese dignitaries, Rhode Island officials and the U.S. Navy.

More information regarding the 2019 festival will soon follow.

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