Festival to Feature El Caribe, the Dartmouth Community Band, Mental Note and Miss New Bedford Jillian Zucco
The Bristol County Savings Bank Freedom Festival at UMass Dartmouth, an alcohol-free, family-oriented event featuring great music and fireworks, will be held July 3 on the main campus quadrangle. The festival, free and open to the public, is made possible by a grant from the Bristol County Savings Bank as well as contributions from the Town of Dartmouth, Not Your Average Joe's, Xerox, Blue Spruce, Pepsi, Follett, Chartwells, Dartmouth Chronicle, The Standard-Times, and the Fall River Herald News.
The event has special significance this year as it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the UMass Dartmouth campus groundbreaking and the 350th anniversary of the Town of Dartmouth. The event will feature musicians with ties to the town and university.
"UMass Dartmouth is pleased to join with the Bristol County Savings Bank and our other partners to celebrate the American spirit with our community with added excitement this year of celebrating our community's two major milestones,'' said UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman. "The Freedom Festival is our opportunity to open our university grounds to families from across the region for a night of music and fun."
"Being a community bank, we're especially proud to partner with UMass Dartmouth once again and offer this fun, family-oriented event to the SouthCoast region," said Patrick Murray, President & CEO of Bristol County Savings Bank. "The Freedom Festival is always a special evening which celebrates the area's community and national spirit, and the Bank is honored to do its part."
The fun kicks off at 6:15 p.m. with the National Anthem being sung by Jillian Zucco, Miss New Bedford and UMass Dartmouth Nursing major in the class of 2016. El Caribe, comprised of UMass Dartmouth students and faculty and one of the only university steel bands in the state, will take the stage at 6:30 p.m. Mental Note, the University's a cappella group will go on at 7:45 p.m., and the 40-member Dartmouth Community Band will wrap up the music portion of the evening with patriotic and classic American songs. Fireworks will take place at 9:15 p.m.
A large turnout is expected and there will be increased security measures taken. Please limit what you bring onto campus. The campus will be open all day and guests are invited to arrive any time after 3 p.m. to find the best available seating. Concession stands and vendors will also be selling a variety of foods, beverages and novelty products.
The event will be broadcasted on WUMD FM 89.3, streaming online at www.893wumd.org.
Traffic, public safety and parking plans are in place through the concerted efforts of university, local and state police. Vehicular access to campus will be closed when all on-campus parking spaces are filled and no later than 9 p.m. Parking will be banned along Old Westport Road throughout the evening.