The 7th annual Dragonfly Festival will run for three days this year—Thursday, Sept. 10, Friday, Sept. 11 and Saturday, Sept. 12—instead of the usual one day. On each of these dates, WACA TV and Facebook Live will bring an hour and a half of arts and culture to viewers.

Organized by Arts! Ashland Alliance, the Dragonfly Festival features seasoned musicians, dance performances, kids’ entertainment, up and coming students, artisans and theater, and commentary by community members on the value of arts and culture.

Arts! Ashland has partnered with WACA-TV to create this virtual event. Adding two more days allows the coordinators to present more talented local performers. Viewers have the opportunity to enjoy the festival from the comfort of their own homes or small private watch parties.

The programming this year is expansive with more artist performances, and provides an opportunity for Arts! Ashland to acknowledge and support its valued sponsors and community organizations. Local artisans will be interviewed and talk about craft making, describing their creative process, displaying their work and talking about how they got started and what inspires them. 

Each day will showcase a variety of performers and genres, and then culminate in a full set feature by a headliner act.

The performers will include a piano duet by Shreya and Lakshya Srinivasan – students of Lelia Viana; Crocodile River Music and their global African fusion sounds; Rick Goldin with children’s music and puppets; The Dale Show with classic and original rock n’ roll tunes; Ashland Town Manager Michael Herbert; Peter Ward Band; Jonathan Campbell; Jimmy Zimmardi; Peyote Buttons; The Cardinal; Randy Batson and Lori Diamond; and Fred Abatelli with Fates Landing.

In addition, Ashland Community Theater will present a comedic look at life during the COVID pandemic, entitled “I want to Scream,” and Annemarie’s Dance
Centre’s the Performance Project will present an original dance and NatyA Sala traditional Indian dance.

For up-to-date information on offerings and the schedule, visit the Dragonfly Festival Facebook page and the website, www.dragonflyashland.org. Information can also be found on the Arts! Ashland Alliance Facebook page and the Arts! Ashland Alliance website, www.arts-ashland.org. Contact the coordinators by emailing [email protected].