July 1, Kicking off at 2PM at West Street Market, Continuing at 4PM at West Wingfield Park and 7:30PM at Wingfield Park's Amphitheater
FREE
Exclusive Richie Havens lodging package is available from Harrah's Reno. Visit for details.
Kicking off a month-long celebration of the arts, Artown’s Opening Night draws together people from all walks of life to cheer the arrival of July 1. The Opening Night celebration incorporates multiple venues and art forms with activities and entertainment for all ages. Here’s a glimpse of Artown Opening Night 2009:
Events begin at 2PM at downtown’s West Street Market with Discover Gelatin Prints. Part of Artown’s ongoing Discover the Arts series, the FREE hands-on workshop introduces children to printmaking techniques they can do at home. Festival artist Candace Nicol, who created Artown’s 2009 artwork using similar techniques, demonstrates the process.
Body Masterpiece, the wildly popular face-painting team that participated in Opening Night 2008, returns to transform even more children into butterflies, super heroes and wild animals. Taking up residence on the west island of Wingfield Park from 4 – 7PM, Body Masterpiece will transform 260 children who will then form a procession under the Arlington Avenue bridge into the amphitheater area of Wingfield Park. Reservations are required and can be made by calling Artown at 775.322.1538.
The evening continues on stage in Wingfield Park with a concert by Richie Havens at 7:30PM. Perhaps best known as the artist that opened Woodstock 
in 1969, Havens captivates crowds with his soulful singing style and message of brotherhood and personal freedom. His fiery, poignant and soulful singing style has remained unique and ageless since he first emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s. The turning point in his career, however, was that 1969 performance at Woodstock Music and Arts Fair. As the festival’s opening act his distinctive stage presence held the multitudes spellbound for nearly three hours. Called back for multiple encores and having exhausted his repertoire, he improvised a song based on the spiritual “Motherless Child” that became “Freedom,” a song that has subsequently reached and audience of millions.
In 2003, The National Music Council awarded Richie Havens the American Eagle Award in recognition of his contributions to America’s musical heritage and for providing “a rare and inspiring voice of eloquence, integrity and social responsibility.” After four decades and thirty albums, Richie Havens continues to view his music as a higher calling. “I sing songs that move me,” he told the Denver Post. “I’m not in show business; I’m in the communications business. That’s what it’s about for me.”
Listen to Richie Haven's "The Great Mandala."
Watch Richie Haven's orignal and improvised performance of "Freedom" at Woodstock 1969.
Artown’s Opening Night is sponsored by City of Reno Arts and Culture Commission, Friends of Artown and MomsLikeMe.com.