Local News

Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals secure for 25 years

Over 10,000 people pack into Fort Adams for the two festivals.

In this Aug. 2, 2013 file photo, music fans fill the grounds of Fort Adams State Park on Narragansett Bay for the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I. Joe Giblin / AP File Photo

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo has announced an agreement that will keep a famous music festival in the state for a quarter century.

Raimondo, a Democrat, and Newport Festival Foundations Chairman George Wein announced Saturday that the organization and state have reached a license agreement to keep the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals in the city for 25 more years. The Department of Environmental Management was part of the agreement, which will include a museum with displays dedicated to the iconic music festivals. The festival group has a 40-year lease with the department for a building for that venture.

Advertisement:

Over 10,000 people pack into Fort Adams for the two festivals.

Raimondo says the plan is to help sustain Rhode Island’s attraction as an “unforgettable, fun-sized destination.”

The first festival ran in 1969.