If our current record-breaking winter lows don’t have you eyeing the next flight to the Caribbean, perhaps this new multi-disciplinary arts festival in the Dominican Republic will persuade you to open your travel app and get moving. Debuting their second edition this weekend, February 2 and 3, Santo Domingo Pop will gather artists from across the worlds of music, visual arts, theater and dance for a new festival celebrating 100% Dominican culture. The event will take place at the Santo Domingo Botanical Gardens, adding an additional layer of verdant ambiance for the whole family to enjoy.
Where local contemporaries like Isle of Light and Pineapple Ball put a musical, Instagram-friendly spin on the festival experience, Santo Domingo Pop aims to directly engage with attendees to create greater awareness of the bounty of art they can find right at home. The festival schedule includes 8 concerts, 6 theatrical plays, performances by 6 dance companies and 15 exhibits highlighting local photographers, painters and illustrators.
Breaking down their mission via press release, organizers point out, “We have never before had the opportunity to enjoy a Covi Quintana concert, appreciate an exhibit by the master [painter] Guillo Pérez and become immersed in a dance performance and a play, all in one day, in a park on Dominican soil.” Santo Domingo Pop’s lineup also boasts appearances by musicians Riccie Oriach and La Marimba, plays by Lia Briones and She Lee, and dance pieces choreographed by María Emilia García and Alexander Duval.
The interactive and performance-heavy festival has also invited 15 artisans and designers to participate in a fair displaying a wide variety of handmade goods. A record store, bookstore and numerous restaurant pop-ups will round out Santo Domingo Pop’s ambitious layout, all surrounded by the luxurious serenity of the botanical garden grounds.
For tickets and more info on Santo Domingo Pop click here.