Newport Fests Go Non-Profit

Festival producer George Wein is taking Rhode Island’s Newport Jazz and Newport Folk festivals back to their roots as non-profit events under the umbrella of the newly formed Newport Festivals Foundation.

The festivals will continue to feature both emerging and established jazz and folk artists under the guidance of the foundation, which will also begin to develop programs in regional elementary schools and colleges/universities to help educate young people about jazz and folk music.

“The foundation will perpetuate the history of jazz and folk music in Newport and will allow these festivals, which have been my passion and life’s work, to live on,” Wein said in a statement. “Little did we know that when Louis and Elaine Lorillard asked me to present a summer jazz event in Newport it would spawn two annual festivals that would capture the hearts of worldwide music fans for more than six decades.”

The 2011 Newport Folk Festival is set for July 29-31 and the Newport Jazz Festival takes place August 5-7 at Fort Adams State Park. Artists are expected to be announced in April.