Art in the Park to return downtown with even more work on display
“Art in the Park: Reflextions” will be returning to Grangebel Park with three new exhibits opening July 18, according to a presentation before the Riverhead Town Board Thursday.
The popular lighted art exhibit, which made its debut last year, will return with all of the previous exhibits as well as three new ones.
Bryan DeLuca of East End Tourism Alliance has been working on the project with Diane Tucci and Bob Kern of the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce, artist Clayton Orehek and the Riverhead Business Improvement District. On Thursday, Mr. DeLuca and Ms. Tucci talked about the new plans.
Riverhead Rocks is one of the three new installations being planned for this year’s show. It will feature large letter-shaped cages filled with fluorescent painted rocks. The rocks will be lit by black light.
“We will be putting positive messages on them,” Ms. Tucci said.
Three-dimensional letters spelling Riverhead are being welded together and will hold the painted rocks, according to Ms. Tucci. The letters will be 3 1/2 feet high and will stretch nearly 30 feet long once installed in the park.
Some local Girl Scouts and Roanoke Avenue students have already begun painting the rocks, she said.
Another new exhibit is called “LOV Letters,” in which light will be projected onto a 16-foot-wide sign that reads “LOV.”
The letters are about five feet tall.
“It’s good for selfies,” Mr. DeLuca said. The illuminated LOV sign was tested at Tanger Outlets on Memorial Day and drew a lot of people taking photos with the exhibit, he said.
The third project is a 10-foot-high metal “R” that will likely be in front of the pump house toward the eastern part of the park and will feature red, blue and green LED lights, Mr. DeLuca said.
“Art in the Park: Reflextions” will take place July 18; Aug. 1, 15, 16, and 17; and Sept. 14 and 28. The July 18, Aug. 1 and Aug. 15 events will coincide with the Business Improvement District’s Alive on 25 events, when Main Street is closed and the downtown features food trucks, crafts and live bands.
Volunteers are being sought. Those interested should call the Riverhead Chamber of Commerce at 631-727-7600, officials said.
