(FRENCHTOWN, NJ) — The Hatch returns in person on Saturday, June 25 as ArtYard’s 14-foot steel egg cracks open on the courtyard of its new building at 13 Front Street in Frenchtown. Hatch features live music, performance, storytelling, and a parade of locals dressed as birds who hatch from a giant 14-foot egg to celebrate creative incubation and community.

The Hatch is a raucous and exuberant celebration of creative incubation and community. For this fifth anniversary festival, ArtYard will be joined by the brass band Ocean Avenue Stompers, a dozen artists led by Laura Bernstein who’ll unfurl their 100-foot-long Miracle Tapestry Project, a flock of friendly locals dressed in bird costumes and maneuvering bird puppets, and more.

Spectators are invited to gather along the Rail Trail adjacent to ArtYard’s riverside courtyard, leaving room for the parade of birds to flow and dance on the grass, prior to the 11:00am start time. A parade of musicians, artists, and birds will flow onto the courtyard then take off on a procession through downtown Frenchtown. It ends at ArtYard for brief remarks before the merriment disperses.

Community members interested in participating in the parade may meet at ArtYard at 9:30am to dress in their costumes, practice bird movements, and line up in formation. ArtYard has bird costumes available to borrow on a first-come, first-served basis that morning.

The inaugural Hatch was held September 4, 2016 to announce the creation of ArtYard as a nod to Frenchtown’s past as a 20th-century hub of egg incubation and its future as an incubator of artistic enterprise. Since then, ArtYard has continued the Hatch to commemorate this occasion and bring together artists and disparate community members for a joyful festival to underscore its commitment to art that is inclusive, democratic, and subversive of expectations.