What if an artist could pay for their healthcare through their music or murals? This is the premise of arts, health and music festival O+ which returns to Kingston this weekend.
The 2021 festival schedule is jam-packed with everything from concerts to documentary screenings to group bike rides. The artists will also be able to take advantage of an array of healthcare opportunities and clinics from O+ partner providers.
We teamed up with O+ to create a mural specific thread on Stomping Ground. You can now listen to over 20 audio stories featuring murals around Kingston.
The O+ Festival first launched back in 2010. The founders identified the lack of sufficient healthcare services as a critical issue influencing the well being of artists and musicians. They devised an event that could support their local municipality, artists and the general public through a festival structure where musicians and artists provided their art in exchange for health and wellness services.
Each year, the festival draws thousands of people who enjoy dozens of live performances, participate in active events like bike rides and yoga, and view new and existing murals. Currently there are 45 murals throughout Kingston and dozens more from other pop up festivals from nearby Poughkeepsie to San Francisco.
While the festival only lasts for one weekend, O+ as an organization continues to provide for the community through the long lasting color of the murals painted, the increased well being of local artists, and ongoing programming ranging from block parties to their O+ Radio Hour on Radio Kingston.
