NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — The Newport, Rhode Island, jazz and folk festivals are ready for an encore.
Gov. Gina Raimondo and Newport Festivals Foundation chairman George Wein said Saturday the state and the foundation have reached a license agreement to keep the Newport Jazz Festival and the Newport Folk Festival in the city for 40 more years.
The Department of Environmental Management was part of the agreement, which will include a museum with displays dedicated to the iconic music festivals. The foundation has a 40-year lease with the department for a building for that venture.
More than 10,000 people pack into Fort Adams for the two festivals.
Raimondo says the plan is to help sustain Rhode Island’s attraction as an “unforgettable, fun-sized destination.”
The first festival ran in 1969.
