Couple Hopes to Bring Music Festival to Overpeck Park

by Megan Merrigan

On a routine walk through Overpeck County Park two months ago, Ridgefield Park couple Rachel Bonomo and Joseph Ortiz took notice of the park’s amphitheater and wondered, “why are there never concerts here?”

It was then that the Young Muse Festival, an arts festival intended to show off the various artistic talents of young northern New Jersey and New York City locals, came to life.

Both Bonomo, 19,  and Ortiz, 21, share a love for art. Bonomo, who is interested in fashion and modern art, described her boyfriend as a music buff.

“We were walking along the trail and we were just calling people like, ‘Hey, do you want to be a part of this movement?’” Bonomo said.

Everyone on the receiving end of the phone calls that day shared the couple’s enthusiasm, according to Ortiz. However, getting friends and artists excited about the festival was the easy part. Encouraging sponsors to commit remains the biggest challenge the Young Muse Festival team is facing.

“It’s been hard to get the financials up and running,” Bonomo said. “Who’s going to give money over to a 19 and 21-year-old saying we’re going to have a festival?”

Reverbnation, a social networking site for independent musical artists, is the festival’s only official sponsor so far. 

Shortly after the festival was conceived, the Young Muse team hosted a garage sale in Ridgefield Park, which Ortiz described as “a great success.” Close to $600 was raised at the sale, according to the couple.

The festival’s second fundraiser is scheduled for July 14 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at The Puddle, a Ridgefield Park car wash.

In addition to hosting events to raise money, the team behind the Young Muse Festival is now seeking donations through a PayPal account they created.

Bonomo would not disclose the fundraising goal for the festival. But, the festival’s expenditures include two permits required by the county.

The permits required are a special events permit, which has a price tag dependent on the number of people in attendance, and an amphitheater permit, according to Ronald Kistner, the director of Bergen County parks.

Kistner said he is going to work with the festival’s coordinators to make it affordable.

“It’s not about making money, it’s about having the event,” Kistner said.

The Young Muse Festival, a registered limited liability company, is intended to make a profit.

“It wouldn’t even be a profit for our own pockets,” Ortiz said.  “Basically, it would be a profit for next year to make it bigger and better.”

Bonomo and Ortiz have hopes that the Young Muse Festival will live on beyond this August, when the festival is scheduled, and will reach areas outside of Bergen County in the future.

The festival itself is a grassroots movement with a strong social media presence.  The team has connected with artists and volunteers via both Facebook and Twitter.

Beyond social media, the Young Muse Festival hosted “Unveiling the Movement,” a prelude to the main event, on June 8 in an attempt to spread the word about the festival. The event included several fashion shows as well as musical performances, and drew in a crowd of nearly 150 people.

The actual festival is currently scheduled for Aug. 17, and is intended to be free between the hours of noon and 7 p.m., but the concert planned for 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. will cost visitors $10.

“We’re just trying to do something in this area,” Bonomo said. “We’re giving people a positive thing to do that can really help somebody.”