Upcoming Events
Kudos to Joseph Classen, winner of the 2024 HAF Artist Showcase and first place winner of PPADC’s 2025 Playwright-In-Residence Program. His play “3000 Days of Abandonment” along with a staged reading of Brigid Amos’ drama “Covenant Farm” will premiere at the 5th annual Hamilton Arts Festival (HAF)
(August 7 – 23) as part of our playwright showcase.
AUGUST 7 ~ 23, 2025
The Paterson Performing Arts Development Council (PPADC) is thrilled to announce its 2025 Annual Hamilton Arts Festival (HAF). Now in its fifth season, the festival will run August 7 – 23, 2025, featuring a series of events designed to promote and showcase the works of independent artists from film, theater, poetry, and other disciplines.
The annual Hamilton Arts Festival (HAF) comprises as series of events, including film screenings, staged readings, theatrical performances, artist showcases, and talkbacks. HAF is designed to promote and showcase artists with diverse talents, from various backgrounds in the performing arts and other disciplines.
HAF Short Film Fest
Nine films from independent artists
August 7th @ 7PM
Charles J. Muth Museum
@ Hinchcliffe Stadium
HAF Artist Showcase
August 12th @ 8PM
Location: TBA
HAF Playwright’s Reading and Talkback Series
Covenant Farm
by Bridgid Amos
A struggle among three women over the fate of a communal organic farm, addressing the conflict between financial and health security and pursuing a passion.
August 9th @ 7PM
The Great Falls Center
HAF Virtual Art Gallery
August 18th will showcase works from Paterson students participating in New Destiny’s Family Success Center’s Restorative and Transformative Justice Program. The art is being curated by instructor, artist, and PPADC collaborator, Joel “YOBE” Belaño.
3000 Days of Abandonment
by playwright Joseph Classen
August 22nd & August 23rd
7PM – 9PM
Great Falls Center
The play is loosely based on the writer’s own experiences growing up. It deals with a family dynamic involving a mother who is in prison for drug trafficking and the effect it has on her young son, siblings, and her own mother, as well as issues surrounding immigration, citizenship, and deportation. The story mainly takes place in the Uribe household of NJ, Danbury Federal Penitentiary in CT, and in the Uribe family Car, an old Toyota 4-Runner.