Ringo Starr, Wynton Marsalis, Mandy Patinkin and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band are among the headliners announced Monday for Reno's 13th annual Artown arts, music and cultural festival.

The Portland, Oregon-based MarchFourth Marching Band (with fire
dancers and stilt walkers) will open the festival July 1st with a
parade to Wingfield Park, an island park in the middle of the
Truckee River in downtown Reno where many of the events are
scheduled. The Harlem Gospel Choir will close the festival July 31.

In between are more than 350 scheduled events, including plays, puppet shows, kite festivals, opera, ballet, jazz, blues, folk, rock and classical music performances. Most are free.

"We've got a little bit of everything," said Beth Macmillan, executive director of Artown.

"Our ticketed events, as well as Artown's hundreds of free
events, offer audiences an opportunity to enjoy a variety of
artistic experiences that we hope will create a deeper appreciation
for not only the culture of art, but for our culture as a whole as
well," she said.

A number of cultural festivals will run concurrently with Artown, including the Native American Festival, 41st annual Reno Basque Festival, the Festival of Russian and Eastern European music, song and dance, and the International Folkloric Ballet Company's performance of traditional dances of Mexico and Spain.

Reno's Municipal Band plays each Tuesday night at Wingfield Park, where the "Food for the Soul World Music Series" is held each Wednesday night, and the Rollin' On the River concerts take place on Friday nights with rock, pop, folk and blues.

The nearby Sands Regency hotel-casino will host pool-side jazz parties each Sunday, 6-8 p.m.

The "Movies in the Park" series will feature "The Lion King," "Yankee Doodle Dandy" on July 4, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and "Vertigo."

Artown drew about 30,000 mostly local visitors its first year in 1996 and grew to an estimated 350,000 people who had a $15.6 million impact on the city last summer, officials said.

"One of the goals of Artown is to get people to understand downtown Reno, understand how easy it is to get around town," City Councilman Dave Aiazzi said.

Starr, the ex-Beatles drummer, and his All-Starr Rock Band play at the downtown Reno Ballroom on July 25 as part of his summer tour promoting his latest album, "Liverpool 8."

Marsalis, a Grammy Award-winning trumpeter, performs with Jazz at the Lincoln Center on July 5 at the Grand Sierra Resort's Grand Theater.

Patinkin, a Tony and Emmy award-winning singer and actor, will perform with a pianist July 15 at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts.

The Preservation Hall Jazz Band plays July 2 at Wingfield Park.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)