By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — The popular River to River Festival is changing hands this year, organizers announced Wednesday.
The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council is taking over the free arts festival from the Downtown Alliance, which has run River to River since 2002.
"LMCC is thrilled to bring the River To River Festival under its umbrella as it fits perfectly with our mission of leveraging the arts to support and reinvigorate the broader community," Sam Miller, president of the LMCC, said in a statement.
The festival was created after 9/11 to revitalize downtown Manhattan and now draws more than 100,000 people each summer to free concerts and performances below Chambers Street.
A source familiar with the leadership change said the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council would be in a better position to provide a unified artistic vision for the festival in the future, whereas in the past, the events were more of a hodgepodge.
Liz Berger, president of the Downtown Alliance, said in a statement that the LMCC's leadership would "take the River to River Festival to the next level."
The Downtown Alliance will remain a sponsor of the festival, as will Arts World Financial Center, the Battery Park City Authority, the South Street Seaport and American Express.
The 2011 River to River season begins in June, and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council will announce the programming lineup in April, officials said.
