The longest running art festival in the state, the Wickford Art Festival was founded by Rhode Island transplant John Huszer. Huszer came to North Kingstown to paint insignias on fighter planes at Quonset Point, but once the job was over he decided to stay. 

In the 1950s,he laid some of his own paintings out on the sidewalk in his adopted hometown in the hopes of selling a piece or two. That first summer he sold 40 paintings, far surpassing his own expectations. Other local artists took notice and began following suit, and by 1962 the casual gathering became a formal festival.