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 The group talked at length about the upcoming Pigs and Swigs
Festival and heard from planning committees via Chris Graue and
Michelle Bauer in addition to Cara Barr, events coordinator for the
LCA.
Barr, along with Andi Hake of the Alliance and Nicole Cox of the
Chamber, also offered up some quick information about the second
festival of the season, the Arts in the Park. Arts in the Park will
be held on July 18th and 19th.
With the singular Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival this year
expanding into four festivals, 'Arts in the Park' is the 'Art'
component of the original festival.
Arts in the Park will take place in Latham Park as usual. Barr said
that for this festival, the only street closure that will affect the
downtown area will be Pekin Street directly adjacent to Latham Park.
The basic concept of the art in the park will be the same as in
previous years. Artists will set up their works for display, and the
public will be welcome to purchase their pieces. There will still be
an artist judging event, and monetary awards will be given for the
best art on display.
 The Arts in the Park event will also include the Taste of Wine
component from the original festival, but with several new twists to
make it more interesting and interactive. There will be a wine
tasting event on Pekin Street with an open air set-up, as well as a
tent and live music. There will be gourmet food vendors at the
corner of Pekin and McLean Streets.
Barr said that the food and wine tasting would add a bit of an
elegant feel to this festival.
Currently, there are wineries as well as one craft beer vendor
planning to attend the wine tasting.
In addition, Ashley Trueblood of Chatham will be bringing some
unique paintings representing Logan County just for this event.
Trueblood heads up Picasso on the Prairie, which offers painting
classes and a special event that couples painting with wine tasting.
Barr said that the decision had been made not to use the park’s band
stand for music this year because it poses a safety issue, and there
are also issues with electricity.
Hake said she wanted to clarify and correct some misinterpretations
that have been posted on social media. She said the Arts in the Park
event is not for kids, and there will be no children activities in
the park.
She said that when the LCA was looking at the date for the Arts in
the Park, they realized that the Family Fun Day hosted by Open Arms
Christian Fellowship was the same weekend at Scully Park.
Hake said they called on OACF Pastor Larry Crawford and discussed
the festival date with him. He took it to his church elders and
congregation. Hake said, “I wouldn’t say they were ecstatic, but
they liked the idea and were okay with it. I want to make it clear.
There are people who think we bullied our way in, and that is not
the case at all. If they had had any issues with it, at all we would
have gone to a different weekend.”
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She said that while the Arts in the Park and the Family Fun Day were going to
remain as two separate events, they did complement each other in that in Latham
Park there will be an adult only event and in Scully, the event will be very
much family oriented.
Hake also said that in the past Christian Child Care had set up a kid’s art
activity tent in Latham Park. They were approached but new director is still in
transition. For this year, the tent would be too much of an undertaking. Hake
said they might return in future years, and if they do the LCA will work to
accommodate them perhaps through a partnership with the Family Fun Day.
For the art component, it was reported that there are currently approximately 30
artists signed up. The goal for this year is to have a total of 40 artists. At
its peak, the Art Fair brought in about 80 artists. However, that number has
declined each year for the past three or four years. Hake said the reason for
this is that attending these types of festivals is time-consuming and costly for
the artists. Many of these artists are now turning to internet marketing where
there are specific websites that permit them to sell their art with a lot less
effort.
Barr talked about the marketing of the festivals as four events, saying that
each event was going to have its target audience and that advertising would be
more specific to that audience.
Hake also talked about the target marketing for the various festivals. She said
that logos had been designed for Pigs and Swigs, as well as Arts in the Park.
She had conducted some local research with those logos.
The logos had been shown to a variety of people and as she sat and watched the
reactions she saw that they reacted differently to each one. She said for
example, of those who lit up at the Pigs and Swigs, many were much less
interested in Arts in the Park.
As the meeting came to an end, Cox shared that rack cards had been printed to
promote the Pigs and Swigs and the Arts in the Park. She encouraged business
owners and managers to take some cards and have them at their checkout stations
for shoppers.
Those cards will also be distributed to other locations throughout the community
to help promote the two downtown events.
[Nila Smith] |
