Art Walk - Sept. 5

[Marianne B]

What a terrific night! We (husband Mark, niece Emily & myself) attended with 2 friends who had never been to the Village. Fascinating to see it with new eyes and how excited our guests became with each passing gallery. Kudos to both the Art Center with Mr. Lewis's Highwaymen exhibit and Debra McKeever/Manatee Glens exhibit. Mark Runnals - you made Debra's evening with the glitter for her walls. She was blown away at your generousity.

In the vernacular of the kids "Major Props to all of the galleries for keeping it real!"

[Rick Hughes]

I attended on Saturday and had a good time visiting many galleries and meeting many people. I moved door to door and was sometimes following, and sometimes being followed, by a couple of ladies on their first visit to the Village. (One lady was from Lutz and the other from St. Augustine and drove from Lutz especially for ArtWalk).

I had the chance to speak, at length, with Doug, Kevin, Amara and Slade. The passion and creativity of the Village is something remarkable; kudos to all for the strides the Village is making.

I plan to come next month on Friday night...

[The Village Bookshop]

Thanks Marianne~!

It was a great night. Good turn out for open-mic, and our best sales for seven or eight months.

I attribute this to a combination of good weather and the Arts Council Highwaymen Exhibit. This is the very sort of event that will bring art lovers to the Village. Hat's off to Robin & Carl.

Doug

[Marianne B]

Do you think that the Village should look at "special" activities each month? Has anyone kept monthly crowd estimates to see if there is any kind of trend to speak of? M

The Village Bookshop said:

Thanks Marianne~!

It was a great night. Good turn out for open-mic, and our best sales for seven or eight months.

I attribute this to a combination of good weather and the Arts Council Highwaymen Exhibit. This is the very sort of event that will bring art lovers to the Village. Hat's off to Robin & Carl.

Doug

[Lee Shore Gallery/Christina Lee]

Thanks, we are glad you enjoyed Artwalk. As a Artist/Gallery Owner, I love to hear feed back and to know you had a good time at Artwalk. Spread the word, the October Artwalk (Oct 3rd 6-9:30 pm and Oct 4 11am-4pm) there will be approximately 5 new Galleries opening. Come out and have fun with us.
Christina Lee/Lee Shore Gallery www.leeshoregallery.com Open every Friday Noon-4pm and Saturday 11am-4pm and all Village of the Arts Events

[The Village Bookshop]

Hi Marianne -

In response to your note: the Village has always had regular events, sometimes overlapping with ArtWalks, and occasionally on non-ArtWalk weekends. The disappointment this spring regarding Movie & Martini, among other things, drove the Artists Guild of Manatee Board to re-think event planning this year. They've done a wonderful job so far with a renewed focus on "fewer done better" and taking into consideration that weather always plays a part in planning. The Arts Council has a separate board, and they plan to have their own exhibits and events. Last night at the general Guild meeting we showered kudos on Carl Keeler and Robin Kaercher, about the Highwaymen Show. It, and Deb McKeever's exhibit, were critical in making a normally slow September, in a slumping economy, a real record-breaker, and revived our spirits after a sleepy summer.

With regard to your "Has anyone kept monthly crowd estimates to see if there is any kind of trend to speak of?" That is, in fact, part of the work being done with surveys as a part of the Knight Foundation's plan, in concert with the DDA, the Manatee Chamber Foundation, and consultant Bill Bulick (I'm sure you all ready know all about this - but good to put it up just in case others aren't aware). See the Bradenton Business and Cultural Alliance document here: http://www.ddabradenton.com/documents/BCBAAnnouncementPressConferen...


Currently, the event list for the Village (not necessarily exhaustive) is as follows:

Latin Fest Nov 7,8
Holiday in Paradise Dec 5, 6
Chamber of Commerce Networking Event Dec 9
B-Day/Communitree Jan 2,3
Studio Tour Jan 9,10
Black History Month Feb 13 - 21 (exact dates not released yet)
Short Film Festival March 6,7
St. Patrick's Day Event March 14
Recycled Art April 3,4
Poetry Slam at TVB April 3
Garden Walk April 3,4
Fashion Show/Luncheon April 11
Emerging Artists Competition (date to be announced)
Arts Alive May 9
Duct Tape Contest May

so that gives a little glimpse into what the Guild Event Taskforces are planning.
The new www.villageofthearts.com website will be up in a few weeks, and should do a better job keeping folks informed as dates become available.

over & out
Marianne B said:

Do you think that the Village should look at "special" activities each month? Has anyone kept monthly crowd estimates to see if there is any kind of trend to speak of? M

The Village Bookshop said:

Thanks Marianne~!

It was a great night. Good turn out for open-mic, and our best sales for seven or eight months.

I attribute this to a combination of good weather and the Arts Council Highwaymen Exhibit. This is the very sort of event that will bring art lovers to the Village. Hat's off to Robin & Carl.

Doug

[Marianne B]

Thanks for the great list of events. I still would recommend some type of ongoing crowd count (estimate) be kept to see if any trends develop. I do know that the Guild has worked very hard to have a plethora of activities to appeal to the different segments of our community. I personally get frustrated when I see how hard everyone is working and somehow the promotion isn't as successful as I would wish it to be. I was extremely disappointed last year when the free shuttle service from Winter Wonderland to the Village didn't pan out as expected.

I also wonder if we tried some new marketing ideas such as encouraging the various "Senior Centers" within a 50 mile radius to include the Saturday Art Walk in their activities. Locally Freedom Village, Westminster Towers and the Shores all have buses and plan trips for activities. Has anyone contacted the activities director with Sun City and other retirement communities in Sarasota County? Maybe the village could have a "Grandma (& Grandpa) Moses Day complete with music from the 30's and 40's, some type of lunch specials or box lunches, etc.

Just a thought.

[Lee Shore Gallery/Christina Lee]

I have seen Freedom Village's bus in the Village for Artwalks. We do have special tours coming through the Village all the time, but we are always open to ideas to bring shoppers into the Village. We want the community to think about the Village first if they need a special gift for a special occasion. With almost 40 Galleries we have something for everyone, and a price range to fit every budget. It is a great place to get that one-of-a-kind special gift for someone.
Christina

[The Village Bookshop]

Okay, two corrections to the list of events I supplied earlier:

Garden Walk April 4

Duct Tape Competition April 4-28

[Robin Kaercher]

It was the Arts Council of Manatee County who hosted Mr. Lewis. We are the County Local Arts Agency that provides the umbrella under which all arts organizations may gather. The Council is the agency that represents all 5 disciplines of the arts. It was a great show and money flowed like water for the first time in a very long time. Thanks for your interest. Robin K.