Hosting arts events are an important part of economic revitalization in our community. For residents and visitors alike, they communicate important small town lifestyles and values.”
On Saturday August 20 the Columbian Artists Association and the City of Longview Parks and Recreation offered a summertime Art in the Park festival at Lake Sacajawea.
This year’s festival was beautiful, due in part to the wonderful sunshine we’ve been having, but mostly due to the efforts of the volunteer organizers and the outstanding group of participating artists.
This year more than 50 booths featured local artworks including photography, fused glas, stained glass, china painting, iron art, fabric art, woodworking, jewelry, sculpture, watercolor, oils, acrylics and prints. There was even a booth for children to create their own artwork!
Several of our gallery artists participated, including Carol Boudreau, Scott McRae and Marisa Mercure. Carol generously gave her time to help organize the event.
Hosting arts events like these are an important part of economic revitalization in our community. For residents and visitors alike, they communicate important small town lifestyles and values. Hollywood often mythologizes these values in “feel-good” movies, but the underlying truth is that small towns and cities are often in dire economic straights, with city and county budgets strained to the limit.
Yet the ability to support the arts can have a dramatic impact on economic opportunities. Visitors form opinions about communities based upon their ability to provide art and culture, which translates into an attractive location for businesses with many employees. It’s also an incentive for arts professionals and artists in search of small town safety, affordability and a sense of community connectedness.
Today visual artists and art gallery owners have found it possible to make a living in places that had never been widely known for supporting the arts. They have found small towns and cities to be welcoming, if not always lucrative, places to pursue their career goals.
We can’t help but think that Art in the Park helps support our community, as much as it helps support artists. Special thanks to the Columbian Artists Association and the City of Longview for supporting the arts. You are helping to bring arts-supportive people to our community in areas where they have not always been visible in previous years!
Here’s some sights from this year’s festival! We hope to see everyone again next year!
