2013-325 Arts - Town or Carrboro Recreation & Parks Dept for Apering 2013 Art Grant $1,500

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The day long, free festival features all styles of music at numerous outdoor and indoor venues including The Cat's Cradle, Milltown, Weaver Street Market, The Century Center, Armadillo Grill, The Music Loft, and the Town Commons. This festival is designed to provide the wealth of local and regional talent with opportunities to reveal their talent to a wider audience. The Festival showcases both professional and amateur performers and the varied musical genres they represent. In the space of a few hours (and within a few blocks) a listener can hear bluegrass, folk music,jazz, country, rock&roll, classical, and world music, including Middle Eastern, Klezmer, Asian and Celtic. There remains a consistent effort to showcase all our area's ethnic groups as well as the area's younger musicians. Our Teen Stage has included a good cross section of our talented youth. There was an expansive children's area that included two large inflatable play areas as well as participatory games, storytelling, and music. The Scrap Exchange will be providing materials and trained staff to supply a fun, educational, hands-on creative arts experience. They help children transform clean,reusable industrial discards into inventions for science, hats and costumes for plays, games and toys for fun. The festival is an event in which performers provide their services completely free of charge and the event could not go on without their valuable contribution of time and talent, as well as the support of the Town of Carrboro and the community. Each year the number of musicians wishing to perform has increased. Last year's event featured 180 performances at 25 venues throughout the day ranging from solo singer-songwriters to a 20 person Capoeira music and dance troupe. The festival sees an increase in the number of performer applications from outside the area- an indication of the rising profile of the festival. There is also an increase in the number of well-known professional musicians who are willing to perform for free, as the event is seen as a way of giving back to the community. The 2012 event featured an area at the Town Commons where local artisans and crafts people will display and sell their handy-works. Additionally there were information tables for many area non-profits and community-based organizations. A serious effort is being made to widen the event's scope to promote an awareness of different aspects of our community fabric. The overall intent is to foster both a thriving artistic community and a vibrant and well-informed social environment. The past few years have seen an estimated attendance of approximately 10,000. The festival serves to reinforce the area's reputation for support of music and the arts, while providing positive economic impact to area restaurants,businesses, and social organizations. The bulk of the patrons in attendance have always been primarily from the immediate area,but we are also seeing the benefits of visitors from many different points on The East Coast.