Posts Tagged ‘John Delconte’

Is art development economic development

March 4th, 2009

With the current crisis over the funding of the South Dakota Arts Council looming before the legislature, I think it is an appropriate time to raise the question:  “Is the development of the arts also economic development?” 

South Dakotans typically don’t look at the arts as economic development, but one only has to look at the Brookings Summer Arts Festival  to see the economic impact the arts can have on a community.   

Does that mean it is an effective strategy for small rural towns to pursue?  That is what I was focused on when I listened to the Small Towns podcast titled “Art Towns.”

John Delconte of Small Towns interviewed John Villani, author of The 100 Best Art Towns in America and Tinka Jordi, chairperson of the Hillsborough (NC) Arts Council.

After some an initial delay in the call, John Villani described how he was surprised to discover so many small, rural towns with arts festivals.  This discovery became the focus for his book, and has helped publicize communities with an arts tradition as places to visit. 

John made several great observations during the call that I would like to lift out:

First, he pointed out that the arts community is very entrepreneurial.  Once embedded in a community, this entrepreneurial spirit takes hold of others and can create other opportunities.

Second, he made the case that rural communities don’t need an arts tradition to take advantage of the economic opportunities the arts present.  He described the “hockey and mining” community of Nelson, British Columbia where an owner of a bed and breakfast got together with a few arts enthusiasts to develop a small festival.  The festival grew in popularity, spurring further arts development and economic growth for the community.

And finally, John made the point that communities that are considering investing in the arts need to decide if they want to want to develop their reputation as an arts community or if they want to the arts to lead to an economic impact.  The two are not mutually exclusive, and the community needs to decide on what its goals are.

The above highlights cover only a small portion of the overall phone conversation, and I’d encourage everyone to listen to a rebroadcast at the Small Town’s podcast.  (and hang with the initial delay)

To learn more about the current funding crisis with the SD Art’s Council, check out the following

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Posted in Economic Development, In the News, Rural | Comments (2)

Helping tourists develop a sense of place

January 26th, 2009

Karen Wylie over at Backroads Business picked up on our story about coffee shops and “third places.” She described how a local coffee shop (DT’s Blue Ridge Java) enticed her to join a bridge class at their establishment.

Although intended to bring in customers during a slow time of year, it also contributes to the coffee shop’s “third place” status by encouraging locals to interact with each other.

From what Karen writes, DT Blue Ridge Coffee does a nice job of building community in the town of Spruce Pine, NC where it’s located.  But I wonder if it goes a step further:  does it also serve as a place that helps introduce tourists into the community?

Ireland has become a tourist destination in part because their pubs and other establishments successfully help tourists connect with locals.  In the process, the visitors develop a better sense of place.   They get a chance to feel the uniqueness of each community.

That process is vital to any rural community implementing a tourism strategy.  After all, it’s unlikely that small towns will develop big museums or event centers that larger communities use to attract visitors.  But a lot of people just want to experience a unique place where they can meet special people.   Small towns can fulfill that wish by developing good third places.

Later this morning, I’m going to join a webcast with John Delcante from Smallwander.com.  The subject will be “Third Places”, and I’m sure tourism will be a part of that conversation.

It’s sort of a last minute thing, but we’ll be live at 9:00 am Central.  Feel free to call in or listen live via the link below.

EVENT:  Third Places
DATE & TIME: Monday, January 26th at 10:00am Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast – it’s your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW…
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=5847438

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Posted in Economic Development, Quality of Life, Rural | Comments (5)

Do downtown events = dollars downtown

November 21st, 2008

Absolutely!  That’s my emphatic response to the question posed above by John Delconte of the Smallwander.com network.  John hopes to explore the question of downtown promotions in rural communities in a upcoming teleseminar and is inviting you to join the conversation.  I’ve never met John in person, but I’ve followed his blog for awhile, and we’ve recently started talking about some common interests.  Check out the information below about the teleconference. 

Smallwander.com is hosting it’s monthly teleconference this upcoming Monday, Nov 24, from 10 to 11 am. The topic is “Do downtown promotions = dollars downtown?

I particularly would like to explore why Hillsborough NC’s recent “Ladies Night Out” promotion was successful. On a rainy Thursday night, hordes of women descended on the town and bought like crazy in the shops.

Panelists will include Amy Wilmoth, a freelance marketing consultant for small businesses in the Triangle area of NorthCarolina, Elizabeth Read, Executive Director of the Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, Eddie Ide, President of Newton Merchants, Inc. of Newton North Carolina, and Greta Lint, tourism consultant.

If you have similar stories about how special events translate to dollars in the shops, please think about them beforehand and share them with us. We will be inviting town representatives in our smallwander network.

People will be able to either call in via telephone or listen in over the web. They can also type questions to us. The call will be recorded and eventually posted on our site as a podcast.

Smallwander.com hosts a free teleseminar/webinaron the last Monday of every month, from 10 to 11 am.  Topics relate to small town tourism and economic development.

Click on the link below to check out the web page and get the phone dial-in info.

EVENT: Do downtown promotions = dollars downtown?
DATE & TIME: Monday, November 24th at 10:00am Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW… http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=5098998

You can learn more about the Smallwandernetwork at their website and blog. 

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Posted in Community Development, In the News, Rural, Training and Events | Comments (0)