Rural and Community Art Project Grant
ACHF Arts Access ACHF Arts Education ACHF Cultural Heritage
The Northern Lakes Arts Association’s mission is to enrich the quality of life for our members, the community, and the surrounding area through support and development of the visual, literary and performing arts. We see Tuesday Nite Live as being a project that fits well with Northern Lakes Arts Association goals. The primary goal of Tuesday Nite Live is to provide to our community and its visitors eight weeks of high-quality music performed by local performers in the form of mini-concerts at three venues, thus supporting Ely talent and helping expand their audience. Tuesday Nite Live will also provide a reason for our estimated 250,000 visitors to engage more meaningfully with our town, to get away from the campgrounds and resorts and enjoy our talented community. A third goal is to develop Northern Lakes Arts Association’s role more clearly as the new face of Tuesday Nite Live, which was originally aligned with the Chamber of Commerce. The overarching goal of Tuesday Nite Live is to provide to our community and its visitors eight weeks of high-quality music performed by local performers in the form of mini-concerts at three venues, thus supporting Ely talent and helping expand their audience. To gauge Tuesday Nite Live’s success with this goal, NLAA will rely on interviews with the musicians themselves as well as audience members to gauge a “following” and evaluate the fit between the artist and audience. Northern Lakes Arts Association will develop a short questionnaire to create a record of the musicians’ experiences on each night. This will be supported by an audience survey, as described in the next goal. Tuesday Nite Live will also provide a reason for our estimated 250,000 visitors of all demographics to engage more meaningfully with our town, to get away from the campgrounds and resorts and enjoy our talented community. Northern Lakes Arts Association will create and implement weekly surveys to record crowd estimates, audience demographics, and audience feelings about the musicians. A final goal is to develop Northern Lakes Arts Association’s role more clearly as the new face of Tuesday Nite Live, which was originally aligned with the Chamber of Commerce. Based on the information from the aforementioned interviews and surveys, Northern Lakes Arts Association will develop a protocol for choosing and evaluating the music of Tuesday Nite Live to ensure its artistry and to better complement the musical experiences Northern Lakes Arts Association currently supports.
Northern Lakes Arts Association board members took turns each Tuesday night visiting every music venue, collecting data and conversing with participants. July 5: Barry visited Front Porch (Road House with Earl Bulinski), Chocolate Moose (Heidi Schlitz), Insula (Mike Munson), and Rockwood (Washboard Road). July 12: Heather and Lysle visited Front Porch (Cowboy Angel Blue), Chocolate Moose (Heidi Schlitz), Rockwood (Washboard Road), and Pebble Spa (Portage Trio). July 19: Heather visited Front Porch (Van and the Free Candies), Rockwood (Washboard Road), and Pebble Spa (Portage Trio). July 26: Nancy visited Front Porch (Jeff CERNIAK), Chocolate Moose (Heidi Schlitz), Rockwood (Washboard Road), and Pebble Spa (Portage Trio). August 2: Heather visited Front Porch (Whirled Muse), Zup's (Zack Johnson), Chocolate Moose (Heidi Schlitz), and Pebble Spa (Portage Trio). August 9: Barry visited Front Porch (Cowboy Angel Blue), Chocolate Moose (Heidi Schlitz), Rockwood (Washboard Road), and Pebble Spa (Portage Trio). August 16: Sara visited Front Porch (Roadhouse with Earl Bulinski), Chocolate Moose (Heidi Schlitz), Insula (Chris Holm), and Pebble Spa (Portage Trio). August 23: Heather visited Front Porch (Cowboy Angel Blue), Chocolate Moose (Heidi Schlitz), Rockwood (Washboard Road), and Pebble Spa (Portage Trio). Through these visits, Northern Lakes Arts Association volunteer board members were able to ascertain the audience composition as well as hear from the musicians and business owners. Since Tuesday Nite Live is a tradition in Ely, this first time running with Arrowhead Regional Art Council support was an education process for all involved. Especially the audience to realize that these great community events don't "just happen." Furthermore, by having Northern Lakes Arts Association board members so visible, people realized the organization still exists (which had been in question since the closing of the community center and the retirement of the long time director).
Other, local or private