Bizet's Carmen by the Northern Lights Music Festival
The intended outcome of the event tickets program is to create access to professional art (music and theatre) by providing free tickets to a live performance. Live art is dynamic; patrons can experience and be inspired by the energy that comes from a live performance.
When patrons pick up free event tickets at the library they fill out a short survey answering questions about how many Legacy events they have attended, who they are attending with, how they heard about the tickets, if they could attend without these tickets and if they knew that Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund paid for these tickets. Only one survey is filled out regardless of how many tickets are picked up at the library.
199 tickets were used for a 66% return rate. 11 libraries distributed tickets in 2 counties. Our surveys indicated 23 of the patron groups that attended had never attended a Legacy funded event or had only attended one other event. 8 groups also indicated they would not be able to attend if these tickets were not available.
The Northern Lakes Music Festival agreed to a 20% reduction in ticket price for reimbursement of tickets. This savings allows us to participate in more ticketed programs and issue more tickets to live performances.
The following public libraries distributed tickets and provided additional promotion for the program: Babbitt, Buhl, Chisholm, Cook, Ely, Eveleth, Hibbing, Hoyt Lakes, Mt Iron, Silver Bay, and Virginia and approximately 12 regional newspapers.