Minnesota Festival Support
ACHF Cultural Heritage
Minnesota festivals have greater financial stability and serve broader audiences. The number of Minnesotans who experience the arts through festivals increases. The variety and number of Minnesota artists that are presented through festivals increases. We evaluate the audience number and ask the vendors, the police, and various audience members for estimates. We conducted a survey, and we did audience sampling by wandering and counting.
We added one new funding source, as planned. We increased our audience in the target demographic (ages 10 - 30) from 2,000 to 2,100--a new record for us. The Minnesota State Arts Board grant allowed Rock Bend Folk Festival great flexibility, and we lined up artists (the Green Cards, Pert Near Sandstone, Shakti, Good Night Gold Dust) that would appeal to people aged 10 to 30. The grant also allowed us to address our major past audience complaint: the quality of the sound system. A young Mankato man and his high-tech equipment, at double our previous expense, addressed this issue. Audience members, musicians, and committee members report this was a fabulous improvement. 2: The goal was to exceed our record of 13,000, set last year, and estimates place this year's festival at 13,100 - a new record. We also have two new board members selected for next year from the target demographic, meeting that goal. The target demographic of people aged 10-30 also increased, to 2,100.
Other, local or private