NEW: Elorza Calls for Annual “North by Northeast” Festival in Providence Beginning in 2016
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Democratic candidate for Mayor of Providence Jorge Elorza called for the creation of a weeklong festival earlier today to showcase the city’s vibrant arts and culture scene on a regional and national level.
"This festival is the perfect embodiment of what I mean by One Providence," Elorza said at a press conference held at The Avenue Concept. "All communities and all neighborhoods coming alive to show the world what Providence can do."
Elorza said that if elected his administration will begin working on the festival immediately with a launch date of 2016 and uses the world-renowned South By Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin, Texas as a model.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“Our city has all the essential strengths to be a magnet city – attracting visitors, new residents, money, and talent – on par with hotbeds like Portland, OR, Austin, TX, or even Boston," said Elorza, emphasizing that he sees similar economic potential for an event in Providence.
"We are going to make sure we learn from what has been done [in Providence] before, learn what has been done in other communities, and make sure we bring together all of the creative communities together and all stakeholders and package it in a way that we get this density of activity so we can begin to brand our city as the Creative Capitol with this signature event," said Elorza.
Under Elorza’s plan, the City would seek a partner organization to plan and execute the festival through a request for proposals. The City would offer seed funding, and the partner agency would be responsible for assembling a planning committee encompassing representatives from many of Providence’s existingarts, cultural, and tourism organizations.
“The economic impact of such a festival is immediate and significant, and also has ripple effects that continue to benefit the city,” said Elorza. “The kind of profile that comes with hosting an event of this type impacts the city all year round by strengthening its brand identity."
"This festival is not about building culture. It is about bringing what already exists, repackaging it and distributing it out to a much broader audience. We already have a lot of great energy moving in that direction The plan is for the Arts Culture and Tourism Department to provide some seed funding. The bulk of the money however, will come from private entities, corporate sponsors, and from ticket sales," Elorza added.
Elorza sees this festival as a “cultural calling card” that will better enable Providence to market itself as a national destination with a clear and unique brand identity.
“I firmly believe that part of what is holding Providence back from achieving greater national spotlight is that we have not made a strong enough effort to market the city," said Elorza.
Elorza noted that there is already a fair amount of existing goodwill towards this idea, and that many in the city’s creative community have talked of the need for a “North By Northeast” to enhance Providence’s reputation as a cultural destination.
“Over many conversations with the city’s creative community, a common theme emerged: that we have all the pieces necessary to be a first-rate destination, but we haven’t successfully put those pieces together,” Elorza said.
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