UNITED IN OUR QUEST
|
For the family, friends and associates of ArtsQuest, 2004 was a year of growth and change - 12 months in which the Banana Factory, Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, “Christmas with the von Trapp Children” and Musikfest united to provide educational and cultural experiences for more than 1.2 million residents of the Lehigh Valley and guests from around the world.
|
|
In August, Musikfest and its “United We Jam” theme sparked a musical celebration gathering more than one million people. Three hundred performers, 65 food vendors, 180 sponsors and 1,978 volunteers came together to present a festival that entertained as well as educated the community, while providing a boost to the region’s economy.
Musikfest, “America’s Music Festival,” continues to grow in stature as the most diverse music festival in the United States. With performances on the glass armonica, the harp and the world’s only portable carillon; musical styles ranging from classical to gospel to salsa; emerging artists like Chris Botti, Lucy Bonilla and Jonatha Brooke; and popular acts like Clay Aiken, Crosby Stills & Nash and Chingy, Musikfest provided 10 days of musical cornucopia.
|
|
|
Of particular note during the year was the progress in ArtsQuest’s initiative to be more relevant to the area's growing Latino community.
The Banana Factory offers extensive services to Latinos through its arts and education programs, as well as by providing office and program space for the Hispanic American League of Artists (HALA). In 1999, ArtsQuest began an initiative to engage the Latino community in Musikfest. According to the 2000 census, 18 percent of Bethlehem residents are of Hispanic origin, while 10 percent of Lehigh County and 6.7 percent of Northampton County are.
|
In 2004, Musikfest’s Plaza Tropical celebrated it’s fifth anniversary with great flourish. Focusing on the diversity of music from Latin America, especially the styles from the Caribbean that are relevant to many Latinos in the Lehigh Valley, Plaza Tropical has been a success in involving people from the Hispanic community in the festival. The site features Holy Infancy Church as a vendor, showcasing foods from Portugal and Puerto Rico. The church also hosts a tri-lingual (English, Spanish and Portuguese) church service one Sunday of Musikfest. Other Latino food vendors have also been recruited for the venue.
In 2004, 8 percent of Musikfest’s volunteers were members of the Latino community. On the Plaza Tropical stage, HALA presented its dance students, as well as a very popular salsa dance competition. HOLA, the AM regional Latin radio station, presented a day of outstanding contemporary Latin music and Baby J, host of “Sabroso Video,” presented a showcase of popular Latin acts. The attendance of Latinos at Musikfest is now close to 10 percent of the audience at the festival.
|
|
|
Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem fulfilled its dual role of attracting visitors to Bethlehem and generating financial support for the Banana Factory. With gentle late fall weather, the event had its second best attendance.
By presenting “Christmas with the von Trapp Children” concerts in Allentown, ArtsQuest extended the benefits of holiday tourism to Bethlehem’s next-door neighbor, bringing more than 8,000 people, including more than 150 motor coaches, to the Queen City. Some 62,000 people combined enjoyed the holiday activities, helping raise $100,000 for Banana Factory programs. |
In 2004, thanks to generous donor support, the Banana Factory was able to expand its educational programming to reach more youth in the community. Through the B-Smart after-school program, which is primarily funded as part of the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit program, 150 middle school students participated in after-school enrichment featuring visual arts and web design. Sixty-five percent of the students increased their grade point average and 54 percent improved in school attendance.
|
|
|
The Banana Factory’s unique program of providing art instruction to incarcerated juvenile males at the Northampton County Juvenile Justice Center was expanded to include weekly instruction throughout the year. Counselors at the center report extremely positive results from the program. In 2005 we are looking to expand it to provide more engagement with the juveniles after they return to the community. In all, the Banana Factory’s small staff of three developed and operated 11 major educational programs, managed three sessions of art classes/summer camps and produced 18 gallery shows. |
ArtsQuest provided arts and cultural services to hundreds of thousands of people in 2004. Less than 10 percent of them paid for those services. We thank all of our volunteers, donors, sponsors, staff and other stakeholders for helping us fulfill our mission “to celebrate arts and culture.”
 |
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Parks
President
ArtsQuest |
|
|
|
|
|
