Page 98 - South Mississippi Living - October, 2017
P. 98

Putting Ocean springs on the mapSTORY BY
LYNN LOFTON
Festival has become a national event
Not only is the Peter Anderson Arts & Crafts Festival the biggest festival in Mississippi, the popular event is becoming a national festival too. Venders, visitors and festival award winners are coming from more and more states across the U.S. Based on figures from
last year’s festival, that trend is expected to continue with the 2017 festival.
Looking back at the 2016 festival, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cynthia Sutton said, “One- third of the festival vendors were artists attending for the first time, and that has a lot to do with the fact that we now use the online application process “Zapp” which reaches 70,000 artists nation-wide.
“Plus, word of mouth is still the number one form of marketing and when artists enjoy a show, they share that feedback with all their artist friends across the nation.”
She points out that award winners from the 2016 festival include Donald Portschy from Greensboro, Georgia; Cheryl Baker from Springfield, Missouri; Ross De La Garza from Blanco, Texas;
Sarah Lee from Monroe, Louisiana; and Robin Rodgers from Tallahassee, Florida.
“This festival has truly become a national festival,”Sutton said.“Just look at the award winners from 2016. Each of them came from a different place all over the United States. What an honor it is to have so many artists from around the country here in Ocean Springs supporting the arts.”
Although accurate figures of first- time artists exhibiting at this year’s festival will not be available until the close of the festival, Sutton predicts that number will be one-third or more.
In addition to word of mouth from vendors, new participants are learning of the festival through some regional advertising, a lot of social media and direct mail advertising, along with the online application process.
As for continuing to grow the festival, Sutton said, “We are always looking at new ways to grow the festival in quality and in activities. The footprint of the festival is the largest footprint we have ever had and we will continue to work to increase the quality of the festival.”
According to a 2016 study
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