Published November 29, 2024

Artown is celebrating its 30^th anniversary! Why not join us and present an event?

by Beth Macmillan

I love this time of year. It’s when we get together with those we care about: our family, friends and loved ones, to enjoy the Holiday season. As we gather and celebrate during this magical season, I want to extend this gentle reminder that it’s also time to start thinking about preparing your 2025 Artown event. In this article, I will outline the simple steps you can take to create an Artown event. Artown is designed to showcase the creativity and talents of any non-profit, small local business, or individual artist. These creatives are the heart and soul of the festival and are one of the main reasons it has been so successful over the years. We always have, and always will, focus on partnering with local artists. As such, the festival is not designed for for-profit or commercial promoters. It is also important to note that Artown is not a funding source. 

 

For the upcoming Artown 30^th anniversary, most of the events will celebrate all the artistic creativity that is incubated and produced by our area’s home-grown artists; it will   be a year of genuine celebration of the richness of the artistic industry in our community.  One of the many benefits of partnering with Artown is that it allows artists to retain their creative independence and identity while reaping the rewards of our large-scale efforts at multi-faceted marketing, festival branding, and our extensive distribution of printed promotional materials. Artown’s goal is to have all your July events filled to capacity, allowing you to cultivate a base of supporters who will patronize and support your artistry during the remaining 11 months of the year. 

If you have not already done so, email office@artown.org. By taking this step, you’ll be entered into the Artown Presenter email list and begin to receive important updates and information, which will keep you informed and make sure you are part of Artown festival.    

Then, beginning on January 1, 2025 – March 31, 2025, the Artown Presenter Portal will be open for Presenters (artists, creators and business owners like you) to enter their event details. While going through this process, if you have any questions or need additional information or guidance, you can direct inquiries to presenter@artown.org.  

During this three-month period, the portal registration process will ask you for the following:

• Event name
• Type of event (ongoing, workshop or standard)
• Date(s) of event
• Location of the event (venue). This needs to be secured by you. If you desire to be at the Robert Z. Hawkins Amphitheater, please email festivalmanager@artown.org 
• Food and beverage options (if any)
• Genre (cultural, dance, family, film, history, music, theater, visual, literary, or other)
• Event phone number, a good working number for people to get more information
• Event rating (G, PG, Adult)
• Ticketing information (free, ticketed, donation - and pricing, if applicable)
• Website URL for more information (optional)
• YouTube Video (optional)
• A short description up to 60 characters (this goes in the Little Book printed schedule)
• A long description up to 1500 characters (this goes on the Artown website)
• Cash sponsors (only for events that are sponsored)
• Images (optional but highly recommended; high-quality images in JPG, JPEG, PNG formats must be used)
• Press Release (also optional but highly recommended)
   

All approved events will:

• Appear in the Artown Little Book printed schedule with all Artown events. Space in the Little Book is precious, so every event will have just two lines of print. Here is a link to last year’s Little Book, so you can see how events are formatted.  Events that are Ongoing, Workshops, and Individual events are all listed in separate sections in the Little Book
• Have its own webpage on www.artown.org where sponsors, photos, a press release and videos may be uploaded. This page will also have a longer description than the Little Book, which allows you to creatively illustrate and get into the real details of your event
   

Presenters will be invited to the Artown Media Reveal Day event, which is a special public announcement that unveils all the fabulous artists for the July festival.

Although Artown will be promoting all the events that are part of the festival, it is important that you take the following steps to ensure your event receives maximum exposure and publicity during July:

SOCIAL MEDIA

To further leverage Artown’s extensive marketing, it’s important that you:

• Tag Artown on all presenter’s Artown event pages on Facebook
• On Instagram, hit “invite collaborators” and choose Artown
• Add the Artown logo to all your flyers, posters, print ads, and digital ads. The Artown logo, in many different formats, may be downloaded during the Portal entry process. 
   

ARTOWN LOGO AND BRANDING MATERIALS
You will be able to pick these materials up from the Artown office, we’ll let you know when this is available via email.

These materials are provided at no cost to you and are significant for cross-promoting and branding your Artown event:

• A transparent window cling Artown logo, for your window/door entry
• A 2025 Artown poster to place prominently in your business
• We will also provide you with some Little Books for pickup
   

PUBLICITY
It is also highly recommended that you write a press release for your Artown event. This may be sent to presenter@artown.org and it will be posted to your Artown event page. 

When you do this, media outlets can access the who, what, when, and where details of your event if they decide to publish or broadcast its details for the community. Please also send the press release to a variety of media outlets you may be familiar with, as you may be selected for a media interview.

As you celebrate all that makes the Holidays so special, please keep in mind that Artown is right around the corner and that we invite, welcome, and look forward to you being a part of this magical, unique local arts festival experience.

Happy Holidays!

Beth Macmillan is the Executive Director of Artown, one of the largest arts and culture festivals in the western United States, offering over 500 events with a wide range of artistic disciplines, including music, dance, theater, visual arts, literature, and more.

Approaching Artown’s 30^th Anniversary  by Beth Macmillan — October 18, 2024

Artown 2024 Tips and Tricks!  by Beth Macmillan — June 28, 2024

Artown 2023  by Beth Macmillan — June 30, 2023