WE’VE MOVED!

We’ve moved our blog to our Corvallis Fall Festival home site. Please continue to follow us here:

http://corvallisfallfestival.org/blog

Calling All Artists and Musicians

I-5 Nine at 2010 Corvallis Fall Festival

We’re ready to accept your applications and get the ball rolling. Please follow this link to our new Blog Address for more info!
Our apologies for the extra click through…if you have our blog bookmarked, please add the new link. Thanks!

Fall Festival New Artist Category

Our Artist Application will be available to download from our website beginning Feb 1, 2011 and we’re excited about one of the changes we’ve made: We’re inviting artists to apply in a whole new category: DIY/Upcycled. If you are one of the artists already selling your creations on Etsy or Ebay, this category is for you!

We’d like to be a venue for some of the newer artists and craft makers who are making things that don’t necessarily fit regular art fair categories like pottery, painting and woodworking. Many of your are “re-purposing” old things like clothing, records, CD disc, slides, wire, beach glass, etc., into really cool things. And some are just returning to so-called traditional crafts like knitting and weaving but with interesting new twists.

We’ve always had a “Misc” category as a catch-all for artists making things outside our major mediums, but the advantage for artists applying in the DIY/Upcycled category is that you will be juried with peers creating similar, sometimes off-beat work. We see it as a way to encourage those of you who may just be starting out to give our show a try. (All other rules for applying and operating a booth at the festival apply.)

If you have any questions about how to get a booth at Fall Festival, please contact us and read our FAQ page of our website. We’re also available at the office to answer questions most mornings so just give us a call.

If you’re serious about trying to get a booth for the first time, you should also sign up for our mini-workshop “Art Fairs 101–how to get a Booth at Fall Festival” that will be held in March. Use the Contact us link above.

Great Photographs is the KEY to art fair application success, so be working on that now!

Deadline for applying is May 1, 2011.

Kudos Keep Coming In

Children's Stage at Corvallis Fall Festival 2010

A drum roll please…. Word just in that we’ve won FAVORITE FESTIVAL in The Alchemist’s Reader Poll. Since this publication is geared toward the young and hip of our community, we are mighty proud to capture your votes…especially since we’re going to be 39 Years Young ourselves this year.

We are working hard to make sure we’ve got a little something to engage everyone–young as well as young at heart–and it feels very good to get your recognition! If you’ve got suggestions of things we can to do improve, please Contact Us!

Fall Festival Fans: 2010 in Review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how our blog did in 2010 and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Fresher than ever.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 5,800 times in 2010. That’s about 14 full 747s.

The busiest day of the year was September 24th — the day before our party — with 172 views. The most popular post that day was It’s Fall Festival Weekend!.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were facebook.com, corvallisfallfestival.org, gazettetimes.com, democratherald.com, and corvallisfallfestival.mvvoice.com.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

It’s Fall Festival Weekend! September 2010

2

Local Artists At LaSells November 2010

3

Fall Festival Photo Wrap-up October 2010

4

About June 2009
2 comments

5

Support Our Fall Festival Artists November 2010

What’s in Store for 2011?

Autumnal Colors Peeking Out at 2010 Corvallis Fall Festival, Photo Credit: Scobel Wiggins

We have much to be THANKFUL for as we close out 2010 and look forward to the new year. Just a few short months ago it was warm and sunny when you all turned out to help share the Best of our Community in a celebration of Corvallis and the Arts. Artists came and shared their work with us, musicians graced our main stage and got us to dance, and many non-profit groups shared the good works they do as they raised funds in the Food Court or led activities in the Art Zone.

Now that the days are at their shortest, darkest and coolest, we are already looking forward to the coming year. Prior to the festival itself we will be hosting more workshops for visual artists interested in the art fair world and art marketing in general. (Contact us to get notification of dates/times.) We also hope to more fully engage with the First Thursday effort and come up with a plan for more musical artists to join in the fun each month. If you are one of the Riverfront buskers, or have a small acoustic group interested in First Thursdays, please Contact Us for more info. And last but not least, our volunteers will be getting together in spring to begin the all-out planning process for the 2011 Fall Festival — 39 Years Young! We’ll be looking at all facits of the festival to see what can be improved, dropped or added. There are many opportunities to be involved and More Volunteers Are Needed! Contact us for more info.

Hope your 2011 calendars already have September 24 & 25 circled. As the days get longer and brighter, you know we’ll be working to make this year’s event the BEST Ever!

Children's Stage Crowd; Photo Credit: Scobel Wiggins

Fall Festival Soapbox: Seeking New Partners!

Our wonderful City of Corvallis is facing many challenges in the coming year. On our mind today are the decisions our Councilors will need to make regarding the funding and financing of various departments and services that the City provides as well as the many organizations that contract with the City. Tonight’s Budget Committee meeting will challenge the entire community with the task of deciding how Corvallis will look in the next couple of years. Will there be a pool, will the Arts Center still be able to provide valuable programming, will parks be maintained, will the library be open enough to meet the tremendous needs?

Many of you may not realize that Fall Festival, (as well as daVinci Days Festival,) has received funding and assistance of services from the City for many years. The missions of both festivals is to showcase and promote Corvallis and we are proud to serve the community in this way. Past City Councils and the Parks and Recreation Department have credited us with being a cost-effective way for the City to have two wonderful community building events without having to pay considerably more for City staff to coordinate them. Both festivals have shown good “return on investment” for the City funds received in visitor spending levels, partnerships with many businesses and non-profits, strengthening our cultural life downtown, as well as receiving thousands of dollars worth of public relations attention for Corvallis across the region.

The budget shortfall that the City faces means both festivals will need to seek new funding sources and meet new financial challenges of our own. One way Fall Festival hopes to do this is with increased sponsorships with local and regional businesses who are interested in creative partnerships with us. We have 30,000-35,000 attendees seeking a rich weekend experience. We’re a chance to make positive, lasting impressions on thousands of individuals and you will be helping keep our festival thriving with that support. We’re asking you and your business to step up if you can.

For more information and for fun ideas we have for making your dollars count, contact Cynthia Spencer, Executive Director Corvallis Fall Festival TODAY!

ART Not Just For the Birds

"Sky Blue Dream" by Alexis Spakowski

A fantastic showing of artistic creativity is on exhibit for another week at The Arts Center. “Where Birds Dream” is truly a fantasy land one must see. It is both a theme show and silent auction fundraiser for our beloved Arts Center that truly needs the funds.

Artists were invited to created birdhouses of any media they chose. The collection that artists delivered show a range of “home” ideas from functional, whimsical, metaphorical to symbolic. There are some “houses” that will make you laugh and some that may make you think. A few may even make you tear up a bit. Others are sure to get an “ooooh” or “ahhhh.”

The local arts community gave the show solid support and many created out-of-the-ordinary work very unlike their regular styles. (We’re happy to report many of our Fall Festival artists participated!) The public is invited to make bids on the individual pieces. Bidding back and forth might get fierce for some of the favorites.

The Arts Center is open for Corvallis First Thursday, December 2, 5-7 pm, where everyone is invited to help make 1000 origami cranes. The closing reception is 6-8 pm December 10. Final bids that evening will determine in which homes these dream houses will reside.

The Arts Center is located south of Central Park at 700 SW Madison.

Local Artists At LaSells

Showcard for "Solo/Concert" at LaSells Stewart Center

Loosely Bound is a group of eleven Corvallis fiber artists who meet to study, critique, create, support and learn from each other. They are “loosely bound” to a variety of traditions built by past artists, quilters, historians, home economists, as well as family members while still exploring the variety of materials and techniques available to contemporary artists. They’ve been hosting group shows since 2005 and many of these artists have shown at the festival as booth artists or in our Fine Arts Showcase.

“Solo/Concert” celebrates the process of individual and collaborative work. Relationships can be a means for access, influence, insight, inspiration, and emotional support. The pieces in this exhibit represent solo work, small group work bound by theme and endeavors in concert. By exploring these dynamics in a creative setting we have learned that there are many ways that art happens.

“Solo/Concert” will be open to the public beginning Wednesday, Dec 1. A reception for the artists is First Thursday, Dec. 2, from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Support Our Fall Festival Artists

Studio Sale Card

Luckily for us the local arts scene thrives more than just Fall Festival weekend. As part of our mission to “help local arts and crafts thrive,” our efforts to get you out to enjoy the arts don’t end in September! It’s time for holiday sales by many of our Fall Festival artists and we hope you’ll be out there sampling the offerings. We’ll be posting notices as they roll in.

Fall Festival artists Mike DiBitetto and Susan Klein join 7 other artists in this sale at the Blair St. Studios in Eugene Dec 3-5. If you’re heading down South anyways, do stop in!

TEAL artist cooperative is in full swing on 4th Street here in town. There you can see Carrie Tasman–our poster artist from a few years back, and other artists who have kept this seasonal shop going for many years. Paintings, basketry, textiles, ceramics, glass, jewelry, woodworking and more! TEAL’s group booth at the festival is always a popular place to shop and preview the season. Additionally a few of their members have individual booths for showing a wider selection of work. For more information see their website or Facebook Fan Page.

Coming in December see the work of the Loosely Bound artists group in the LaSells Stewart Center Guistina Gallery show: “Solo/CONCERT”. More info to come.

Keep us posted on your sales and we’ll pass the info along as it comes in!