Earlier this summer we got lots of reviews from the East Coast shows and now it is getting late in August and I would love to know: how did Sandy (not Katrina) impact the coastal towns? Are the shows occurring? Are the homeowners turning out? Are the tourists coming to town? Are the insurance checks showing up and the people out shopping and replacing or even having a good time?
We participated in the Coconut Grove Art Festival a few months after Hurricane Andrew and it was our best "Grove" show ever. Not only the homeowners had money to spend but also the construction workers, electricians, plumbers, etc. Has this occurred on the Jersey shore and the rest of this area?
Have you been there and have any stories to tell?
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I am a very small fish in the art show pond and don't travel extensively for shows, so it's hard for me to report on the more northern shows. Atlantic City lost several blocks of boardwalk but it was more up in the north inlet area and not in the main business (casino) section. It has all been rebuilt. I do see reports on the Seaside Heights area and their rebuilding efforts. You may have seen pictures of the roller coaster that was deposited in the ocean. They were hit extremely hard, but the reports show that more and more businesses are opening and the boardwalk and its amusement piers is opening new sections which have been rebuilt. Tourism dollars seem to be only slightly down. The term "Stronger Than The Storm" is the ad slogan that NJ has adapted to refer to Jersey's spirit and resolve to rebuild better than before. Since Sandy is refered to as "The Storm" and not "The Hurricane" we say we are "Stronger Than The Storm" :-)
Great plan ;)
Connie, I live about 30 miles inland from Atlantic City. The worst of the damage was a bit farther north from us. I haven't heard how the Jersey Shore show on Long beach Island went. I had heard they had offered free booth space to draw in artists, but haven't heard how attendance was. Television here is flooded with commercials touting "Stronger than the storm " but there are still issues with recovery funding and flood zone re-alignment. Many folks are still struggling. Others have recovered well. I am doing a show in Atlantic City which is a one day event on Sept 7th. It is being put on by the Noyes Museum of Art. This is their first boardwalk show so we'll see how it goes. They are tying it in with the Do A. C. promotion and calling it Do-art AC. Atlantic City is pumping serious money into developing an Arts district and has recently unveiled a sculpture park. This venture could possibly bloom into something very nice for an art show down the road.
I will also do the Wheaton Arts show in Millville NJ in Oct, which has always been a great show for me. That area (my hometown) had very minimal storm damage.
So, you can really give a good report on this section of the country. You've got to be hearing reports and seeing events that are trying to recover or have recovered. What does that mean, "stronger than the storm?" what is stronger?
It is great to hear about AC's initiative for this arts district. There are other places around the country where they have found that putting money into something like this is better than building a sports stadium for the local economy. Lots of studies on this... the arts rebuild the economy. Who ever would have thought of AC as an arts district though? The Jersey shore is so wonderful to have an arts district in the heart of it seems like a great idea to me.
Best wishes with this boardwalk show. Did they have to rebuild it or did it survive?
I did the Ocean City (not the boardwalk show) and the crowd was non-existant. We had visited this show for several years before (not as an exhibitor) and the crowd was strong and money was flowing. I just received a letter from the organizer apologizing for the low turnout (down 41 %) and sited the poor weather conditions for the whole season leading up to the event. The day of the show was gorgeous and I'm sure many took advantage to hit the beach.
The following week we did the Stone Harbor show and I have to admit it was the best show ever for sales for me. Our neighbors at the show also were doing a brisk business. Crowds were very strong on Saturday, and Sunday was only a bit lower in attendance. I talked to several other artists who had good days and I'm sure there were also some who did not meet expectations. There were also a significant number of empty artist spaces at the show so maybe some artists are also backing off on the Jersey Shore shows.
So it sounds like the Ocean City show had the usual problem with beachfront shows, give us good beach weather and we go to the beach. Give us "iffy" weather and we go to the show. Right? This one may not have reflected the storm damage problem.
That was very cool for that show director to address the issue, so it sounds like you were right in your surmising it could be a good show, just not this year.
Great to hear about Stone Harbor. After the disaster it is hard for some people to get back in there and I know artists were nervous about losing this good marketplace (this section of the East Coast). Do you live on the Eastern Shore? Do you have more shows lined up in this region?
OMG! You can tell I live in a non-hurricane area -- I'm going to change that right now ... embarrassing ...
Alison, is that the only coastal show you are doing this year? I do remember you were at Boardwalk in Virginia Beach. Did that even count in the "storm count?"
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