FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Amy Baker, Downtown Community Alliance
(515) 286-4919 or (515) 577-7495

For Immediate Release


Des Moines Arts Festival is Recognized as
Best Overall Festival and Event in the World


DOWNTOWN DES MOINES – The International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) paid tribute to the Des Moines Arts Festival® with 21 awards in the prestigious IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards competition on Sept.15, 2010 at the IFEA’s 55th Annual Convention & Expo in Saint Louis.

The highlight of ceremony was the Des Moines Arts Festival
winning the Gold Grand Pinnacle Award. The Gold Grand Pinnacle is IFEA’s highest award, reflecting the best overall festival and event in the world.


“We would like to congratulate the Des Moines Arts Festival for their outstanding
entries into this year’s competition,” said IFEA President & CEO, Steven Wood Schmader, CFEE. “The IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards represents the hallmark of excellence in the festivals and events industry. Entries in every budget category, from every corner of the globe, allow us to recognize the best in our business while raising the standards and quality of media promotions and events across the board.”


In addition to winning the Gold Grand Pinnacle, the Des Moines Arts Festival also brought home 20 other awards including:


Eight Gold Awards
Best Commemorative Poster – Jodi Perry’s Summer Daydream; Best Single Magazine Display Ad; Best Event Invitation; Best Sponsor Follow-up Report; Best Environmental Program – Hy-Vee Green Arts Program; Best Community Outreach Program – Prairie Meadows Community Outreach Program; Best Children's Programming; and Best Press/Media Kit.

Eight Silver Awards
Best Outdoor Billboard; Best Sponsor Solicitation Package; Best Single New Sponsorship Program – Hy-Vee Green Arts Program.; Best Sponsorship Program for Individual Sponsor – Prairie Meadows; Best New Promotion – Best Event (within an existing festival); Interrobang Film Festival presented by Nationwide; Best T-Shirt Design; and Best Overall Merchandising Program.


Four Bronze Awards

Best Newspaper Insert/Supplement; Best Single Newspaper Display Ad; Best Sponsor – Principal Financial Group; and Best Hat.

Sponsored by industry leader Haas & Wilkerson Insurance, the professional competition draws entries from among the world’s top festivals and events. Winning entries came from organizations as diverse as the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO; Borderfest Association, Festival of Lights, Hidalgo, TX; Shows Etc.-Idaho State Capital Building Rededication Celebration, Boise, ID; Kentucky Derby Festival, Louisville, KY; Saint Louis Art Fair, Saint Louis, MO; and the International VSA Festival, Washington DC. International contenders included such diverse event organizations as Baekje Cultural Festival, South Korea; Ludwig Van Beethoven Easter Festival, Krakow, Poland; Rotterdam Festivals, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Festival Lent, Slovenia and Sentosa Development Corporation, Sentosa, Singapore.

The Des Moines Arts Festival is produced by the Downtown Events Group, a division of the Downtown Community Alliance.


###


The Des Moines Arts Festival ® is presented by The Des Moines Register, founded by the Des Moines Art Center and produced by Downtown Events Group. The Festival is sponsored by Prairie Meadows, Principal Financial Group®, Aviva, BRAVO Greater Des Moines, Bank of the West, Des Moines Radio Group, GuideOne Insurance, Hy-Vee, Iowa Public Radio, Meredith Corporation, ME&V, Nationwide, U.S. Cellular®, and WHO-HD 13. For more information on the Des Moines Arts Festival visit www.desmoinesartsfestival.org.


International Festivals & Events Association


Headquartered in Boise, Idaho, the International Festivals & Events Association (IFEA) is The Premiere Association Supporting and Enabling Festival & Event Professionals Worldwide. In partnership with global affiliates under the umbrellas of IFEA A6frica, IFEA Asia, IFEA Australia, IFEA Europe, IFEA Latin America, IFEA Middle East, and IFEA North America the organization's common vision is for A Globally United Industry that Touches Lives in a Positive Way through Celebration," The Association offers the most complete source of ideas, resources, information, education and networking for festival and event professionals worldwide. For a complete list of winners and more information on the IFEA, go to www.ifea.com.



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Comments

  • Connie...I've not been to the Des Moines show-yet, but your mention of the back to back with Cherry Creek reminded me of how many times I've heard the same from other friends and artists.

    Any event that competes with and is well-reviewed by their peers ([promoters)should be considered successful. We, as artists, have our own criteria for 'success'...without us they would be nothing, right? but we should remember that shows (juried ones, at any rate) have to keep the venue fresh and interesting-- and in order to attract US must attract the people who attend; they must have those publishable perks to catch the attention of the sort of buyers WE want. If we were promoters what would be the PERFECT fair...PERFECT festival..? Probably one where EVERYONE is happy and that covers a big territory, doesn't it!

    Kathleen Neff
  • We applied to Des Moines every year after it was taken over by this group from the Art Center. Luckily we got in three or four times. It was a dream event from an artist's point of view -- everything in place with an excited group of people who loved the fair. Sales, amenities, the city...we loved it.

    We never made the trek to Sausalito, just couldn't justify the expense of driving there from Michigan. We did Cherry Creek many times - another fine event. Well run and very artist friendly. I loved being there with all the other fine work. A back to back Des Moines and Cherry Creek always got all our bills caught up and we would drive home very happy.
  • Congrats to all involved on putting on an award winning event! There is a big difference between and "Art Fair" and a "Festival," and a huge amount of work to bring all the parts together.

    Lois Songer
  • Thanks, Connie, now I know why I've never heard of them. As Norm's partner for so many years, what do you think of their rating? Did you ever do Sausalito, Cherry Creek, etc.?
  • You would have no reason to know about it, RC. It is for event organizers where they go to learn from the others how to run events, find sponsors, make connections to make expensive events work. It is the International Festival and Events Association -- and it covers things like the Kentucky Derby, Shanghai Art Fair, Indianapolis 500, Cotton Bowl, and lots internationally we have never heard of. So it is pretty interesting that when Des Moines (and Cherry Creek who won the bronze award) gets an award over some of these very famous ones. Here's a link, more about IFEA.
  • IFEA, 'til now, never heard of them. Are all shows in country considered? Or, just member shows? I've seen that too many times.... Just another group with their collective heads up a very dark and parochial hole.
  • even though i don't do it any more because it is so far away and also my sales have slowly slid the last few times there, i would still rate it the absolutely, without doubt-ably, indisputably, undeniably, unassailably the best show in iowa.
    (of course i have never done any other show in iowa so maybe i need a little more data on iowa shows)
  • I would like to nominate Nels for "Best showboy in the entire World".
  • I view this with a healthy dose of suspicion. Maybe "Best"--but I notice none of the awards given are for the substance of the art show, like quality of art, or more importantly, sales. This is a nice regional show--that is all it is, it hardly competes in the category of best art show. Again, it is all how you want to play the facts.
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