FINE ARTS FESTIVAL PROPOSED FOR SPRING; HANNIBAL CONSULTANT SPEAKS TO ORGANIZERS

A new fine arts festival being proposed for spring 1999 should flourish if it focuses on quality and remains community oriented, the director of two successful festivals in Hannibal says.

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri invited Michael Gaines to town to speak to various groups involved in running festivals. His visit also is an opportunity to test the public's interest in starting a fine arts festival.

Sponsors of the proposed festival would be the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri along with Southeast Missouri State University.

Visual arts, music, dance and theater would be the four components of the festival, says Greg Jones, executive director of the Arts Council. Capaha Park is the probable location.

The festival probably would be held on a weekend in late April or early May, Jones said, protecting the dates already claimed by Riverfest and the City of Roses Festival.

Gaines, here on a Missouri Council of the Arts grant, also has been made available to representatives of Riverfest and the City of Roses Festival along with organizations that sponsor smaller events. "The more well-done festivals we can have in the community the better," Jones said.

At 7 tonight, Gaines will answer questions at a public meeting to be held at Gallery 100 at 119 Independence.

He is credited with turning around Hannibal's two arts festivals during his five years with the city's arts council. He oversees a folk life festival in the fall and a festival called River Arts over the Memorial Day weekend. The two are drastically different.

The folk life festival is completely local and features exhibitors in costume. "The philosophy is to help non-profits in fund raising," Gaines says.

"We have a total community connection because we have so many volunteers involved."

The two-day festival is attended by as many as 20,000 annually and has an estimated $600,000 economic impact on the community. The festival is juried, which means Gaines had to turn down a number of longtime exhibitors.

"I would rather have good quality and not have the festival area full," he said. "Our festival is better for it."

The Memorial weekend event in Hannibal primarily exists to draw tourists. It began as a fine arts festival that transformed into a combination of visual arts and fine crafts.

Though he wants the festival to emphasize fine arts more, he says, "We know it can't be totally fine arts because we know our community."

A third Hannibal festival, Tom Sawyer Days, has grown to an attendance figure of 50,000 and stages national contests, but community control and involvement have been lost, Gaines says.

"Getting outside dollars at the cost of leaving out the community is not a good thing."

Jones previously consulted with a festival organizer from St. Joseph, but that festival's budget exceeds the arts council's total annual expenditures. Gaines was brought in from Hannibal because the cities are more comparable in size.

Jones says the planned festival would be juried and would provide demonstrations and hands-on opportunities to learn.

"Anything the arts council's involved in, a big component is going to be education," he said.

"I think people need to get their hands dirty."

The city's link with roses may provide the festival with a name, which is one reason Capaha Park with its Rose Garden is the probable location.

The Rose Festival of the Arts is a name being considered.

Capaha Park's central location, it's ball field and the municipal band shell are other advantages.

"We also have room to grow there," Jones said.

The proximity of the university is another reason Capaha Park is favored for the festival. The university will be celebrating its 125th anniversary in 1999 and wants to coordinate the festival with other activities on campus.

City parks and recreation director Dan Muser is being consulted by the organizers.

Gaines also suggests tying Cape Girardeau's wealth of murals into the festival. Hannibal's historical society conducts a walking tour in conjunction with the fall festival, and Gaines suggested the same could be done here. "You've got great architecture," he said.

The Missouri Arts Council advises local organizations to bring in consultants before starting festivals so that mistakes can be eliminated before they are made, Jones says.

"We want to do it right, right from the start."