Minnehaha Falls Art Fair Reboot
Donation protected
After spending thousands of dollars and pouring in hundreds of hours to ensure the 1st Annual Minnehaha Falls Art Fair would be a huge success, we were devastated to have to cancel the event due to severe weather on the morning of the event. We are excited to announce that the event has been rescheduled to October 5. We're asking for support from the community to help us cover the added expenses that comes with having to reschedule the event. Thank you so much for your support. Read on to learn the full story...
MINNEHAHA FALLS ART FAIR - THE BIRTH, THE DEATH, and THE REBOOT!
THE BIRTH
We were so excited to be hosting the 1st Annual Minnehaha Falls Art Fair! We spent months and months planning to make sure the event would go off without a hitch. We recruited artist applications, receiving over 200 applications and accepting just over 100 artists. We promoted the event and were thrilled by the level of interest we received from the community. By the day of the event, over 34,000 people were interested in the event on facebook. We secured sponsors, designed the fair layout, created maps, arranged to have food trucks and music, planned for lots of fun activities for dogs, kids and adults, ordered port-a-potties and garbage and recycling receptacles, arranged for a shuttle service.... the list goes on and on. The big day was finally upon us and, after literally putting in hundreds of hours, we felt as ready as we could to put on an awesome event.
THE DEATH
Waking up at 4:30 a.m. on the day of the Minnehaha Falls Art Fair, we first checked the weather forecast. 50% chance of storms all day. "Hey, that could be worse," we thought. We headed off to the park to finalize booth flags and signs and get our artist check-in table set up. At about 6:45 a.m., the first of the artists began to arrive. The overall feeling was one of excitement. Artists seemed so happy to be there and just as optimistic as we were for an awesome day ahead. But around 8:30 a.m., the sky to the West started looking more and more ominous with darkening clouds and increasing winds. By 9:00 a.m. the rain was in full force and by 9:15, there was lightning directly overhead... About 100 people were in a wooded area setting up metal tents in a lightning storm!! The event staff quickly ran around the park to alert artists to take shelter in the pavilion until the storm passed. We checked the radar and to our dismay saw that while this storm was about to pass, another round of heavy thunderstorms would be upon us by noon. After seeing that radar map and hearing the general consensus from the artists, we knew that for everyone's safety the event needed to be canceled. We could use the break between the severe storms to get everyone packed up and out safely. The event that we had worked so hard to organize, and that every artist had worked so hard to prepare for, was not going to happen. It was devastating. As we went around the park ensuring all the artists were notified, we were amazed by everyone's positive attitude. In spite of a terrible situation, people were smiling, offering condolences, and expressing gratitude.
Photos of the unfortunate turn of events...
Photos courtesy of The Workshop, Everart Designs, Kaleidoscope Kitty, and August Sparrow
THE REBOOT
That couldn't be the end. After all that work, all those hours... the event had to go on! We are excited to announce the Minnehaha Falls Art Fair REBOOT! The event will be held on Saturday, October 5th from 10am-6pm. At the event, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy dozens of amazing local artists, food trucks, live music, artist workshops, kids and dog activities, and so much more! We hope this event will be even better than what we had planned initially.
But, we need your help! Putting on an art fair costs a lot of money and unfortunately many of the fees from the initial planned event cannot be recouped. We need your help to fund city permits, shuttle service, portable restrooms, security services, event programs and promotional materials, and trash, recycling, and compost services, just to name a few. We anticipate the cost of rescheduling the event to be upwards of $3,800. We are asking for your to help us make it possible.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
MINNEHAHA FALLS ART FAIR - THE BIRTH, THE DEATH, and THE REBOOT!
THE BIRTH
We were so excited to be hosting the 1st Annual Minnehaha Falls Art Fair! We spent months and months planning to make sure the event would go off without a hitch. We recruited artist applications, receiving over 200 applications and accepting just over 100 artists. We promoted the event and were thrilled by the level of interest we received from the community. By the day of the event, over 34,000 people were interested in the event on facebook. We secured sponsors, designed the fair layout, created maps, arranged to have food trucks and music, planned for lots of fun activities for dogs, kids and adults, ordered port-a-potties and garbage and recycling receptacles, arranged for a shuttle service.... the list goes on and on. The big day was finally upon us and, after literally putting in hundreds of hours, we felt as ready as we could to put on an awesome event.
THE DEATH
Waking up at 4:30 a.m. on the day of the Minnehaha Falls Art Fair, we first checked the weather forecast. 50% chance of storms all day. "Hey, that could be worse," we thought. We headed off to the park to finalize booth flags and signs and get our artist check-in table set up. At about 6:45 a.m., the first of the artists began to arrive. The overall feeling was one of excitement. Artists seemed so happy to be there and just as optimistic as we were for an awesome day ahead. But around 8:30 a.m., the sky to the West started looking more and more ominous with darkening clouds and increasing winds. By 9:00 a.m. the rain was in full force and by 9:15, there was lightning directly overhead... About 100 people were in a wooded area setting up metal tents in a lightning storm!! The event staff quickly ran around the park to alert artists to take shelter in the pavilion until the storm passed. We checked the radar and to our dismay saw that while this storm was about to pass, another round of heavy thunderstorms would be upon us by noon. After seeing that radar map and hearing the general consensus from the artists, we knew that for everyone's safety the event needed to be canceled. We could use the break between the severe storms to get everyone packed up and out safely. The event that we had worked so hard to organize, and that every artist had worked so hard to prepare for, was not going to happen. It was devastating. As we went around the park ensuring all the artists were notified, we were amazed by everyone's positive attitude. In spite of a terrible situation, people were smiling, offering condolences, and expressing gratitude.
Photos of the unfortunate turn of events...
Photos courtesy of The Workshop, Everart Designs, Kaleidoscope Kitty, and August Sparrow
THE REBOOT
That couldn't be the end. After all that work, all those hours... the event had to go on! We are excited to announce the Minnehaha Falls Art Fair REBOOT! The event will be held on Saturday, October 5th from 10am-6pm. At the event, you'll have the opportunity to enjoy dozens of amazing local artists, food trucks, live music, artist workshops, kids and dog activities, and so much more! We hope this event will be even better than what we had planned initially.
But, we need your help! Putting on an art fair costs a lot of money and unfortunately many of the fees from the initial planned event cannot be recouped. We need your help to fund city permits, shuttle service, portable restrooms, security services, event programs and promotional materials, and trash, recycling, and compost services, just to name a few. We anticipate the cost of rescheduling the event to be upwards of $3,800. We are asking for your to help us make it possible.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Organizer
Minnehaha Falls Art Fair
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN
