52 I Best Community Outreach Program 52 I Best Community Outreach Program
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52 I BEST COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM 52 I BEST COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM A. Introduction and description of main event The Des Moines Arts Festival®, Iowa’s only free, three-day celebration of the arts, attracted more than 235,000 guests June 22-24 to Downtown Des Moines’ Western Gateway Park to celebrate its 21st annual Festival with an exciting lineup of visual art, live entertainment, film, community outreach, interactive activities, eclectic foods, craft beer, and drinks. At the heart of the Festival is the juried art fair featuring 178 professional artists selected from more than 1,157 applicants by a panel of jurors during a rigorous and competitive process. The commitment to visual art extends to all ages through the Festival’s Emerging Iowa Artist program which highlighted the work of 11 Iowa residents currently enrolled in an institution of higher education and the Des Moines Art Center’s Student Art Exhibition program which allowed more than 400 students grades K-12 to showcase their talent. Adults and children of all ages engaged in a variety of hands-on, arts-related activities that included everything from Latin dancing lessons to decorating a walking stick to designing their own t-shirt. MidAmerican Energy’s BOOM ART! mural and The Knotty Nail’s self-guided string art designs provided large-scale opportunities for guests to share their art with the community. If guests didn’t want to get their hands dirty, exhibiting artists demonstrated their craft with 19 artist demonstrations and workshops. The Interrobang Film Festival, presented by AARP Movies for Grown Ups, celebrated the art of film throughout the three-day weekend. 58 films were screened throughout the weekend and guests also enjoyed talk-backs and workshops with film producers. The local community engaged with the Festival through several community outreach programs including the Volunteer Program, Patron Program, Non-Profit Partner Program at Beverage Stations, Habitat for Humanity, Creative Family Zone and the DART Art Bus unveiling. An army of 630 volunteers supported the Festival through a variety of opportunities. The Festival’s Green Arts Sustainability program provided guests the opportunity to reduce, reuse, and recycle throughout the event at 17 custom-designed Zero Waste Stations. The Sustainability Program is in its fifth year of a strategic plan to achieve zero waste. Live entertainment took the stage at two locations. Headliners Sir Sly and Spin Doctors were watched by thousands of guests on the Hy-Vee Main Stage. The Acoustic Stage featured folk and Americana standouts, Jeffrey Foucault and Joe Pug. The Des Moines Arts Festival has truly put Des Moines, Iowa on the map, drawing more than 3.6 million guests to the three-day event during the past 21 years. The Festival has something for everyone to enjoy and it’s all free to attend thanks to the continued support of sponsors in our community. go where it takes you… 52 I BEST COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM B. Description and Purpose/ Objective of Community Outreach Program The mission of the Des Moines Arts Festival® is to create an opportunity for people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds to embrace the arts. One way the Festival accomplishes this mission is through the Community Outreach Program sponsored by Prairie Meadows which provides our fellow non-profits the chance to provide an onsite interactive arts- related activity for our guests. Through this strategic partnership, local and state nonprofit organizations are able to reach and share their mission with an estimated 85,000 guests free of charge. The Festival also partners with several non-profit organizations each year to provide volunteers for beverage booths. Any donations or tips they make go back to the organization’s efforts to place arts in the community. This year’s non-profit organizations were Cowles-Montessori, Community Youth Concepts and Habitat for Humanity. All participating non-profit organizations are promoted in Festival marketing materials, on the official Festival website, and in the official Festival program. As a fellow non-profit, the Festival understands the significance and the need to offer a program to provide options for local groups to share their mission to a wide audience at no charge. These organizations are an integral part of the Greater Des Moines community and with support from Prairie Meadows, the Festival is pleased to offer this opportunity. The following 27 organizations participated in the Prairie Meadows Community Outreach Program this year: Animal Lifeline Animal Rescue League of Iowa Friends of Des Moines Parks Bergman Academy Friends of Iowa CASA & ICFCRB Blank Park Zoo Greater Des Moines Sister Commission Class Act Productions Inc (CAP Theatre) HCI Care Services and VNS of Iowa Community Support Advocates Iowa International Center Des Moines Downtown Chamber Iowa Youth Chorus Des Moines European Heritage Association Opportunity on Deck Des Moines Public Library Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Des Moines Skatepark Positive Impact Media Pulse 101.7 FM Des Moines Social Club Salsa Des Moines Diocese of Des Moines Catholic Schools Society of St. Vincent de Paul Des Moines Area Religious Council Stephens Auditorium Everly Ball Community Mental Health Services Walnut Creek Church go where it takes you… 52 I BEST COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM C. Target Audience/ Attendance/ Number of Participants The target audience for this program is first and foremost the families of the Greater Des Moines community, as the interactive activities produced by the non-profit organizations’ booths are historically family favorites. Guests of all ages are invited to participate in the interactive arts activities, which make up one of the five main pillars of the arts featured each year at the Festival. Throughout the three days of the Festival, all guests have the opportunity to get creative and hands-on with art, music, dance, and more, offered by the participating 27 area non-profit organizations. This year, approximately 85,000 guests attended and participated in the Prairie Meadows Community Outreach Program. D. Impact program had on the Community Through the Prairie Meadows Community Outreach program, 27 non-profit organizations had the incredible opportunity to share their mission free of charge to an estimated 85,000 guests. Guests enjoyed these great hands- on activities: Animal Lifeline Activity: Create dog and cat toys for your favorite pup and kitty or for ours to play with! Animal Rescue League of Iowa Activity: Make a fleece cat toy for your favorite furry friend and make one for the cats at the shelter! Bergman Academy Activity: Make a beautiful leaf out of different colors of tissue paper! Blank Park Zoo Activity: Make a seed ball! Ingredients include clay, native Iowa prairie seeds, organic soil, and tissue paper! Class Act Productions Inc (CAP Theatre) Activity: Take photos and videos of you and your friends reciting plays and musicals in a photo/video booth with costumes, props, and various backdrops! Community Support Advocates Activity: Design something special using markers, paints, and everyday household items to create a unique piece of art, then turn it into a bookmark! Des Moines Area Religious Council Activity: Design your own food mobile and include all your favorite foods! Des Moines Downtown Chamber Activity: Cut a ribbon to celebrate the opening of your new business! You can also create a picture frame out of popsicle sticks and other materials to put your picture in! Des Moines European Heritage Association Activity: Decorate a Lebkuchen Herzen to wear around the Festival! go where it takes you… 52 I BEST COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM Des Moines Public Library Activity: Make your very own button to wear throughout the Festival! Des Moines Skatepark Activity: Come and draw your own piece of artwork on our benches for our new public skatepark! Des Moines Social Club Activity: Create multi-media buttons and magnets out of recycled materials such as comic books, old Des Moines Social Club posters, fabrics straps and more! Diocese of Des Moines Catholic Schools. Activity: Generate your own Styrofoam square impressions with whatever image you choose! You can also get your picture taken with the “Let your Spirit Soar” banner! Everly Ball Community Mental Health Services Activity: Create and take home different kinds of slime! Friends of Des Moines Parks Activity: Decorate a walking stick, build your own a birdhouse, or make a monarch bomb with Friends of Des Moines Parks! Friends of Iowa CASA & ICFCRB Activity: Build your own 3-D house and decorate it with markers, glue, cutouts, and various other materials! Greater Des Moines Sister Commission Activity: Fold a paper fortune cookie and decorate it with markers, crayons, pens, and more! HCI Care Services and VNS of Iowa Activity: Paint your own rock of KINDNESS. Decorate your rock with paint pens and sharpies to show your idea of KINDNESS! Iowa International Center Activity: Draw a self-portrait of yourself using watercolors, markers, crayons, colored pencils, and more! Iowa Youth Chorus Activity: Make your own instrument with the Iowa Youth Chorus. Instruments include an egg shaker, tambourines, harmonicas, and tom-tom drums. You can also take part in solfege tutorials! Opportunity on Deck Activity: Learn a simple, easy, and fun dance while broadcasting yourself on our screen with different props and clothing! Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Activity: Create your own bracelets and necklaces out of upcycled t-shirts. You can also make a tote bag and headbands out of these t-shirts as well! go where it takes you… 52 I BEST COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM Positive Impact Media Pulse 101.7 FM Activity: Form different designs with just your thumb and paint during Positive Impact Media’s thumb painting activity! Salsa Des Moines Activity: Put your moves to the test with Salsa of Des Moines as they teach the art of Latin dancing! Society of St.