INTRODUCTION Logic model In 2013, Springboard for the Arts launched “Imagine Fergus Falls” in Logic models can be helpful tools to map out goals of a project and the partnership with the Friends of the Kirkbride, The City of Fergus activities undertaken to achieve the goals. A logic model also shows the Falls, the Otter Tail County Historical Society and PlaceBase flow of how the activities ideally lead to achieving a goal and the ways Productions. to tell if a goal has been achieved. Logic models also include assumptions that help understand the underlying values or ideas of a Funded in part by a National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” project or program. grant, the vision of Imagine Fergus Falls is “to foster community interaction about historic preservation and economic development Assumptions: through innovative arts programming,” with a focus on the historic Fergus Falls State Hospital, or “Kirkbride Building,” a mental • Site-specific, mobile theatre increases the potential for institution built in the late 1800s, which was Fergus Falls, audience members and performers to connect with the Minnesota’s largest employer for over 100 years. The hospital physical and historical environment closed in 2006, and Mayor Hal Leland currently describes it as “the largest and most important historic preservation and re- • Participating in site-specific, mobile theater allows audience development project in our city's history.” members to connect with each other in ways that are not as possible in traditional theater environments In February, Springboard hosted a “Creative Placemaking Action Workshop” on Art and Historic Preservation, which resulted in a • Community research is essential for building relationships with series of 16 small and large-scale artist-led projects supported by stakeholders in the community and for creating an authentic Imagine Fergus Falls, and led to the concept of an annual “Kirkbride script Arts & History Weekend” to honor the past and future of the building through participatory arts and culture projects. • The more local people involved in creating the production, the more likely performers and audience members will relate to As a highlight of the 2014 Kirkbride Arts & History Weekend, the content and experience PlaceBase Productions wrote and produced the play, “The Kirkbride Cycle,” which was staged on The Kirkbride grounds. Through a 10 • Collaboration with and support from local organizations and month process that included interviewing almost 100 local businesses result in a more successful process and final residents and researching historical documents, “The Kirkbride product Cycle,” was based on both the history of the Fergus Falls State Hospital, and of mental health treatment in Minnesota. The The following logic model was created before the performance on Kirkbride Cycle brought together a cast of over 50 local residents, September 6th (Figure 1) musicians, volunteers and crew members and attracted an audience of more than 600 people.

Figure 1 METHODOLOGY By collecting information from performers and audience members, it will be evident if the goals of the project are realized.

Data collection tools:

Performer interview: Performers were interviewed about their experience participating in the play, including if their perceptions of mental health changed and if they made new connections with fellow residents of Fergus Falls.

Audience bicycle mapping exercise and survey: Audience members were asked to indicate their route to the Kirkbride Building on a map of Fergus Falls. This exercise was available for people as they checked in for the performance. A survey also was available with questions to get information on bicycle riding behaviors, as well as demographic characteristics.

Audience survey: During the last scene of the Kirkbride Cycle, audience members were to vote to accept or reject the principles of construction of state hospitals. The following questions on the ballot requested information fro