Introducing the First Ever Roanoke Arts Festival
The Arts Take Over Roanoke

Written by Elizabeth Parsons

Organizers of the soon-to-launched annual Roanoke Arts Festival (October 4–7) have had their hands full. Featuring more than two dozen attractions—from theater and ballet performances to arts workshops to concerts with venerated singer/songwriter Judy Collins and Southern rockers Little Feat—the event tagline, “The arts are taking over Roanoke,” is no mere flimsy marketing schpeal.

Mayor Nelson Harris, who has been working closely with event organizers from the outset, envisions the festival as a key part of the City’s 125th Anniversary Celebration, which got under way in March. The Roanoke Arts Festival “will incorporate all components of the performing arts. . . The festival will become an annual event that will facilitate the involvement of our youth, as well as collaborative partnerships with arts and cultural organizations, civic and community organizations, and businesses in our community. The festival is also designed to encourage regional tourism and economic development in our city.”

It’s a tall order, but payoff could be big. Arts festivals in other cities—Norfolk’s Virginia Arts Festival, and Charleston, SC’s acclaimed Spoleto Festival to name a few—have helped establish cities like these on the international map of tourist destinations. Confirms veteran event planner Rick Salzberg, the Roanoke Arts Festival manager who was recruited to spearhead the project, “The twin columns of benefit [for Roanoke] are, in short: economic development and quality of life.” For Charleston, a 2005 study conducted by the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business indicates that each year the Spoleto festival generates nearly $44 million in direct spending activity, approximately $36 million of which comes from visitors. The study goes on to estimate the total annual economic impact of the festival at more than $55 million, supporting nearly 1,000 jobs and $20.4 million in local household income. Over the life of the festival, Spoleto has generated more than $1.2 billion for the state of South Carolina.

Spoleto has been around since 1977 and enjoys a lengthy 17-day run, but nonetheless it is a stunning success story—albeit a “pie in the sky” one—from which Roanoke organizers can draw lessons and inspiration.  And it is major annual attractions like Spoleto that have helped place Charleston on lists like Travel + Leisure Magazine’s “Top Cities in the United States & Canada” and Southern Living’s “Favorite Southern Cities.”  All this glowing publicity translates into even more tourist dollars for a growing city.

The Roanoke Arts Festival may not be ready to take on Spoleto (yet), but it’s off to a promising start. Key to the initiative is providing what Salzberg and his marketing gurus are calling a “moveable feast” of “visionary entertainment.” One of the highlights of said “feast” is a performance by iconic folk singer Judy Collins, Friday, October 5th at 7:30 pm, at the Roanoke Performing Arts Center. Judy Collins has been performing for 40 years, to become a giant in American music. From 1967’s “Both Sides Now” to the 1975 Grammy Award-winning “Send in the Clowns,” to her newly released CD Judy Collins Wildflower Festival, Collins’ hallmark sound blends interpretative folksongs and contemporary themes to create music of healing and hope.

Other internationally lauded standouts include the Ramsey Lewis Trio, who kick off the festival at the Jefferson Center on Thursday, October 4th at 7:30 pm. Composer, pianist, and jazz legend Ramsey Lewis is known as the “Great Performer,” a title reflecting the awesome body of work for which this native Chicagoan received numerous Gold Records and no less than three Grammy Awards. Some of Lewis’ hallmark tunes include “The In Crowd,” “Wade In The Water,” and “Hang On Sloopy.” The Thursday night performance will highlight the Trio’s latest release, With One Voice, a critically acclaimed gospel-tinged jazz album.

And on Sunday, October 7th, famed Southern rockers Little Feat will top off the celebration with a live performance at Jefferson Center, 5 pm.

The festival would not be complete without showcasing artists and events with area ties, however. Look for poetry and fiction readings from Hollins University MFA/Creative Writing students, Downtown Living tours, and a Mill Mountain Theatre production of the award-winning play Paper Cup Ocean, an original full-length work by Hollins graduate Rachel Nelson, which was entered into the national Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. Another good bet for theater and music enthusiasts is Hank Williams: Lost Highway, which will run on stage at Mill Mountain for multiple showings throughout the festival. In two separate performances, Roanoke Ballet Theatre and Southwest Virginia Ballet will also lend their formidable talents to the event.
 
Roanokers and visitors will also have a second chance to experience The Neon Man and Me, which got its start at Mill Mountain in October of 2005. Coming to PBS in 2007, The Neon Man and Me is a one-man-show written and performed by Richmond-based playwright and performance artist Slash Coleman. It’s a theatrical tribute to the late artist Mark Jamison, Roanoke’s own “Neon Man,” who was also Coleman’s best friend in life.  Billed as “a spiritual rock n’ roll comedy about best friends,” it’s an all-ages production which has earned overwhelming critical response since its inception. Style Magazine recently awarded Coleman the prestigious “Top 40 under 40” award, and the show was also given the Groucho Award for Best One Man Show of 2005. It has received national coverage from Backstage Magazine, NPR, and ABC news.

For the uninitiated, Jamison was known in Roanoke as the “Neon Man,” which was also the name of his business. By the time he died in 2004—Jamison was killed while hanging a sign when his cherry picker was blown into a power line—he had become an immensely popular neon artist. Perhaps 75% of Roanoke’s neon signs are Jamison’s work. Coleman places a portion of all proceeds from the tour into an educational fund for his late friend’s son and gives half to non-profits who host the show. So far, The Neon Man has helped raise over $18,000 for non-profits throughout the state.

Organizers of the Roanoke Arts Festival are intent on leaving a lasting impression on the arts community of the region. City applauds this effort and hopes those who do too will take advantage of the festival’s Entrepreneurship Express Workshop: Cultivating the Business of Arts and Culture in the Roanoke Valley, a workshop for individuals interested in starting or growing arts, tourism, and related types of businesses in the Valley. The free event is presented by the Virginia Department of Business Assistance on Friday, October 5th, from 8:30 am to 1 pm at the Roanoke Civic Center Exhibit Hall.

Providing a visual backdrop for the festivities are several art installations and shows that will take place during the festival. Ongoing at the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum at Hollins University is the “Look Here: Speed” exhibit, works from an exhibition at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. It’s a visual exploration of “speed and motion in art. . . from the sleek beauty of a racing yacht to the pageantry of an African dance.” There will also be a Roanoke historic photo display at the History Museum of Western Virginia. Finally, Salzberg has enticed international muralist and “ephemeral artist” Michael William Kirby, who was recently interviewed on the David Letterman show, to create a major three-dimensional street drawing in chalk at SunTrust Plaza. Kirby will also offer a workshop for artists as part of the City’s expanding Public Art Program. 

Will the first ever Roanoke Arts Festival be the success that organizers and city officials envision? Will it kick off a lucrative new initiative for the region and enhance our reputation as a burgeoning arts destination? Only time will tell, but City will be rooting for it.

Posted: September 1st, 2007 under Visions.
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~Elizabeth Parsons’ passion for culture and the arts has earned her a degree in Anthropology and stamps on her passport from places as diverse as Ecuador, Turkey and the European Union. Recently working as a Writer and Event Planner for the Grammy Music Awards in San Francisco, CA, she returns to her hometown of Roanoke to pursue her M.F.A./Creative Writing at Hollins University. Elizabeth can be contacted at 540.345.6300 or elizabeth@citymagazineonline.com.