Title
Downtown Festival & Art Show Receives both State and National Awards (NB)
The Cultural Affairs Division of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department was recognized with two awards. Florida Festivals & Events Association honors Gainesville with Media and Promotional Awards.
Explanation
Gainesville's high standard of excellence once again paid off at the recent 14th Annual Florida Festivals & Events Association (FFEA) Annual Conference and Trade Show in Orlando. The conference and trade show brings together more than 300 special event professionals and festival and fair planners from across the state for networking, training and an annual awards competition. The Media and Promotional Awards signify the highest level of achievement for members of FFEA.
The Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department's Division of Cultural Affairs was awarded one (1) first place award and two (2) second place awards for our Downtown Festival & Art Show. The television commercial produced by Channel 12 Broadcast Engineers Tom Tripp and James Scott won "Best Television Promotion." The 2007 art festival image took second place for "Best Poster" and "Best T-shirt Design." The image is a dazzling oil-on-canvas representation of the historic Thomas Center gardens and fountain, painted by Gainesville artist Eleanor Blair.
This is the most highly-competitive and prestigious awards program in the Florida festival and event industry, and Cultural Affairs is honored that the promotional materials submitted were considered as professional and exciting as those from other festivals including Coconut Grove Art Festival and Strawberry Festival.
The Downtown Festival & Art Show was also chosen as one of the American Bus Association's Top 100 Events in North America for group travel in 2009. A panel of ABA member bus and tour operators selected the event from hundreds of entries nominated by state tourism offices and local Visitors and Convention Bureaus. The winners will be honored in a special supplement to the September issue of their publication Destinations. The Top 100 Events will also be posted on the Web site, www.buses.org <http://www.buses.org>.
This is the first time the Cultural Affairs Division and the Communications and Marketing Department have received these prestigious honors; however, we believe our talented, creative staff will continue to produce award winning media presentations
Fiscal Note
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
Recommendation
The Commission hear a brief presentation by Cultural Affairs Manager Coni Gesualdi and Events Coordinator Linda Piper of the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department, and a representative of the Communications and Marketing Department.