From BLACK SWAMP ARTS FESTIVAL
The Black Swamp Arts Festival (BSAF) is being presented a very prestigious award for artistic and cultural achievement for its impactful and visionary leadership in Ohio’s creative sector and its sustained dedication to promoting artistic excellence. Since its inception in 1993, BSAF has proven its ability to sustain its purpose of fostering the arts in the Northwest Ohio community. It is because of this, that Black Swamp Arts Festival was chosen as a co-award winner for the Governor’s Award for Community Development and Participation in the Arts in Ohio for 2023.
“We are thrilled to receive the Governor’s Award for Community Development and Participation. As an all-volunteer run organization, relying on hundreds of volunteers the weekend of the festival, this award is truly about our community, and we can all take pride for making the arts an important part of our lives,” states Todd Ahrens, BSAF Festival Chair.
In order to be considered for selection for this honor, the festival needed a nomination and then letters of support from the Bowling Green community. Mary Hinkelman, Executive Director of the Bowling Green Chamber of Commerce, submitted a nomination for BSAF to be considered. Hinkelman wrote, “Black Swamp Arts Festival has strengthened arts participation in our community for nearly three decades, providing free access to art and music, and welcoming diverse visitors and artists alike. It is an organization by its very mission that connects arts and community through an annual festival and related activities throughout the year”.
Included with the nomination were five letters of support from Bowling Green community organizations and businesses. Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green City Schools, the Municipal Administrator’s Office of the City of Bowling Green, Kiwanis Club of Bowling Green, and a local favorite business in the community, Ben’s. The owner of Ben’s, Floyd Craft, proudly described BSAF as a “model organization in the community [which supports] other activities and events in the downtown community.” Black Swamp Arts Festival is “one of the most anticipated events of the year,” describes Jason D. Miller, secretary of the Kiwanis Club. Bowling Green State University President, Rodney K. Rogers stated that the festival is a “meaningful event that not only engages our regional communities and city, but also BGSU.” Dan Black, principal of Bowling Green High School expressed his appreciation for the scholarships awarded to graduating seniors that are planning to study the arts. He also stated how weekend festival competitions for local teens like “Beats on the Street” for vocal performance and “The Chalk Walk” for artistic talent has “engaged students, while also providing monetary awards totaling approximately $3,000 to support these clubs annually.”
Every year, a core group of 25 board members work to organize the free, three-day festival. The festival is possible with about 850 volunteers coming together to put the festival on over the second weekend in September each year.
“While the festival is an annual event, its planning committee and various city staff meet throughout the year to ensure a successful, safe, and accessible event…through exceptional planning, we have experienced very few surprises and have always overcome any challenges to accomplish our shared goals year after year,” describes Lori Tretter, Municipal Administrator of Bowling Green and Joseph Fawcett Director of Public Services.
The festival is a major driver of the local economy since around 40,000 people attend the festival every year, with many visitors shopping and dining at local businesses and buying art directly from exhibiting artists. About 20 percent of visitors come from more than 100 miles away, helping to support the local hospitality industry. Many businesses report festival weekend as their busiest time of the year, and in 2021, visual artists collectively made more than $500,000 in sales of their work.
Throughout the year, BSAF finds ways to partner with and support the arts, and artists in the community—including in 2020, when they supplied Downtown Bowling Green with a stage for an outdoor concert series, Downtown BG Live. In 2022, they provided support for another, similar summer festival, Firefly Nights. BSAF also provides scholarships to students studying the visual and performing arts in college. In 2022, Black Swamp Arts Festival introduced a new scholarship for high school seniors planning an arts-ancillary course of study.
In 2023, the festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary, with plans already underway to feature more than 150 professional visual artists, showcase the musical talents of professional musicians and students, and provide hands-on art activities for kids.
All eight awardees will be honored during a ceremony in Columbus on May 17, 2023.
The festival would not be possible without the work of many dedicated volunteers in the area. Information about volunteering at the festival can be found at www.blackswampfest.org/support.
The Black Swamp Arts Festival is a three-day, free live music and arts festival committed to providing quality art and music experiences. Held in downtown Bowling Green, Ohio the first full weekend after Labor Day, there are three stages of music, two art shows, Youth Arts, Artists at Work, Chalk Walk, and more. This year’s festival is planned for September 8, 9, 10, 2023.
For more information and to connect to the festival, visit www.blackswampfest.org, Black Swamp Arts Festival on Facebook and @blackswampfest on Twitter and Instagram.
