I grew up in the Hocking Hills and when I heard about the festival for the first time this year, I invited an artist friend of mine to go. We were both so excited. We've been to the Art Festival in Columbus, the Backwoods Fest, the Lancaster Festival Art Walk, etc. I read a lot about the NAMF on the web site. WHAT A BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT to get there and discover we each needed $35 just to get in to see what the artists had to offer. My friend drove from Hebron for this event. We feel sorry for all of the artists who display at the event. Not only do they have to pay $50 to set up, but have to pay %5 commission on whatever they sell AND they don't get the exposure they would be getting if people didn't have to pay such a high fee to get in.
My friend and I wandered to the Square and visited some of the art galleries and the antique shops there. We were told that people had been coming in all day long expressing that they, too had been disappointed by the high cost of the festival and decided not to attend. One shop owner wondered out loud how many years the festival would last if they didn't lower the admission fee.
Great Job To everyone involved putting on this fun filled festival. I currently reside in Athens County and have attended many festivals in the past all around our beautiful country. The Nelsonville Art & Music Festival truly captured the beauty of Appalachia and what it has to offer. I'm a working artist and when I heard the vending fee was only $50.00 decided to display my work. I've been involved in vending at other such events and have split costs with other artists to share a spot and have paid amounts ranging from $300.00-$1200.00 for a weekened. With the event being so close to home I figured I could not go wrong. I was not dissappointed with the outcome of my sales as it was what I estimated. I met alot of great people and saw alot of familiar faces throughout the weekened.
I hope everyone appreciates the amount of time and money put into this event like I did. This festival has alot of potential for the up and coming years and will continually grow. I have great confidence that Stuarts Opera House and all of its dedicated workers will keep doing a great job in making this idea a reality.
Thanks again for the wonderful experience, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again next year!
Pluses: Great music and nice atmosphere. Responsible and well-maintained beer garden. The non-stop camp fire was nice, especially at night when it got cold. The location was much better than last year. I liked the "back porch" stage idea. I did not go for the art vendors but I know other people did enjoy looking at the booths and purchasing items.
Minuses: Smelly porta-potties too close to the stage. High price of the tickets. I understand the cost for seeing the Avett Brothers, but many of the other bands I can see many times throughout the year at a lower cost. Can't due anything about the weather but the flooding was a bummer. I felt bad for all the campers that had to keep moving their tents on Friday night. More food options would be nice. Maybe the price of admission could be lower for those just attending for the daytime hours. Perhaps selling half day passes would be a solution?
I think the festival is getting better and better every year.
When we finally decided to go to the Hock-Hocking Festival last year, after many years of missing it, we fell in love. The fiddler, banjo, flat picker, and liars contests were events that captured genuine Appalachian heritage. Sadly, that was lost this year. We enjoyed this year's event. It was different, though, and had lost much of its Appalachian ambiance.
Our son (a student at Ohio University) came up from Athens to join us for the afternoon and we were absolutely shocked and dismayed at the $35 price of admission. I wondered how many people, especially students, could not attend because of the cost. There are festivals like this all over Ohio that maintain an attitude of accessibility by keeping the cost of attendance at a minimum.
I wonder how many of the 1500 people who attended were paying attendees. It seemed like volunteers, performers, food vendors, and exhibitors outnumbered paid attendees.
I, too, wondered aloud about the viability of the festival. Contrary to published figures, it did not seem well attended.
Having either attended or helped to plan all four Nelsonville Art & Music Festivals, I felt compelled to say something about the admission price. $35 might be a little steep when compared to other festivals in our area, but consider that that was your admission for the entire day; plus, festival-goers were given ample time prior to the festival to purchase their tickets at a discounted price. The folks at Stuart's DO want to make the festival free someday, but it needs ample time to grow and in the meantime, that means charging admission.
Also, keep in mind that this is a local festival and your hard-earned cash is going right back into an under-staffed, non-profit organization of hard-working people who just want you to have a good time. To me, spending a little extra money to get inside isn't such a big deal when I know that I'm truly supporting the cause. If the price is too steep, consider volunteering your time at next year's festival and enjoy free admission.
My wife, son (9), daughter (6) and I had an absolute blast at the Fest this year, the AVETT BROTHERS ROCK! Please bring this outstanding band back again and again and again.
For those who thought things were too pricey, next year plan in advance and get early bird tickets like we did, $30 for the whole weekend. And kids under 12 are free so bring the little ones or treat your nieces, nephews or neighborhood kids. For a mere $60 my family got 3 days of music, music, music, art and fun -- a bargain at $5 per day per person. Stuart's is a great treasure in this area and Tim and Co. do a fantastic job -- keep it up and MORE AVETT BROTHERS!
6 comments:
I grew up in the Hocking Hills and when I heard about the festival for the first time this year, I invited an artist friend of mine to go. We were both so excited. We've been to the Art Festival in Columbus, the Backwoods Fest, the Lancaster Festival Art Walk, etc. I read a lot about the NAMF on the web site. WHAT A BITTER DISAPPOINTMENT to get there and discover we each needed $35 just to get in to see what the artists had to offer. My friend drove from Hebron for this event. We feel sorry for all of the artists who display at the event. Not only do they have to pay $50 to set up, but have to pay %5 commission on whatever they sell AND they don't get the exposure they would be getting if people didn't have to pay such a high fee to get in.
My friend and I wandered to the Square and visited some of the art galleries and the antique shops there. We were told that people had been coming in all day long expressing that they, too had been disappointed by the high cost of the festival and decided not to attend. One shop owner wondered out loud how many years the festival would last if they didn't lower the admission fee.
Great Job To everyone involved putting on this fun filled festival. I currently reside in Athens County and have attended many festivals in the past all around our beautiful country. The Nelsonville Art & Music Festival truly captured the beauty of Appalachia and what it has to offer.
I'm a working artist and when I heard the vending fee was only $50.00 decided to display my work. I've been involved in vending at other such events and have split costs with other artists to share a spot and have paid amounts ranging from $300.00-$1200.00 for a weekened. With the event being so close to home I figured I could not go wrong. I was not dissappointed with the outcome of my sales as it was what I estimated. I met alot of great people and saw alot of familiar faces throughout the weekened.
I hope everyone appreciates the amount of time and money put into this event like I did. This festival has alot of potential for the up and coming years and will continually grow. I have great confidence that Stuarts Opera House and all of its dedicated workers will keep doing a great job in making this idea a reality.
Thanks again for the wonderful experience, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all again next year!
Pluses: Great music and nice atmosphere. Responsible and well-maintained beer garden. The non-stop camp fire was nice, especially at night when it got cold. The location was much better than last year. I liked the "back porch" stage idea. I did not go for the art vendors but I know other people did enjoy looking at the booths and purchasing items.
Minuses: Smelly porta-potties too close to the stage. High price of the tickets. I understand the cost for seeing the Avett Brothers, but many of the other bands I can see many times throughout the year at a lower cost. Can't due anything about the weather but the flooding was a bummer. I felt bad for all the campers that had to keep moving their tents on Friday night. More food options would be nice. Maybe the price of admission could be lower for those just attending for the daytime hours. Perhaps selling half day passes would be a solution?
I think the festival is getting better and better every year.
When we finally decided to go to the Hock-Hocking Festival last year, after many years of missing it, we fell in love. The fiddler, banjo, flat picker, and liars contests were events that captured genuine Appalachian heritage. Sadly, that was lost this year. We enjoyed this year's event. It was different, though, and had lost much of its Appalachian ambiance.
Our son (a student at Ohio University) came up from Athens to join us for the afternoon and we were absolutely shocked and dismayed at the $35 price of admission. I wondered how many people, especially students, could not attend because of the cost. There are festivals like this all over Ohio that maintain an attitude of accessibility by keeping the cost of attendance at a minimum.
I wonder how many of the 1500 people who attended were paying attendees. It seemed like volunteers, performers, food vendors, and exhibitors outnumbered paid attendees.
I, too, wondered aloud about the viability of the festival. Contrary to published figures, it did not seem well attended.
Having either attended or helped to plan all four Nelsonville Art & Music Festivals, I felt compelled to say something about the admission price. $35 might be a little steep when compared to other festivals in our area, but consider that that was your admission for the entire day; plus, festival-goers were given ample time prior to the festival to purchase their tickets at a discounted price. The folks at Stuart's DO want to make the festival free someday, but it needs ample time to grow and in the meantime, that means charging admission.
Also, keep in mind that this is a local festival and your hard-earned cash is going right back into an under-staffed, non-profit organization of hard-working people who just want you to have a good time. To me, spending a little extra money to get inside isn't such a big deal when I know that I'm truly supporting the cause. If the price is too steep, consider volunteering your time at next year's festival and enjoy free admission.
My wife, son (9), daughter (6) and I had an absolute blast at the Fest this year, the AVETT BROTHERS ROCK! Please bring this outstanding band back again and again and again.
For those who thought things were too pricey, next year plan in advance and get early bird tickets like we did, $30 for the whole weekend. And kids under 12 are free so bring the little ones or treat your nieces, nephews or neighborhood kids. For a mere $60 my family got 3 days of music, music, music, art and fun -- a bargain at $5 per day per person. Stuart's is a great treasure in this area and Tim and Co. do a fantastic job -- keep it up and MORE AVETT BROTHERS!
Thanks, --sam
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