Organizers of last weekend’s inaugural THAW Festival admit that the series of concerts, comedy shows and films wasn’t perfect.
THAW spokesperson Vinh Vuong says that attendance, while not terrible, suffered from the fact that many Penn State students chose to participate in State Patty’s Day instead of attending festival events.
But, on the other hand, he says many families and other non-student community members came downtown on a weekend that’s typically dominated by intoxicated students and out-of-town visitors.
“For this being our first year, I think we did a good job given our circumstances and our budget,” Vuong says. “What we need to do now is take our mistakes, learn from them, and use that to enhance next year’s festival experience.”
Penn State professor and festival organizer Matt Jordan says he always knew it would be difficult to compete with something like the student-created, drinking-focused pseudo-holiday of State Patty’s Day.
Jordan sees State Patty’s Day as a way for students to take ownership of downtown, which can create a sense of belonging. But he says THAW Festival was a way for other community members to come downtown and say “this is our space, too.”
The key to making next year’s THAW Festival a success is to bring students and families together for a single purpose, instead of dividing them between two different events, Jordan says.
“We want to get the community involved in the process much earlier for next year,” Jordan says. “We’re trying to figure out ways to get students and everyone else involved in the planning and decision-making process.”
Exactly how community members will be included in the planning process is still under discussion, but tools like online surveys may be an option.
One of the goals behind involving the community in the planning process is to create a lineup of bands and other acts that will draw a bigger crowd next year. He says this year’s festival was originally envisioned with national touring bands and other big name acts in mind but these negotiations fell through, which was “a considerable frustration.”
While Jordan says he’s impressed that so many local bands and performing arts groups stepped up during a short planning window, he wants next year to feature a blend of local and nationally recognized talent.
Vuong says the THAW Festival organizers are currently discussing the successes and challenges of this year’s event. He expects planning for next year to begin in the coming months.
“I’m very excited to see how THAW grows down the road,” Vuong says. “It’s my vision to see THAW Fest become the winter equivalent of the Arts Fest in the summer.”
Disclosure: The reporter is in a band that played at THAW Fest. Another member of the band was involved in planning one of the THAW events, and worked closely with some of the festival organizers.
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