Beet Street

RockMasters Announces 'Thats Edu-Tainment'

2008-02-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

Spotting an opportunity to build on its flourishing business in the “experience economy”, RockMasters has launched a franchise opportunity specialising in providing schools in rock music for both children and adults, typically at summer camps and corporate weekends.

OneScreen's Film Festival In Its Fifth Year

2008-01-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

OneScreen, the original film festival for the creative community by the creative community, is back for its fifth year. OneScreen gives industry professionals a venue to showcase independently-produced film and video work made for any platform. It is an extension of the One Club's mission to elevate the creative standards in advertising and design in all its forms.

Scrapblog Announces 2007's Biggest Online Scrapbooking Trends

2008-01-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

After having more than one million pages created in its first nine months, Scrapblog shares 2007's biggest and most surprising developments.

Your Toothbrush's Carbon Footprint

2008-01-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

It's exciting that designers are talking about sustainability even though the concept of sustainability seems at odds, or downright antithetical, to a lot of graphic design. Afterall, don't designer's love itty bitty type surrounded by white space, glorious white space? Certainly, the AIGA has sent out its fair share of multiple page publications with florescent inks and vellum overlays. But, change is good and change is progressive and I do think that AIGA and designers are trying to change.

Acknowledging, Finally, the Work of Women Artists

2008-01-30T07:22:00.000-07:00

London – ‘I will show your Excellency what a woman can do,” wrote the 16th-century Italian painter Artemisia Gentileschi to one of her aristocratic patrons. Some three centuries later, the American artist Georgia O’Keefe remarked: “The men liked to put me down as the best woman painter. I think I’m one of the best painters.”
The struggle of women artists to gain recognition as artists, regardless of their sex, is the underlying leitmotif of “The Art of Women from the Renaissance to Surrealism,” a far-ranging exhibition of 260 works by 140 artists at the Palazzo Reale in Milan until March 9.

Etsy's Trademark Permissions Program: This Ain't No Cease and Desist

2008-01-30T07:16:00.000-07:00

I am always amazed by Etsy’s dedicated and creative community. Many sellers and buyers have expressed a personal connection to Etsy by using the word “Etsy,” its logo, or other Etsy Marks on products, in running a website, in hosting an event, and in creating promotional materials. This use may seem like a win/win situation: the member uses the Etsy name to promote their shop and all of Etsy benefits from this promotion.

The Creative Slice of Economic Pie

2008-01-30T07:12:00.000-07:00

Among the group's expected recommendations: The region should work with organizations representing minority- and female-owned businesses; brand the city as a hub of creative enterprise; collaborate with entrepreneurship groups; and create financial-incentive programs to attract creative-economy businesses and to fund entrepreneurs.

Overseas Investors Buy Aggressively in U.S.

2008-01-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

For much of the world, the United States is now on sale at discount prices. With credit tight, unemployment growing and worries mounting about a potential recession, American business and government leaders are courting foreign money to keep the economy growing. Foreign investors are buying aggressively, taking advantage of American duress and a weak dollar to snap up what many see as bargains, while making inroads to the world’s largest market.

Who's buying America? It isn't who you think...

MORE

Bridging the Class Divide

2008-01-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

What is happening? Obviously the drivers of such far-reaching change are complex. But one way to make sense of it all comes from scholars who now refer to the two "paradoxes of globalization."

The Jazz Disease

2008-01-22T06:25:00.000-07:00

Communities with large and healthy ARTS economies enjoy a richer quality of life, with more people benefiting from post-secondary education and less poverty.

Poverty series offers chance to find solutions

2008-01-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

Through theater, lectures and community conversation, Fort Collins residents have a unique opportunity in coming weeks to better understand rising poverty and shape solutions.

MORE

Thank you.

ArtBistro Podcast: Rhythm - Has Your Creativity Got It?

2008-01-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

From Accidental Creative:
Rhythm is critical to the creative process. When we treat ourselves like machines, we will find that our capacity to create is diminished, but when we cultivate a sense of rhythm we will increase our long-term creative viability.

PODCAST

Design You Trust

2008-01-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

NYC: Center for an Urban Future

2008-01-22T06:13:00.000-07:00

The Center for an Urban Future is a New York City-based think tank that fuses journalistic reporting techniques with traditional policy analysis to produce in-depth reports and workable policy solutions on the critical issues facing our cities.

The Expectation Economy

2008-01-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

"The EXPECTATION ECONOMY is an economy inhabited by experienced, well-informed consumers from Canada to South Korea who have a long list of high expectations that they apply to each and every good, service and experience on offer.

Survey shows high artist interest in Arts on Gaines

2008-01-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

Proponents say it would help revitalize Gaines Street, and they're hoping results from a recent survey will convince Tallahassee leaders to turn over a 4.5-acre, city-owned parcel at Gaines and Gay streets.

City plans for new arts district

2008-01-22T06:05:00.000-07:00

Mayor Ellen O. Moyer plans to introduce legislation next month to help create the city's first arts and entertainment district that would reshape and revitalize outer West Street and offer tax benefits and other incentives to lure artists into the city.

Louisiana focusing attention on cultural tourism

2008-01-22T06:01:00.000-07:00

NEW ORLEANS (AP) As the second anniversaries of two major hurricanes approach, Louisiana tourism officials plan an August forum of tourism officials from around the world Д capping what will be a month-long effort to shift attention from lingering devastation to thriving cultural events that are important to the recovery.
“We’re trying to make the entire state a cultural mecca,” Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu said in a telephone interview.

The Anatomy of Place Branding

2008-01-22T05:57:00.000-07:00

According the World Travel and Tourism Council (wttc.org), travel and tourism is "one of the world's largest industries, employing approximately 231 million people and generating over 10.4 per cent of world GDP.” When one considers that businesses, residents and event and meeting planners also choose one place over another, it is no wonder that cities, regions and countries are branding themselves in earnest.

Arts worth $64 million to Brevard

2008-01-20T07:24:00.000-07:00

COCOA - The arts are good for business.
That notion, put forth for years by arts organizations and supporters, was confirmed Friday at the Brevard Cultural Alliance and Economic Development Commission's "Economics of Creativity" joint event in Cocoa Village.

Will City Lose $2.5 Billion Film And Residential Development?

2008-01-20T07:21:00.000-07:00

A major snag could be in the picture for Villa Muse, the $2.5 billion development in East Travis County that would include a major film production studio, office buildings and high-end housing.
Villa Muse would lie outside Austin city limits but within its five-mile growth zone, known as an "extra-territorial jurisdiction," or ETJ. Villa Muse wants out of the ETJ, but the city is saying "not so fast." As Shakespeare would say: "There lies the rub."

Cities with 'creative class' fuelling the new economy

2008-01-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

In the 1984 teen flick Revenge of the Nerds, techno geeks rise up against the jocks and other tormenters.
That was the '80s, where computer wizards were objects of derision. Today, nerds rule.
The technological revolution has not only left behind Luddites, it has also become a force in Canada's economy. Social scientist Richard Florida stated in his book The Rise of the Creative Class that cities which have what he terms a "creative class" will lead a new economic surge the way resource-rich and manufacturing-heavy centres fuelled the economy in bygone days.

Building our city | Innovista | Public backing project

2008-01-20T07:04:00.000-07:00

Columbia, South Carolina - Survey: 90 percent of residents support development

The theory of Innovista is that researchers attracted to the campus will live, work and play in the same compact area — a 30-block chunk of downtown anchored by USC’s 200-year-old Horseshoe to the east and, to the west, the Congaree River and the estimated $77 million, 74-acre park.

Leaders sought to be catalysts in region's creative class initiative

2008-01-20T07:01:00.000-07:00

DAYTON — — The money is raised, the consultant is hired and Richard Florida himself will be here in March to train Daytonians on how to build and sustain creative class" growth here in the Miami Valley.

The Creative Region Initiative, the moniker given to the local effort begun a year ago by the Southwestern Ohio Council for Higher Education and a task force of 20 community groups, kicks off today with a call for 30 volunteers to be trained by Florida's consulting company, the Creative Class Group.

Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination

2008-01-19T18:43:00.000-07:00

WATCH THE TRAILER
A continuation of the TWO MILLION MINUTES documentary film, this blog offers deeper insights into education in China, India and the United States, and the challenge America faces. Now you can join a dialog about what governments, communities and families should and are doing to best prepare US students for
satisfying careers in the 21st century.

READ THE BLOG

Richard Florida: "Bubble Land"

2008-01-18T15:39:00.000-07:00

Talk about a mirror into America's economy. Greater DC is one of the most class divided places on the planet. While people in Toronto worry about "three cities," growing inequality and fraying social cohesion, greater Washington is 3 cities - on steroids - a supper affluent global (though largely white) creative class, a large, growing and struggling new immigrant class, and a large, poor and mainly black underclass. You'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to see the glaring economic and social inequality and class divide that is greater Washington.

Building Peaceful Communities Through the Arts

2008-01-18T15:20:00.000-07:00

Arlene Goldbard's (author of New Creative Community) presentation titled Out of the Box at the Shanti Foundation Conference in Chicago on October 18-19, 2007

"In just the same way, I want to talk with you today about rejecting the view that puts community arts work, community cultural development, in a too-small box labeled “nice but inconsequential.” I hope to persuade you to accept the much larger and more exciting view you will take in throughout this conference, showing you how the work of deeply committed and talented community artists has enormous potential to create community and nurture peace, a power far beyond most of the conventional interventions people keep trying over and over again, despite their evident failure."

Bloomberg to NYC (and America?) "Open Your Eyes"

2008-01-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Mayor Bloomberg sounded some broad themes in his seventh State of the City address. Held at the new ice skating rink at Flushing-Meadows Corona Park in Queens, his speech outlined initiatives the city and various city agencies will undertake (digital 911 so you can send the NYPD photos from cell phones by this summer! reforming the Board of Elections! asking Congress to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit!) and gave him an opportunity to show the public what he stands for.

an artyr for the cause

2008-01-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Boston Globe reported that some small arts groups are responding creatively to the Boston Foundation's recentyl released report PDF on the state of the arts community in the greater Boston area.

Tomorrow night in an alternative gallery space in Cambridge, a self-proclaimed group of “artyrs” will drink Kool-Aid, eat chili, and participate in a “die in.”

Many feel that the report — which recommends smaller, struggling arts organizations consider merging, or an “exit strategy” that would lead to their quiet demise — took an unnecessarily cold, actuarial view of the plight of the small arts nonprofit.

Backyard Cultural Tourism

2008-01-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

The article explores a tourist village in Bangalore where affluent Indians can experience a rural lifestyle. It is the showcasing of all things old, traditional and rural -- which are less and less a part of the lives of many Indians.

Ten Reasons to Be a Locavore

2008-01-18T05:51:00.000-07:00

Found among ECO-TIPS FROM SUSTAINABLE LAWRENCE

Sustainability is all about “going local”. Our “tip” for this week is about why and how. “Locavore”, according to the Webster folks, is now an official word. It means someone who eats only things grown locally. But this shouldn’t only apply to food.
...

Reason #4: Supporting local musicians, artists, writers, and artisans (all basically business people, too) strengthens our creative class and builds local cultural identity.

Liverpool: Goodbye football, hello culture

2008-01-18T05:21:00.000-07:00

But, while headline-grabbing events and a slew of new chic boutique hotels openings across the city are expected to boost the city's tourism by over 2m visitors a year, locals maintain that the birthplace of the Beatles is finally getting the credit it always deserved as a hub for creative talent.

Cities ramp up kid-friendly hospitality

2008-01-17T13:08:00.000-07:00

'You can't have a childless city,' says one urban advocate, part of a movement to keep families — and tots — happy living downtown.

Industrial design as a tool for sustainable urban development

2008-01-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

"In organizing this competition, the City not only highlighted the talent of a local designer and chose a design for an object of public utility, but also fulfilled one of the commitments spelled out in the action plan drawn up for the metropolis during the Rendez-vous November 2007 - Montréal, cultural metropolis. I am one of those people who believe in our talents and see in creative endeavours such as this competition an approach stimulating innovative and avant-garde ideas. This type of initiative is in line with an approach promoting urban development that is both sustainable and creative and that, above all, deserves to be repeated," concluded Hudon.

Creative industries emerge as key driver of economic growth

2008-01-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK: Creative industries have emerged as one of the world's most dynamic economic sectors, with international trade in creative goods and services rising to $445.2 billion in 2005 from $234.8 billion in 1996, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has said in its report.

Never thought I'd live to see this day...

2008-01-12T11:12:00.000-07:00

From the U.S. Census Bureau:

About 33 percent of young women 25 to 29 had a bachelor’s degree or more education in 2007, compared with 26 percent of their male counterparts, according to tabulations released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The tables also showed that more education continues to pay off in a big way: Adults with advanced degrees earn four times more than those with less than a high school diploma. Workers 18 and older with a master’s, professional or doctoral degree earned an average of $82,320 in 2006, while those with less than a high school diploma earned $20,873.
MORE
FULL REPORT

Best of the Urblogosphere*: 2007 Round-Up

2008-01-12T10:48:00.000-07:00

Where a blog about urban places, placemaking and the concept of "place" and the role that physical places play in shaping our lives, culture, and society, presents its roundup of the best posts of 2007. The eight entries fall under two categories: General Urbanism and Place-Specific posts.

Very interesting and well worth the read.

MORE

(*Urblogosphere = urban blogosphere)

Authenticity Helps Where Marketing Dollars Fall Short in Tourism

2008-01-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Destinations' greatest tourism asset may well be the authenticity of experience they provide visitors, according to the founder of Saskatchewan-based “boutique” travel company Great Excursions, Claude-Jean Harel: “Now more than ever is the time to bring this character forward in our efforts to harness the industry’s potential, especially in international markets"
MORE

A treatise on building vibrant cultural quarters

2008-01-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

From CoolTown Studios:

Today's entry will be a little uncommon, but rather extraordinary as we present Urban Cultures' detailed presentation behind their Cultural Quarters: Necessary Conditions and Success Factors checklist. There really are few if any firms that have such fine-grain knowledge in helping cities invest in such places, and we're glad to be associated with them.

Cultural Tourism Takes Hold

2008-01-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

More people are traveling to experience the heritage and history of a region
What brings tourists to a place? Its events, its restaurants, the beauty of its scenery? Increasingly, the draw that pulls tourists is not what's happening, but what happened there.
Cultural and heritage tourism — travel directed toward experiencing the traditional and contemporary culture, arts and special character of a place — is among the fastest growing segments of the tourism market, said organizers of a three-day symposium on the subject in Monterey this week.
MORE

With love, from Cleveland!

2008-01-12T09:57:00.000-07:00

Tips for Nonprofits meme:

Elizabeth Able, of Able Reach Arts and Web Development, recently started a blog meme in support of nonprofits that have an online presence. She asks that we write one tip on ways nonprofits can benefit from having an online presence and have others do the same. Tips can have similarities so long as each offers new insight into the topic.

It's not that I'm obsessed, it's just that China's speed fascinates me

2008-01-12T09:43:00.000-07:00

"Olympic Fine Arts 2008" kicks off

Deja Vu...

2008-01-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

As read in Music Publishing & Song Writing:

In case you missed it, the opening shots across the bow were fired this week, when the Digital Media Association (DiMA) filed a brief in a royalty-rate setting proceeding arguing that an interactive stream should not require a license to reproduce a composition (that is, a digital phonorecord delivery, or DPD, license under Section 115 of the Copyright Act.) In layman’s terms, that means that the Digital Medial Association, the representatives for companies like MusicNet, which supplies music to Microsoft, Yahoo, MTV and many others, is trying to get out of having to pay a royalty to songwriters and publishers for reproducing their music in the digital, online sphere—something they had essentially agreed to do as far back as 2001. In short, DiMA is looking for the Federal courts to give them an escape hatch from a commitment they made to the music community more than five years ago.

Sundance's Tech-Related Panels for 2008

2008-01-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here's the official schedule of the panels being held at Sundance later this month. I'm making a very quick trip, but panels on New Filmmaking Technology, Hollywood Adapting to the Web, and Digital Distribution for Indie Filmmakers look good.

Green tourism boost proposed

2008-01-12T09:31:00.000-07:00

Tennessee economic development officials and others are to meet today to develop a plan to bolster heritage and ecotourism in the 21-county Cumberland Plateau region. MORE

Everybody's doin' it, doin' it, doin' it...

2008-01-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

It would seem that everyone, in every state, has set forth the same mandate: Culture, Creativity and Innovation: West Virginia in the New Economy

Not that it 's a bad thing. You can learn a lot from the best practices of others.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-10T11:32:00.000-07:00

Scrambling to catch up on my reading. So, until I do, here are a few interesting tidbits for you to ponder. Talk among yourselves...

A Community's "Personality" is Key to Economic Future

There is an important element missing in too many studies--the PERSONALITY OF THE COMMUNITY--period. The lesson of the Clinton campaign can be carried over to community revitalization---numbers versus personality. Interestingly, communities could use some additional numbers in their quest to find their "personality."

Presidential Candidates who've publicly voiced their support for the arts

View candidate policy statements on this site created by Americans for the Arts.

Our mission is to secure bold, new policy proposals in support of the arts and arts education in America from candidates during the 2008 presidential campaign.
ArtsVote is a national initiative to help the arts impact the presidential election. In New Hampshire, the Arts Action Fund has partnered with New Hampshire Citizens for the Arts to identify, educate, train, and mobilize likely arts voters to help influence candidates to take strong positions for the arts.

On a similar note: Funding for NEA is enlightened

Twenty million dollars is a subatomic particle in the grand, convoluted scheme we call the federal budget. But to the National Endowment for the Arts, which has spent the past two decades clawing its way back from fiscal disaster, $20 million looms enormously large.
Late last month, President George W. Bush signed a package of appropriations bills that includes a $20 million increase for the endowment's coffers for the coming year. The NEA now has a $144 million budget, with the recent increase representing its largest-ever boost.

Art in All of Us

China enhances national image on cultural front

"Cultural exchange is an important way to showcase national image, and thus an
indispensable component of China's diplomatic work," said Ke Yasha, an official with the Ministry of Culture at the symposium on "Communicating Across Cultures: the Arts Shape World-Views". Chinese President Hu Jintao, in his report to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), called for bringing about a new upsurge in socialist cultural development, stimulating the cultural creativity of the whole nation, and enhancing culture as part of the soft power of China.

Blogging for the hearts of donors

“Seventy-five percent of the charitable organizations studied are using some form of social media including blogs, podcasts, message boards, social networking, video blogging and wikis. More than a third of the organizations are blogging.”

Managing the creative class or the modern day working class "Da Vincis"

2007-12-29T21:28:00.000-07:00

Business and innovation strategist Idris Mootee offers insights on managing the creative class.

China's New Creative Class

2007-12-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

An interesting piece from the June issue of Fast Company about the projected rise of China's creative industries, challenging the idea that the Chinese will be content to “stamp out a widget, or knock off a DVD” while the West (spearheaded of course by Cool Britannia) leads the world in creativity.

China is not content to serve as factory to the globe. Call it economic foresight, or cultural pride, but despite the stratospheric growth of its economy–10.7% last year–China knows that cheap labor alone can’t sustain the boom. While a flurry of activity (and, yes, a government five-year plan) has stressed scientific and technological innovation, look a little closer and you’ll see that creativity in art and industry–in design, fashion, media, and the like–is fast becoming a driving national mission.

The article has plenty of awful puns about ‘cultural revolutions’ but also some fascinating examples of Chinese creatives doing amazing work in architecture, fashion, design, music etc. Apart from the intrinsic interest of the subject, it’s a good antidote against the lazy assumption that the West will enjoy an indefinite ‘creative advantage’ over the BRIC nations (not to mention the rest of the world).

Southern US cities lure artists to boost economy

2007-12-25T19:57:00.000-07:00

In Raleigh, N.C., where the ballet used to practice in a mall, the arts are blossoming.

"The fact is, cities are realizing you don't get a lot of bang for your buck for large investments in conference centers." In contrast, he says, promoting arts is a bargain.
Public art installations, dance curricula in low-income city schools, and public investments in performance space have dramatically changed the fortunes of Greenville, S.C., which has doubled its workforce in the last 10 years.

The emergence of authenticity as the new business imperative

2007-12-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Could not LeBron James become the John D. Rockefeller of the Experience Economy?

Fascinating.

Creativity Makes an Urban Area Click

2007-12-20T07:55:00.000-07:00

THE WARHOL ECONOMY: HOW FASHION, ART, AND MUSIC DRIVE NEW YORK CITY. Princeton University Press. 258 pages. $27.95)

She recited annoyances fairly similar to grumblings sometimes heard from Toledo’s own recent college graduates: The restaurants close too early. Not enough street-level culture. Officials seem unmindful to the interests of the city’s young people.

“Future generations want open communities and vibrant neighborhoods, not just downtown malls and new sports facilities,” she wrote, evoking the city planning philosophy of her admired Jane Jacobs as well as Richard Florida, her mentor and former professor whose Rise of the Creative Class became the decade’s influential public policy and planning manifesto.
MORE

Breaking News: from Americans for the Arts

2007-12-18T23:39:00.000-07:00

Last night, the U.S. House gave preliminary approval to an "Omnibus" appropriations bill for FY 2008 providing funding for about $474 billion in domestic spending programs. The Senate began considering this legislation today.

With the President's expected signature later this week, the bill will provide about $145 million for the National Endowment for the Arts - a $20 million increase over last year's funding. Arts education and public broadcasting programs are slated to receive modest increases over last year's levels and the federal museum office will see a slight decrease in funding.

Through this legislation, the National Endowment for the Arts is expected to receive a 16% increase - the largest given to the agency in the past 24 years.

The effort to achieve this funding increase has been built over the course of several years. Advocates like yourself have been attending the annual Arts Advocacy Day or actively contacting their Members of Congress calling on them to restore the NEA to the strength it once had in the
mid-‘90's.

Our cause on Capitol Hill, led by Congressional Arts Caucus co-chairs Louise Slaughter (D-NY) and Chris Shays (R-CT), was championed earlier this year by House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA) as he held, on Arts Advocacy Day, the first hearing on arts funding in twelve years. Americans for the Arts was called on by Chairman Dicks to organize the hearing and present a panel of witnesses that included Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert Lynch, jazz musician Wynton Marsalis and a number of other arts leaders. The hearing focused on the role of creativity and innovation in the arts and highlighted research outlining the tremendous impact that federal investment in the arts can have. In June, Congresswoman Slaughter led the U.S. House to reject three amendments specifically designed to cut funding for the NEA, and instead approve a giant leap forward in NEA funding. During the floor consideration, Americans for the Arts advocates from 50 states sent over 26,000 messages to their Members calling on them to support an increase for the NEA!

Through negotiations with the Senate and the White House, the $145 million will provide for more direct grants to arts organizations around the country and increase the reach of the agency's national initiatives.

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities is set to receive $145 million, an increase of about $4 million.

Arts Education Funding for arts education at the U.S. Department of Education will receive a slight increase to about $38 million, from $35.3 million. The bulk of this increase is intended to provide funding for administering the first national survey since 1999 on the status and condition of arts education - a key element of our advocacy agenda!

Public Broadcasting The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the federal agency that provides support to our national public broadcasting network saw their annual budget increased from $400 million to $420 million for FY 2010. CPB is typically provided funding in advance due to the long range planning they must do.

Museum Programs The Office of Museum Services within the Institute for Museum & Library Services (IMLS) is slated to receive about $31.2 million, which is about a $556,000 decrease from what it received in FY 2007 funding.

What's Next: Passage of the Omnibus legislation will bring to an end the FY 2008 appropriations cycle. Due to the numerous veto threats made on most of the 13 appropriations bills, it took longer than expected for Congress to finish their work. At the end of this week, the House and Senate will recess until mid-January. The President is scheduled to give the State of the Union on January 28, 2008 and the FY 2009 budget will be announced in early February.

Americans for the Arts will provide full details on the FY09 budget when released.

Learn MORE

How To Turn Your Public Library Into Amazon.com

2007-12-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Check out this great article at PsychoTactics™

Imagine someone has just recommended a book that you simply must read. What is your natural reaction? You probably head down to the bookstore down the road. Or go to Amazon.com and order your book, don't you?

Well, maybe you can go online to your public library, and make the order.

You'll be surprised at how happy a librarian would be, to take that order! MORE

The Need for Big Ideas In Fort Collins' Arts & Culture

2007-12-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

Beet Street's vision is inspired by the model of the Chautauqua Institution in upstate New York. When we say "inspired" we refer to aspects of that concept that will work well in our market and play well with the established arts and culture of in the community.

That said, we continue to find inspiration for future programming and areas of focus from all over the world. Innovation in the arts and culture inspire us to propel this vision for Fort Collins beyond our stated intent and find opportunities to engage and excite participants with the goal of keeping visitors coming back to Old Town for future generations.

Check out Innovation Odyssey: Sustaining the Tradition of Innovation in Boston's Arts & Culture The mix of arts & culture, research and development, technology, health care, etc. is not unlike the mix of opportunities found here. In many ways, I see more risk-taking, visionary and collaborative ventures than found in many of our country's largest cities. The only thing that sets us apart is scale.

What are your big ideas for arts and culture in Fort Collins?

Bring your children to Old Town to bask in the arts

2007-12-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

New Year's Eve- December 31st, 2007 - Come join in the fun downtown for the 12th annual First Night Fort Collins 2008! Enjoy the wonderful and diverse entertainment presented at this non-alcoholic New Year's Eve celebration. First Night Fort Collins 2008 promises new performing acts, storytelling, history, interactive craft projects, old favorites, street performers, international dancing and much more. More First Night info

Included in the cost of your First Night admission, Beet Street is pleased to present a special performance of The Bella Luna Cirque in the Lincoln Center Performance Hall located at 417 West Magnolia Street

Bella Luna Cirque features cirque-style jugglers, dancers, aerialists, clowns, acrobats, gymnasts, living statues, magicians, balloon twisters, mimes, stilts walkers, comedians, body artists.

While our scale is different, these considerations should be top-of-mind

2007-12-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

I love that housing continues to pop up all over Old Town. It adds to the vibrancy of our central business district and brings a wonderful urban feel to downtown. I hope, as more development projects come to Old Town, that we never lose the "sense of family" you can find in the nooks and crannies of the district that welcome children to play and explore with their parents. Those experiences will cultivate a new generation of downtown residents who will be important to the city's future.

CEOs for Cities released their report on City Kids today. I think the report offers some interesting insights:

For 50 years, having that first child usually meant heading out of the city in search of a more “family-friendly” lifestyle. But now that young adults are 33 percent more likely than other Americans to live in close-in neighborhoods, progressive urban leaders are asking if they can break the traditional pattern of family migration to the suburbs.

To get answers, we turned to the Institute of Design. We asked teams of designers there to help us develop a deep understanding of the market and how they might be moved to alter their behavior.

Their approach was to study pioneering urban parents. Rather than ask people what they might do in hypothetical situations, they studied what people choosing to raise their children in cities are actually doing. They also interviewed urban and suburban “discontents” -- parents not completely satisfied with their current situations.

What they found is that the top concerns of parents about city living are safety, space and schools. But they found that satisfied urban parents had ways to address each of these concerns. The very nature of the city alleviated their safety concerns with its density and “eyes on the street.” They supplemented their lack of private space by using the city’s public spaces, such as parks and sidewalks. And they augmented their children’s education with the city’s diversity and cultural and other assets.

For pioneering city parents — and we found many of them — cities are the perfect place to raise children.

City Kids

8 important consumer trends for 2008

2007-12-04T07:39:00.000-07:00

No doubt 2008 will be as trend-heavy; to get you going, here are eight trends to watch and capitalize on in the new year. Oh, and may we be among the first to wish you an innovative, prosperous, trendy 2008!

Want to get your hands on all the trends that are on our radar for 2008? Then please check out our 2008 Trend Report

How are local arts marketers in Fort Collins factoring in the emerging behaviors of audiences?

Sundance 2008

2007-12-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

Sundance Institute

Sundance Film Festival 2008 Competition Films Announced

Sundance 2008 Photo Preview: Part 1

Sundance 2008 Photo Preview: Part 2

Sundance Film Festival 2008 Out of Competition Films Announced

Today's NYT Biblio File considers Andy Warhol

2007-12-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

WARHOL’S FAME WILL OUTLIVE THE PLANET. BY HOLLY BRUBACH

Have we suspected this all along?

2007-12-02T09:52:00.000-07:00

A recent Wall Street Journal op-ed presents an interesting viewpoint contrary to the recent belief that Creative Class/Cities will be the final word in economic vitality.

The Rise of Family-Friendly Cities It's lifestyle, not
lattés, that our most productive workers want. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010911

"Such a shift in emphasis could mark a new beginning for many long-neglected urban neighborhoods across the country. It's time to recognize that today, as has been the case for millennia, families provide the most reliable foundation for successful economies."

Does Fort Collins have what it takes to be a top 100 arts town?

2007-09-20T12:34:00.001-06:00

We think so.

And, at a very early breakfast meeting featuring John Villani, the author of The 100 Best Arts Towns in America, 35 citizens of Fort Collins who are devoted to arts and culture think so, too.

Villani told the group that he believes that "a University town like Fort Collins - with an impressive theater community and diversity in visual and performing arts has real potential to make a national impact."

Pretty heady stuff. And, not out of reach.

And now, in the afterglow of a successful launch and flipping the switch on our website and some preliminary communications tools, we recognize that our real work begins today. We remain grateful to the many people in our community who want to join us in this journey.

Have any big ideas with the potential to differentiate Fort Collins nationally?

Thank you Fort Collins!

2007-09-19T22:56:00.001-06:00

What a great evening. Great music, food and friends - and let's not mention the perfect weather.

So many people to thank for such a great show of support. We hope you are looking forward to more Beet Street programming.

So tell us the truth - What did you enjoy? And, in your opinion, what didn't work?

We wouldn't ask if we didn't want to know!