Family Arts Festival in Tucson

Festivals are common in Tucson during the winter months. Our weather is warm, but not hot which makes Tucson a major tourist destination for this period for people wanting to escape cold northern climates. Convention and meeting business booms and our population expands as winter residents return to their homes in Tucson. It is a great time for everyone to get out of their homes and enjoy the weather.

As part of our on going marketing efforts, the college had some booths at the festival as well. Our theater department was promoting its upcoming show 42nd Street with some of the actors performing songs and dances from the production. Our Community Education department was there promoting its craft and travel classes and an early childhood education program had a booth at which young children could make sand paintings. I was there with the academic and training programs divisions simply to promote classes. Ordinarily a booth like ours at an event like this would expect no more than to keep the college's name in front of the public but we ended up being placed between the theater department with their singing and dancing and the early childhood education program with their sand paintings. As the crowds converged on these two booths we ended up getting over 100 people to request information or sign up for spring classes.

The festival was large, occupying both the Presidio Park by the Convention Center and the Civic Center Plaza area on the other side of Congress Avenue. The two are connected by a foot bridge over Congress Avenue and both areas were packed with both exhibitors and visitors.

In addition to booths displaying the offerings of local artists, arts groups and various ethnic organizations there were numerous booths selling various specialty foods and stages with music and dance performances.