Marking a Milestone - Kentuck Festival celebrates 50 years
Photo courtesy of Kentuck Art Center
Kentuck Festival celebrates 50 years
What began in 1971 to celebrate a city’s centennial has evolved into an arts festival and a center with year-round programming. The 50th Kentuck Festival of the Arts will be held Oct. 16 and 17, in Northport, Alabama. “We’ve grown in many ways over the last 50 years,” said Amy Echols, Kentuck’s executive director.
The late Georgine Clarke started the festival with the help of several other people after moving to Alabama with her husband Jack. Echols said Alabama’s “quirky back roads” delighted Clarke, who drove up and down rural roads, discovering people making objects out of old tools or painting with mud. They told stories through whatever objects they had, Echols said.
Clarke often pulled up to houses, introduced herself, and invited them to be part of the festival. She eventually purchased a building with spaces artists just starting out could rent. She was Kentuck’s first executive director and left in the mid-1990s after accepting a position with the Alabama State Council on the Arts. “It was incredible,” Echols said. “She grew such an incredible place on the map.”
Ashley Williams, Kentuck’s marketing manager, said Clarke had the work ethic, dedication, and resources. The festival and center would not have survived without the community’s passion, she said.
Photo courtesy of Kentuck Art Center
As the center grew, it became evident best business practices needed to be put in place, Echols said. Being a nonprofit did not mean no business plan, she said. Kentuck also wanted more community involvement and support. “You have those who can contribute money and those who can contribute time,” Echols said. “You need both.”
Williams said the members of Kentuck’s board of directors bring diverse skills and expertise to the organization. Echols said that is intentional. Every board needs an accountant, a banker, and an attorney, she said. Having a banker on the board helped Kentuck when in-person events could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The banker told Echols to seek Paycheck Protection Program funds. Kentuck received two rounds of funds, keeping all its employees.
Advice Echols has for other promoters is to:
Have two different people sign checks (to prevent theft).
Give a financial report at every board meeting.
Hire an outside firm for an annual audit.
Additionally, promoters should know their mayor, meet individually with each city council member, get involved in the local Chamber of Commerce, and speak to civic groups, she said. “Never say no to the media. If somebody wants to interview you or take your picture or come to an event, you never say no,” she said. “Try to make it easy for them.”
Echol’s advice also includes seeking grants. Applying for grants takes effort, but receiving funds from a state council is like a stamp of approval, she said. It endorses a program and helps to raise money in other ways, she said.
Kentuck pivoted in several ways during the pandemic. It started a Festival Forward Fund, asking people to donate so the festival could take place this year. It held a virtual festival last year, with artist sales totaling $87,973. Virtual events brought Kentuck to people throughout the country. “Social media has done so much to include so many more people,” Echols said. “You have to stay on top of your story.”
Social media and the business sector acknowledging the arts are the two biggest changes she has seen in the industry through the years. Kentuck’s programming has become more intentional, with the goal of offering programs and exhibits that are accessible, meaningful, and relevant.
Echols encourages promoters to laugh and celebrate as a staff. One year, someone left a tambourine at the park after the festival. “Every time something good happens, we shake the tambourine,” she said.