Sep 1, 2021
The Explore Art! Festival started out with a partial shutdown of Bank Street this afternoon, but the Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council’s (GO ART!) hope is that it will grow.
Today, for the first time, GO ART! held the event, which included music, crafts for kids, face painting for teens, chalk art and a book sale.
“We obviously wish there were more people,” said GO ART! Executive Director Greg Hallock,” though he added that the people with booths set up, as well as the bands, were having an amazing show. Trinidad & Tobago Steelband, Nocha, Special Delivery and Banda Tipica provided music.
“It’s our first year. Our ultimate goal is to eventually shut down Main Street. We knew we couldn’t start huge,” he said. “We’re hoping to grow into something big.”
Explore Art! was sponsored by the New York State Council on the Arts, The Arc of Genesee Orleans, Lorri Goergen, Eli Fish Brewing Company and Cedar Street Sales & Service. Hallock said GO ART! received funding for the festival from the National Endowment for the Arts.
“To put on this event, it’s about $13,000,” he said. “It’s a pretty decent space right now, but we’re hoping to take up more as the years progress.”
