Posted: 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, July 15, 2014
MIDDLETOWN

Arts festival expected to add to city’s quality of life

By Michael D. Pitman

Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN —

Plans for the inaugural Middletown Arts Festival were unveiled earlier this week, adding yet another positive community event for downtown, organizers and supporters said.

The free Sept. 13 festival will be spread throughout downtown — from Donham Plaza to Governor’s Square — and will feature many of the city’s artistic treasures, including artists, musicians and dancers. The festival is about improving the community’s quality of life, said Jackie Phillips, president of the Middletown Arts Center’s board of directors.

“Quality of life issues are really important to a community,” said Phillips, who is also the city’s health commissioner. “If you do not provide people with things to do, they either will do one of two things: they fall into the area of crime and that kind of stuff or they fall into the area where they’ll do it themselves.”

All local arts organizations are invited to participate, Phillips said. Those that have been asked to showcase local artistic talents include the Middletown Arts Center, Pendleton Art Center, Art Central Foundation, Middletown Symphony Orchestra, Middletown Lyric Theatre, Middletown Performing Arts Academy, BeauVerre Riordan Studios, Broad Street Bash, Midpointe Public Library, Sorg Opera House, Middletown Historical Society, Downtown Middletown Inc. and area education institutions in Butler and Warren counties.

T. Duane Gordon, executive director of the Middletown Community Foundation, agreed with Phillips that this event is addressing a needed quality of life issue, which is why his board signed on to be this year’s presenting sponsor.

“You need high-quality, low-cost, fun things for people to do in order to have a high quality of life in a community,” Gordon said.

The foundation has established a fund that will manage the finances for the event, including the organization’s $15,000 donation — the same amount it gave to the Ohio Challenge that was held this past weekend.

“Our board felt that this was an important enough event to sign on as the presenting sponsor,” Gordon said.

Phillips said the steering committee’s goal to bring in around 5,000 people through the course of the 10-hour event.

“It’s long been a dream of mine to showcase the great art programs found here in Middletown,” Phillips said. “Not only are we excited about spreading awareness throughout the community, but to those in the entire Southwest Ohio region.”

Suzanne Sizer, artistic director for the event and Director of Marketing for the Pendleton Art Center, said the steering committee is looking at this event as a regional event.

“Middletonians have always supported the arts, and (that support) has stayed there,” Sizer said. “It’s a great base to build from, and that’s one of the reasons why Pendleton came to Middletown — because of the history.”

Sizer said they are looking for artists from throughout Southwest Ohio and beyond to participate. And while the community’s art history “is a wonderful base to build from, we’re reaching out to try to grab (that base) and push it forward,” she said.

MIDDLETOWN ARTS FESTIVAL

WHERE: From Donham Plaza to Governor’s Square, downtown Middletown

COST: Free

MORE INFO:www.middletownartsfestival.com