GATEWAY QUESTIONS
~or~
The Questions You Are Going To Want to Take Into Consideration
When Planning a Cultural Heritage Festival in Your Community.
| NOTE: This outline is
available as a MS Word form that will let you work through the
process at your leisure. Go to:
Gateway Questions Form |
|
Keep In Mind: A Cultural Heritage Festival is tied to the culture and/or
heritage of a specific region or community and allows the
visitor to have a rich authentic experience that provides
educational opportunities to participants and long-term benefits
to the sponsors and featured group(s). There is nothing generic
about it! |
You will want to develop a purpose and mission statement for the
festival.
To do this consider these five major areas:
- Your Community's Assets (What you have
that is special about your community)
- Your Community's Resources (What/who is
available to help in any way)
- Your Desired Outcome (What will people
take away from the event)
- Your Desired Benefits (What will be left
behind, or created)
- Your Audience and Who You Hope to Serve
The following are some sample questions for you to consider in
evaluating these key areas. We encourage you to
download the word document which
includes these questions in a format that allows you to document your
answers.
1. What are your
Community's Assets? (What do you have that is special about
your community)
- Do you have any long-standing local folk traditions (Example:
hunting mushrooms, gathering herbs, storytelling, quilting, mountain
music, bluegrass music, gospel music, square dancing, food
traditions/local recipes)
- Do you a have significant historic figure, building, vocation or
industry? (Example: Stringbean, Mary Breckenridge, Renfro Valley,
farming, coal mining)
- Do you have a significant cluster of artists / craftspeople
living or working in the community? (Example: Artists and
Craftspeople of Estill County, or Mountain Musicians in Jackson
County)
- Do you have a significant natural attraction
that is accessible to visitors? (Example: hiking/horseback riding
trails, canoeing, parks, caves, waterfalls, rivers)
2. What are your
Community's Existing Resources? (What types of people can
you call on for assistance?)
- Local arts organizations (arts councils or committees, crafts
guilds, discipline based organizations, musical groups, historical
societies)
- Community leaders (elected officials, business leaders, church
leaders)
- Volunteer base
- Community Organizations (Kiwanis, women’s club, garden club,
book club, social service organizations)
- Cooperative Extension Agencies
- County Action Teams
- Churches
- Education Leaders
- Youth Groups
- Local City/County Government
- Chamber of Commerce and/or links to business community
- Tourism Committee or council and links to regional tourism
initiatives
- Potential Funders
- Overnight accommodations for visitors in community
3. What is the outcome you
seek? (What do you want people to learn/take away with
them?)
- Appreciation of the culture or traditions of the
region/community
- Knowledge, learn a skill
- Sense of Place, Better image of the region, community
- Better understanding of the cultural diversity within your
community
- A place to experience (and perhaps even purchase)
cultural/heritage objects (art, craft, music, food) and art forms
(music, dance, song, stories)
4. What
are the desired benefits to, or impact on, your community?
(What will be left behind, or created)
- Sense of pride and improved self image
- Attract tourists
- Enhance opportunities for youth
- Invigorate downtown
- Improve relations among various groups
- Economic impact
- Develop civic involvement
- Opportunity to come together in celebration
5. What is the desired
audience or combination of audiences?
- Local
- Regional
- State
- National
- International
- Students/Teachers
- Families
Taking into consideration these
5 areas will help you develop a mission and vision for your festival,
which will in turn help you recruit volunteers and funders! If you
don't know why you're bothering to do this, you'll never be able to
communicate to potential supporters and visitors the reasons why they
should be excited about your festival!
We recommend that you sit down with your Festival Planning
Committee and try to fully answer these questions. Or have each
person answer the questions individually, then come together to
discuss your answers. You will probably be surprised by what you
learn!
Example of a Purpose/Mission Statement
from the Stringbean Festival in Jackson County, KY.
The mission of Stringbean Memorial, Inc., is to organize, plan
and host annual, traditional music and heritage festivals in
Jackson County in order to: honor the memory of the legendary "Stringbean";
to preserve and promote traditional Bluegrass and mountain music;
to provide opportunities for area youth to explore, develop and
expand their musical abilities; and to preserve, through education
and demonstration, the area’s cultural heritage.
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