I have to admit I am extremely sad that I am missing the Festival this year. Last year in Feb I quit my stable full time job and decided to work as an intern at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas in New Haven, CT. It was a gutsy move on my part and one that I would have never made if it wasn’t for Rob’s support. I used the job as a 3 credit internship and actually wrote my Master’s thesis on the effectiveness of the website and promotional emails.
It was by far one of the best experiences I’ve had. I met some great friends and experienced things that I never would have otherwise. From that, I learned the non profit sector wasn’t for me, but also realized how hard they work to get money to put on this 2 week festival. When times are tight, people don’t donate to the arts and jobs are cut because you have to meet your budget.
The e-blasts (that I used to build and send out) are to me. When the first one arrived, I got chills. I just remember how much fun I was having last year at this time.
Some of my favs from last year's festival:
Caribbean Traffik Jam - A free concert Saturday night on the green. New Haven was hopping. My sister was there with us and we had such a blast.
Gilles Apap - Solo Violin. It was magical. Rob and I loved it.
The Brazz Brothers - They played a Sunday concert at the chapel and we didn't go because it wasn't air conditioned. I heard it was wonderful and I was so sad I missed it. However, they played a free concert the next day and it was really something. The directory of AI had just accepted a position as the head of a festival in Stavanger Norway so there was a lot of artist influence from Norway.
No comments:
Post a Comment