FeedsBehind the scenes work essential to Art in the Park
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Dianne Quinn and Raychel Rork have organized each Art in the Park event since 1980.While many of her friends and neighbors spent the fall planning for the holidays, Dianne Quinn was preparing for one of the largest summer events in Michigan.
“It’s a large portion of my life,” said Quinn, who along with her daughter Raychel Rork, worked the past several months to select artists, secure venues and recruit corporate sponsors for the annual Art in the Park festival in downtown Plymouth.
The festival, which began as gathering of 30 artists in Kellogg Park in 1980, has grown into the second largest art fair in the state of Michigan. The free to the public event will celebrate its 28th anniversary in July.
Festival officials estimate more than 300,000 people from across North America will attend the event. Quinn said many of the attendees might not realize the level of “behind the scenes” work involved.
According to Quinn, planning for the 2007 festival began in November when staff mailed more than 4,000 participant applications to artists all over the county. Event organizers selected each of the 350 artists whose crafts will be on display during the weekend event.
Officials also led a similar process for selecting the musical performers and bands that will play throughout the weekend.
“They have no clue, have no idea,” said Quinn who not only is responsible for bringing the fair to Plymouth, but also for coordinating vendor placement, waste removal and public safety patrols with city officials.
“We have to provide the city with specific details on everything. Every detail matters,” said Quinn who is in the process of preparing a map plan highlighting where every artist and performer will be located.
The document will also describe in detail how participants will enter and leave the downtown area, including more than 80 volunteers.
City of Plymouth Public Safety Director Wayne Carroll said Quinn’s attention to detail makes their job easier.
“They are above everybody else in preparation and I’ll tell anyone that,” said Carroll referring to the organization of the weekend art event. He said he recently advised a group looking to have an event in Plymouth to use Art in the Park as an example.
“They spend so much time in planning the event that we change very little,” he said.
Details are also necessary for the place where many of the artists will call home.
David Hotycki, the general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn in Plymouth said the art fair brings an influx of people to the hotel that have different set of needs than other occupants.
The hotel restaurant usually stays open longer during festival weekend to accommodate guests who did not have an opportunity to eat. The hotel also provides a free shuttle service for guests to Kellogg Park.
“It does have an impact on occupancy,” he said.
The 28th Annual Art in the Park is scheduled for July 13-15. For more information visit www.artinthepark.com.
