Tell some kids what you do

Adults with fun hobbies or interesting jobs are invited to take part in “Surprise Wednesdays” at the Boys and Girls Club of Bainbridge Island.

The new program welcomes adults to share their experiences with children in kindergarten through fourth grade between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m. each Wednesday.

Guests have included a face painter, storyteller, yoga instructor, librarian and an Adidas representative. The length of visits ranges from 30 to 60 minutes.

The possibilities are endless, says program coordinator Malyn White. The goals are to have the children meet members of the community and introduce the club to adults.

The Boys and Girls Club is located at the Bainbridge Island Aquatic Center. For more information on the program, contact White at 855-8486 or mwhite@positiveplace.org.

Garden tour artists sought

Artisans are wanted for the 18th Annual Bainbridge in Bloom Art Fair, which will take place July 15 and 16.

Submissions are due March 1 at Bainbridge High School, where they will be juried. Preference will be given to artwork with a garden theme and artists will find out if they’ve been selected by March 20.

Those chosen for the art fair will provide their own 10-foot-by-10-foot booth. The fee for a booth is $150. One additional artist may join another artist’s booth for a fee of $75, for a total of $225.

Each application packet should include the application form, five to 10 slides and/or photographs of work, a resume and/or bio and a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the return of materials. Call 842-7901 to request an application form.

Artists may submit digital images on CD or via e-mail to: admin@artshum.org.

The economic impact of art

The amount of money islanders spend when they enjoy a night on the town could fatten the coffers of local performance venues.

That’s the premise behind “Arts and Economic Prosperity II,” which the Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council is taking part in this year.

“The results will help Bainbridge build a case for the cultural facilities project site,” said Nancy Frey, BIAHC executive director, “and operations in the downtown core that will help us really understand how much people spend in nonprofit galleries and theaters, as opposed to spending money elsewhere.”

The survey also will be “a huge help to nonprofit organizations to know what’s going on in other communities,” she said.

The study has two components: confidential surveys for attendees at theater and musical performances – at such venues as the Playhouse and the Island Music Guild Hall – to track the event-related spending of their audiences, and surveys for non-profit organizations on their budget, payroll and staffing.

The data will document the role the nonprofit arts industry plays in the island economy, and support the case for increased public and private funding locally, regionally and nationally.

Local theater patrons are already being surveyed, while cultural organizations will be surveyed beginning in April.

“We want to collect 800 surveys a quarter,” Frey said. “We will send the surveys every quarter and (Americans for the Arts) will put our information into their database. It comes back to us as a report in a year.”

The nonprofit Americans for the Arts advances the arts in local communities and creates opportunities to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the group has more than 5,000 organizational members and stakeholders across the country.

When the nonprofit organization asked for 100 communities to participate in the latest study, Bainbridge answered the call.

The economic impact study is the most comprehensive in the nonprofit arts industry. To date, it has been conducted in more than 150 rural and urban communities from Alaska to Florida with populations ranging from 4,000 to 3 million.

The first study, in 2000-01, involved 91 communities, 3,000 nonprofit arts organizations and 40,000 audience members.

It found that “America’s nonprofit arts industry generates $134 billion in economic activity every year, including $24.4 billion in federal, state and local tax revenues.”

The $134 billion total includes $53.2 billion in spending by arts organizations – a 45 percent increase from 1992 – and $80.8 billion in event-related spending by arts audiences, reflecting an average of $22.87 per person for hotels, restaurants, parking, souvenirs and refreshments.

Nonlocal attendees were found to spend nearly twice as much as local attendees.

“Congress uses this information to advocate for the arts nationally and we can use it locally to support the case for public and private funding,” Frey said.

To volunteer to collect audience surveys, contact Janice Shaw at 842-7901 or admin@artshum.com.

– Rhona Schwartz