About 80 festival planners gathered Saturday at Hocking College for the Appalachian Ohio Festivals Conference.
The conference gave local festival organizers in the Appalachian region an opportunity to meet, attend lectures and workshops and exchange information.
Fair and festival planners, promoters and funding agencies from Appalachian Ohio and bordering counties in West Virginia and Kentucky were invited to attend.
According to the Ohio Arts Council, the average adult Ohioan has been to a festival three times in their life. Appalachian Ohio boasts such events as the Paul Bunyan Festival in Nelsonville, which had more than 65,000 people in attendance last October, and smaller gatherings such as the Pawpaw Festival near Albany, which had an attendance of 1,300 last September.
Ohio ranks second in the nation for attendance at arts fairs and festivals, said conference organizer Leslie Lilly, who is also president and CEO Foundation for Appalachian Ohio.
-
17 Archives
Caitlin Diven
