Sunny weather could account for much of the jump in attendance and art sales at last weekend's Festival of the Arts, but some say the trend of shopping local helped. A Festival favorite – booth upon booth of good eats – reaped near-record sales for some groups.
According to excerpts from the story:
Louise Stirrup sat in the grass near Calder Plaza on Sunday afternoon, watching the sights and sounds of the 40th annual Festival of the Arts as the bright sun beat down on her strawberry halava dessert. At her feet were two umbrellas. "We were just so sure it was going to rain today," said Stirrup, 56, of Wyoming, whose family has been attending the downtown event for 30 years. "We don't miss Festival for rain, though. If it rains, we just bring some plastic to sit on. ... You can't make me happier than Festival each year." Stirrup's happy outlook matched the faces of Festival of the Arts organizers Sunday, its third and final day. Despite a few raindrops early in the day, the forecasted chance of thunderstorms never materialized, leaving Festival grounds dry, sunny and warm. That, combined with a completely dry Friday and a few sprinkles Saturday evening, made for a Festival organizers would be happy to repeat -- especially after the past four years had been interrupted by rain. Preiminary numbers available Sunday afternoon tell some of the story. Art sales for Friday and Saturday were up 30 percent over the same two days of Festival 2008, the wettest in the event's 40 years.
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