CHARLESTON, W.Va. — FestivALL 2014 is in the books. It officially wrapped up Sunday evening with Mountain Stage. The 10-day event drew in major crowds to Charleston. Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Alisa Bailey said it’s still too early for final numbers, but they’ve got a good idea of how things went.
“We’re still waiting to hear how many room-nights were booked during the 10-day festival and ticket sales to the ticketed events, but the crowds were fantastic,” explained Bailey.
This was the 10th anniversary of FestivALL. It all got started 2005 as a 3-day event to show off the local arts scene. It’s expanded every year with new events. The Mayor’s Concert, featuring Aaron Neville, was a big draw, so was the Capitol St. Arts Fair and Children’s Fair. However, Bailey says day 8 may have been the most attended of FestivALL.
“Particularly Friday night with Live on the Levee and Blue, Brews and BBQ we saw huge crowds,” according to Bailey. “We were extremely happy.”
With music, food, art, dance and dozens of other events taking place, FestivALL has become “the” event for Charleston.
“It really is the premiere event for this city! It really is our brand. We are so blessed with so many arts and performances all year around but this event really highlights them all,” said Bailey.
She stressed none of it would be possible without the countless volunteers.
“It really is a labor of love for a lot of people because it’s a lot of organizing and getting everything under one umbrella,” Bailey said. “It’s just a fantastic event for the city of Charleston.”
Bailey said they should have a good idea of the economic impact of FestivALL and how many people took in the ticketed events in a week or so.