The 42nd Fall Tempe Festival of the Arts shut down four blocks of Mill Avenue this weekend as around 250,000 people visited the downtown district over three days.
The festival, which featured street entertainers and musical artists, drew a crowd of about the same size as the spring festival, said Kate Hastings, the festival managing director. But the attendance number does not measure success, she said.
Overall, vendors reported average sales compared to past festivals, she said, but final numbers will not be available for a few weeks.
The success of the festival does not necessarily follow the economic trends, she said. In the spring of 2009, the profits for the whole festival totaled $2.3 million, compared with $1.6 million the fall before.
Some vendors were pleased with sales and attendance.
“The last couple of years it’s been iffy, but it’s picking up again,” vendor Tracey Sadlo said of both the sales and attendance. Sadlo and her husband Leon are owners of Whispering Impressions, a fine art photography business. They rely on their sales from shows for their income.
This fall, the festival featured a new attraction — a microbrewery section added to the event’s wine tasting area.
Dave’s Electric Brew Pub, Four Peaks Brewing Company and Sleepy Dog Brewery were the microbreweries selected to participate this year. Kelley said the festival hopes to expand this section next year because of its popularity.
Scott Burge, owner of Dave’s Electric Brew Pub and a 1982 ASU doctoral graduate, said he was happy with the turn out.
“We will be back in the spring,” Burge said.
In addition to having more breweries in the spring, the festival managers hope to add more performances to its on-stage lineup, Kelley said. This year the festival scheduled three jazz acts a day. The artists performed on an outdoor stage at Mill Avenue and 7th Street.
Grady Soiné, a solo pianist from Scottsdale, said he debuted his first album at the festival 15 years ago, and has been performing every year since.
“The Tempe Arts Festival put me on the map,” Soiné said.
He said he saw improvement in attendance in the festival this year versus last year.
“I think people are shopping a lot more,” Soiné said.
But not all the venders were as positive as Soiné.
“With this many people, … I can usually rely on a lot more sales,” said Casey Hankin a ceramist from Colorado Springs.
Reach the reporter at mary.shinn@asu.edu
