ArtFest quite a draw

Two-day event attracts 40,000 to Water Street

The second annual two-day Henderson ArtFest was hailed a success Sunday by organizers, artists, residents and even downtown business owners, drawing 40,000 people over two days.

The attendance demonstrated the ability of special events in downtown Henderson to draw a crowd, part of the city's strategy for breathing new life into one of its oldest neighborhoods.

"Historically, it's where Henderson began," Henderson Planning Director Mary Kay Peck said. It's also the city's only pedestrian-oriented commercial area.

A farmers' market, which kicked off a month ago, has been drawing 3,000 to 5,000 people to downtown Henderson every Thursday night, she said.

At the ArtFest, an estimated 15,000 valley residents and tourists on Saturday visited more than 200 vendors set up under canopies in front of City Hall along Water Street, which was transformed into a pedestrian mall.

Another estimated 25,000 turned out Sunday, many with their mothers in tow to celebrate Mother's Day, said Cindy Herman, recreation coordinator for the city's parks and recreation department.

"Mother's Day ends up being a great draw," she said. "Families are able to spend the whole day here."

One of those mothers was Ginger Brousseau, 33, who was pushing her 14-month-old son Kyle as he slept in his stroller.

"We came downtown just for this," she said, making a sweep of her arm toward some of the artists who came to the event from across the country. "Their work is beautiful."

This year's event, sponsored by the city and produced by the Events Group Inc., featured a variety of artisans, musical entertainment, food and children's activities.

One of those vendors, Mary Broch, was selling her husband's professional photographs of landscapes.

At her second festival, Broch, of Scottsdale, Ariz., said she and her husband were doing about the same amount of business this year as last, when ArtFest attracted about 30,000.

But Carol Seybert, manager of the Water Street Coffee Co., said her business felt the bigger crowds.

"Business at least doubles" at the restaurant, she said Sunday afternoon, both at the ArtFest and during the farmers' markets, which have been drawing good crowds even during bad weather.

Peck said those types of events will help transform downtown. "I think they (Farmers' Markets) are successful because they are a fun event," she said.

"I think it shows there is a real need for these kinds of events. We're supplying people with something they can't get any place else."

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