With state funding for tourism still strapped, attractions in eastern Connecticut are banding together to form their own Greater Mystic Visitors Bureau to better market sites and events ”“ a model that appears to have proved effective in the southwest part of the state with the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County.
Launched in 2008 on the eve of the collapse of the economy, the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County has increased its roster to some 135 members, including highbrow venues such as the Connecticut Ballet and Weir Farm Art Center, as well as venues that count on small fry, such as Maritime Aquarium and Stepping Stones Museum for Children.
Pegged to the size of their annual budget, members pay dues between $50 and $500, with individual artists being charged $35 and “creative businesses” $100. Like any nonprofit, the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County also solicits larger sponsorship donations ”“ both from businesses like Arch Chemicals Inc., BlumShapiro and Robinson & Cole, as well as from its trio of major supporters in the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fairfield County Community Foundation and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
Under former Gov. M. Jodi Rell, the state tourism commission eliminated funding for the onetime Fairfield County Visitors and Convention Bureau in the budget crisis, closing its Norwalk office and shifting its online duties to the Western Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau in Litchfield.
While that office maintains a Visit Fairfield County website focused on local events and attractions and with tools for meetings and tour planners, it misses many listings that find their way onto FCBuzz, the online events calendar maintained by the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County (the Fairfield County Business Journal is a media partner).
Perhaps most importantly, the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County has lent a unified voice for the local arts and attractions community at the state and national level ”“ and has focused its grassroots efforts on getting the state to pitch more funding to local tourism venues and organizations.
Liz Morten, a Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County board member who was president and chairperson of the Westport Country Playhouse for a decade, testified this spring that policymakers need to be reminded of what the arts mean in real-world terms for Connecticut businesses.
“I asked Lenny (Ionesco), who is the owner of Ferrante Restaurant in Stamford, about the impact of the Stamford Symphony on his business,” Morten said. “He told me that on performance days, the restaurant is full and he had to hire three or four extra people. Multiply that by the number of restaurants in the area, he said, and by the number of parking garages and security personnel ”“ it has a big impact. There is more income for the town.”
The looming question, of course, is whether higher gas prices will encourage people to skip longer trips this summer in favor of staycations ”“ or perhaps convince them just to stay home altogether to save money.
The former scenario presumably would benefit Fairfield County, which unlike eastern Connecticut and its casinos boasts no single venue that appears on a list of major U.S. tourist draws. If few Corn Belt residents are likely to hop a plane East to sample the Bruce Museum”™s “Three Sisters & Corn Maidens: Native American Maize Cultivation & Customs” exhibit under way, there is no shortage of locals who might find the exhibit a worthwhile diversion on a Saturday afternoon ”“ not to mention friends or family in town for a visit.
The Bruce Museum and other venues will again participate in Connecticut Open House Day, scheduled this year for June 11 when many attractions offer free or discounted tickets and other perks to showcase the state”™s draws. Some 200 organizations participated in last year”™s open house day.
