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Summary of the 2011 Festival

2011 Francisco’s Farm Arts Festival at Equus Run Vineyards
June 25 and 26 – 10am to 6pm Saturday & 10am to 5pm Sunday

Awards: The 2011 Festival, our 8th annual event, was named among the Top 10 Festivals in the Commonwealth by the Kentucky Travel Industry Association (formerly the Kentucky Tourism Council), and was selected as a Top 20 Event for June by the Southeast Tourism Society.

Attendance: Organizers estimate the attendance at approximately 7,500 visitors.

Venue: 2011 was the Festival’s first year at Equus Run Vineyards, and we are grateful to Cynthia Bohn and her staff for hosting the event.  Visitors, Volunteers, and Artists all rated the venue between Good and Excellent.

Artists:  There were 128 exhibitors from 15 states, 50% of them Kentucky artists. Visitor, Volunteer, and Exhibitor Survey respondents agreed the quality of work on display this year was of high caliber and showed great variety and balance of media representation.

Advance publicity & information:  Publicity was extensive in central Kentucky, with television commercials fully underwritten by WLEX-TV, and frequent Public Service Announcements donated by WUKY-FM. Paid advertising in print, web, and radio expanded our reach to the Louisville and Cincinnati media markets, state-wide, and nationally.

Food Service: Vendors included Repicci’s Italian Water Ice, Jake’s Crabcakes, Front Porch Barbecue, Sweet Spot Sandwiches & Desserts, Mrs. Rogers Gourmet Popcorn & Sweet Shop, and Oak Barrel Lemonade. The quality of the food vendors was highly rated, but more food vendors were suggested for next year.

Hospitality of Volunteers & Staff:
Francisco’s Farm Hands have a reputation for taking great care of the artists and visitors, and artists once again gave high ratings.

Booth Layout: Although the layout was highly rated by visitors, artists, and volunteers, improvements  were suggested for better traffic flow and easy accessibility to all exhibitors – a goal for 2012.

Pre-Festival Events:
We participated in a number of events designed to increase awareness of the Festival and ‘start the buzz’ months before the weekend - Francisco’s Farm Arts Night at WUKY Fall and Spring Fund Drives, Farm Hands staffing a phone bank during KET’s TeleFund, and a month-long exhibit in the art gallery at First United Methodist Church of Frankfort.

Special Exhibits:

Kentucky Music Stage –This year we provided music at two locations – on the Tasting Barn patio and in the Gazebo. We are grateful to Billy Hill, Midway musician and Francisco’s Farm Stage Manager, for coordinating all aspects of this successful presentation.

Children’s Art Projects – On Saturday, UK Students in Arts in Education guided children in the creation of paper hats and artworks from found objects.

Larkspur Press – Since the first year, Gray Zeitz has set up his antique Pilot letter press to demonstrate for visitors, and offered a selection of hand-made books and cards. Larkspur Press was located in the Tasting Barn and drew many admirers.

Special Friends of Francisco’s Farm:
A summary of the event would be incomplete without recognition of several local businesses and organizations that always step forward and ask, “What can we do to help support and promote the Festival?”

  • The Midway Woman’s Club shares our calls for volunteers with their membership, provides organization and staffing of the Artists Hospitality Suite along with home-baked goods for the artists’ enjoyment, and promotes the Festival at every opportunity.
  • Damselfly Gallery provides a promotional venue, the loan of artwork for exhibitions, and a shipping destination for artwork and supplies.
  • Holly Hill Inn and Wallace Station provide a promotional venue, loan of equipment, and the Artists Reception Picnic each year.
  • Community Scholars - Kentucky Folklife Program loans equipment to enhance the visitor experience at select festivals throughout the Commonwealth. Our festival was a beneficiary of their generosity this year and last. Our signage was cohesive and attractive displayed on the ‘Big Green Sign-holders’ loaned to the festival.

WHY FRANCISCO’S FARM?

John Francisco was the original owner of the property on which Midway stands. In 1835, Francisco sold a farm
“consisting of two hundred and sixteen acres, one rood and twenty poles of land” to the Lexington and Ohio Railroad Company. The L&O planned and built Midway, Kentucky’s first railroad town, so named because it is halfway between Lexington and Frankfort, the state capital.

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Francisco's Farm Arts Festival is a not-for-profit production of Midway, Renaissance, Inc.