Chamber Business Connection CBC Vol.3, Issue 10 | Page 6

Arts in the Alley turns
40 years old
Grove City music and arts festival
celebrates its Ruby anniversary
As
one of central Ohio’s longest running music
and arts festival, the Arts in the Alley event has
certainly grown from its once humble begin-
nings, literally in the alley behind the businesses along
Broadway and Park Street.
This now 40 year old festival has made its way out of
the alley of yesterday and now stretches along the
streets of Broadway and Park. Tents are set up from
Grove City Road to Grant to accommodate over 120
juried Artists and Crafters along with those artists who
are located East on Park Street to the Library and
West on Park Street past City Hall.
Annually the event welcomes 30,000-40,000 attendees
for the weekend. In the area, the Arts in the Alley event
is known as the festival that closes the summer and kicks
off the fall season.
Planning and Organizing
Organizing and hosting an event of this size does not
come without its challenges. The Grove City Area
Chamber of Commerce is responsible for this annual
event. Their biggest challenge is trying to balance
the traditional event design while including modern
elements to keep the festival “fresh”.

“Over the years we’ve opened the festival to
new genres of art including the addition of the Com-
munity Mural Tent, the Artists Demo Tent and this
year ‘The Voice of Grove City’ our new and exciting
vocal competition.” Said Shawn Conrad, GCACC
Executive Director, “ We work throughout the year to
engage new artists and vendors with the end goal of
making the event a little better each and every year.”
In coordinating a festival of this size finding the right
artist can also be a challenge. Artist are encouraged to
6 | CHAMBER BUSINESS CONNECTION SEPTEMBER 2019
submit an application of interest along with samples
of their work. Artist are chosen by a panel of volunteer
judges to ensure fair and impartial opportunity for all
applicants. Judges can be changed out from year to year
to keep it fair
Planning, Procedures and Partnerships... OH My
Arts in the Alley has been organized by the Grove City
Area Chamber of Commerce for 40 years and the process-
es and organizational procedures for the event are well
established. However, Arts in the Alley requires year-
round attention and work.
The Chamber works throughout the year planning and
preparing for the festival. As the event draws closer
the chamber joins with their area partners for support.
Partners like the City of Grove City work with the cham-
ber to revisit protocols and security needs for an event of
this size. Jackson Township is also involved in that safety
process.
The Arts in the Alley Community Parade which is in its
30th year is done in partnership with the Grove City Girls
Club and as one might imagine, requires a tremendous