Meet Karen Svoboda of Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Svoboda.

Karen, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Five years ago, I became part of the festival. They were averaging 19 vendors and only maybe 100 people in attendance! Now we are in our 11th season and averaging around 60 – 70 vendors and around 2000 – 3000 people in attendance every festival for this season. Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts is a free event featuring unique artist creations, music, food, and fun for the whole family.

The 2018 – 2019 season, October 2018 to April 2019! The mission of the Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts is to provide an environment that encourages the economic and artistic growth of emerging and established artisans and crafters while revitalizing downtown Mesa and building a sense of community. We are a non-profit organization, under DT Mesa Fest.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It really has been fairly smooth! It was taking the festival back to remembering that the artist are the customer and that without them, there is no festival. This last summer was a bit of a challenge, I battled breast cancer, so my down months in addition to all of the new season planning, which included making us our own non-profit. I was also going for chemo, surgery and follow-up appointments. I won, cancer lost!

We’d love to hear more about your organization.
Our mission statement to me is what sets us apart; it is not about how much money we can make! The mission of the Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts is to provide an environment that encourages the economic and artistic growth of emerging and established artisans and crafters while revitalizing downtown Mesa and building a sense of community.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
To continue to have a place that new and established artists can come to show their art and have a safe and inviting place to sell. We have found that the footprint we currently use for the festival is perfect to spread sales around.

Pricing:

• 10 x 10 street spaces – canopy with weights required $30
• 10 x 10 sidewalk spaces – canopy with weights optional $30

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dtmesafest.com
• Email: info@dtmesafest.com
• Instagram: dtmesafestivalofthearts
• Facebook: Downtown Mesa Festival of the Arts
• Twitter: DTMesaFest

Image Credit:
Mark Svoboda, Director DT Mesa Fest

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