Summer festivals keep downtown Ann Arbor vibrant sans students

Wednesday, July 1, 2009 | Source: Concentrate

Students and staff from the University of Michigan keep the night life bumping and shopping vibrant in downtown for nine months. Once the summer rolls around and most of that population leaves town, downtown Ann Arbor does what it does best to maintain its vibrancy - throw a party.

A combination of the famous Ann Arbor Art Fair and a number of other festivals and events keep people walking through downtown’s streets and in its stores throughout the summer. So much so that Art Fair is seen as almost a week of Black Fridays for downtown businesses.

"Those four days in July carry us through to the fall," says Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. "It's vitally important to supporting our downtown."

The numbers on Art Fair’s economic impact aren't readily available, but it could be huge considering what the Ann Arbor Summer Festival does each summer. The festivities formerly known as Top of the Park bring in seven figures of economic impact to downtown. Just as importantly, the event reminds area visitors of why A2's downtown is worth the trip in, filling its restaurants, bars and cafes on weekends.

The Summer Festival attracted 60,000 people over 3.5 weeks, bringing about $1 million in business to downtown in 2007. The festival’s $1.5 million budget employs 200-300 people and pays about 50 bands each year. About 65 percent of that budget comes from ticket sales and concessions. The rest is from a combination of donations, corporate sponsorships and grants from the city and University of Michigan.

Source: Susan Pollay, executive director of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority and Robb Woulfe, executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival
Writer: Jon Zemke