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The 17th Annual Festival of the Arts {City of Coral Springs}

By Sharon Aron Baron

The 17th Annual Coral Springs Festival of the Arts, held on March 17-19, 2023, drew over 30,000 attendees, making it the city’s largest event of the year.

The Festival, which is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, is self-funded and organized by a committee of volunteers who work for nine months to make it happen., The annual weekend event features two days of music, talent, and art from a broad spectrum of the community, as well as an opening evening of literary readings and presentations by reputed authors.

Gil Sternbach, sponsorship chair, spoke to Coral Springs Talk about the Festival’s success. “Our biggest measure of success is attendance, and I estimate that over 30,000 people attended the event,” he said. When asked how he tracked attendance, Sternbach explained that he stood at a central point on the walkways and counted how many people went by in a minute each hour, dividing it by two. “However, with multiple entrances, it’s literally impossible to accurately track this,” he added.

One of the highlights of the Festival was the close-out concert by the Billy Joel tribute band Turnstiles. “(Billy Joel) is very popular, and people were up and dancing. It was a great way to end the Festival,” Sternbach said.

However, organizing the Festival is no easy feat. The annual event costs around $100,000 for live entertainment on two stages, free trolley transportation from remote parking lots, tents and equipment rental, signage, banners, and police detail. These expenses are funded through corporate sponsorships, private contributions, and grants.

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“The City of Coral Springs gives us some money for a Title Sponsorship, and other local businesses have generously contributed towards other sponsorship levels, but raising funds required through corporate sponsorships is harder and harder to do, especially as the costs are increasing and the economy is slowing down,” Sternbach explained.

To get a grant, the Organizing Committee has to prove that the event showcases various art forms, appeals to a broad spectrum of audiences, and attracts people outside of Coral Springs.

Coral Springs Festival of the Arts Draws Over 30,000 Attendees in Successful 17th Year

Some of the Coral Springs Festival of the Arts organizing committee. Diane Yousefi – Children’s Area, Joe Morera – President, Joy Carter – Secretary & Sponsorships City Commissioner, Shirley Richards – Past President, Dan Bruck, Claudette Bruck – Children’s Area, Lois Margolin – Treasurer, Gil Sternbach – Sponsorship Chair, Scott Brook – Mayor, Sarah Poehler – Admin of Volunteers, Nancy Metayer Bowen – City Commissioner, and Mike Del Pozo – Chamber Liaison. members {City of Coral Springs}

“It’s hard to measure the economic contributions to the local economy because we have no way of accurately tracking what people are doing or spending. However, the Festival helps bring attention to art and culture, draws visitors from the tri-county area and other geographies, and helps put Coral Springs on the map,” Sternbach said.

In 2020, the Festival was canceled just one week before the event was due to be held, and again in 2021 due to COVID-19. Since most of the money to put on the event had already been spent, the Committee had to dig into their reserves to give sponsors credit towards the 2022 event. As a result, the Festival could not make charitable donations and offer scholarships as it had in prior years.

“It takes a lot of effort to put this on, from parking to music to talent to marketing. We work for nine months to make it happen, and I love this event because I know the value it represents and contributes, both from a cultural and economic perspective,” Sternbach said.

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Author Profile

Sharon Aron Baron

Editor of Talk Media and writer for Coral Springs Talk. CST was created in 2012 to provide News, Views, and Entertainment for the residents of Coral Springs and the rest of South Florida.