Commissioners table request to help fund the arts festival

Cook County commissioners tabled a request for $10,000 by the Grand Marais Art Colony (GMAC) to help fund the 2022 Grand Marais Arts Festival.

Commissioners will seek more information from the GMAC about how the money will be spent and review the request at the board’s September 14 meeting.

In the letter to the board, GMAC Executive Director Lyla Brown said the event draws approximately 10,000 visitors annually and has a cumulative estimated impact of $750,000 on the local economy.

Brown said the GMAC doesn’t make a profit from the festival and in some instances, “We lose money if we calculate the full staff time involved in planning and staffing the festival.” She also noted that grant funding for arts festivals is rare and that while sponsorships from local business and the local tourism bureau do help to alleviate costs, but only in part.

“The financial support from the Cook County commissioners is essential in underwriting the costs of the Grand Marais Arts Festival and we would be grateful for your continued support in 2022 as the Arts Colony celebrates the 75th anniversary.

This year the art festival was held at the high school because of the construction on Highway 61 and the detours though town. That detour limited use of the streets which in the past were used as the venue where the vendors would set up their sales tents. Next year the Grand Marais Art Festival will be held July 9-10.