Good turnout for arts festival

Sweltering temperatures on Saturday may have sent crowds packing a little earlier than usual from the annual Bigfork Festival of the Arts' first day, but sunshine kept things brisk for the more than 150 vendors who lined the streets of downtown Bigfork.

"I think it went very well," said Bigfork Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bruce Solberg. "The compliments were overwhelming."

Solberg said he spoke with both vendors and downtown business owners over the course of the weekend and most reported good crowds and solid sales.

Organizer Donna Lawson said she heard good things, too.

"The show was wonderful," she said. "Our biggest comment was to put air conditioning in downtown for next year."

This year the festival extended off of Electric Avenue down Grand Drive to accommodate the largest-ever number of entries. The festival committee received 216 applications this year for 160 slots and Lawson said that this year about 30 percent of the participating vendors were new to the festival.

Each year funds raised from application and booth fees at the festival go into the chamber's marketing budget, which is used to promote Bigfork in various regional media. Totals from this year's event won't be available until all the bills are paid, but last year's festival netted $15,000 for the chamber.

Solberg said that fund pays for year-round advertisements in local radio and newspaper outlets as well as seasonal advertising focused around the region in an effort to draw people into Bigfork for big events.