As the last Sunday Funday of the season approaches, Starkville’s monthly mini arts fest has released figures showing that even a six-hour event once each month can provide a boost to area artists and musicians, and contribute to sales tax coffers.
Sunday, Oct. 28, from 3-9 p.m. marks the 2018 finale of the fest fiscally-sponsored by the Starkville Area Arts Council. Held on University Drive between Hartness and Jarnigan Streets, Funday creates an informal, festive environment for artists to gather, sell and share their work with the public.
Figures released by the arts council show Sunday Funday artists as a group took in an average of almost $2,500 per afternoon event in the months of May through September 2018. Of those five Fundays, receipts ranged from $2,036.43 in May, to a high of $2,881.80 in August.
“It’s exciting to see how well the artists have done at Sunday Funday over the past few months,” said SAAC Executive Director John Bateman. “This simply confirms what we’ve always known: Art creates economic impact, even once each month. With the collection and reporting of sales taxes, we can now quantify what these artists’ sales contribute to tax revenue.”
Sales taxes collected and paid for the May-September period exceed slightly more than $900, Bateman said.
Jennifer Prather of The Partnership said, “The creation of Sunday Funday has allowed for a unique opportunity for arts in Starkville to be promoted. Not only does this event offer a platform for local artisans to promote the thriving creative assets of our community, but it serves as an economic engine through the sale of goods that contribute to our sales tax base. Artists operate independently as small businesses, and events like Sunday Funday are a wonderful way to support this sector of creative entrepreneurship.”
Donations received by Sunday Funday have been used for minor overhead expenses, including fees paid to musicians, who perform during each event at no cost to the public.
For more information about Sunday Funday or the SAAC, visit starkvillearts.org or facebook.com/starkvillesundayfunday/.
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