, Publisher
11-04-2009
Before Black Friday ushers in a season of increased spending in Ruston, the North Central Louisiana Arts Council’s Holiday Arts Tour and Cedar Town will provide a jolt to the local economy. Both events are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, and the Arts Tour concludes at 5 p.m. Sunday.
These events pump revenue into Ruston from within and from without. In its surveys last year during the Arts Tour, NCLAC found that more than 1,000 people attended. Most were from Lincoln Parish, Shreveport, Monroe and El Dorado. The average amount of money spent on art was between $100-$300, and people reported spending $200-$400 on food, gas and other shopping.
Also, many artists had positive sales with the most money earned by an artist recorded at $8,200. Further bolstering the arts economy, NCLAC employs the local musicians who perform at tour sites.
With increased participation from the community, Ruston, its merchants and its artists will enjoy greater sales this year when it is most needed.
Cedar Town, which costs $5 to attend, is a fundraiser for Cedar Creek School. This year it will include more than 40 merchants selling a wide variety of home decor, accessories and gift items. A handfull of these are downtown shop owners, others are Ruston shopkeepers located elsewhere and the majority are out-of-towners, all of whom are required to pay city sales tax.
As the poor economy has likely affected sales at many area shops, merchants could probably use a boost.
With the ongoing construction on downtown streets, downtown merchants may have seen a decrease in sales in recent months. Cedar Town, which is held in the Ruston Civic Center, will give them a centrally located venue with an audience of thousands of shoppers. And the Arts Tour will provide even more opportunity for a profitable month.
Cedar Town co-chair Elizabeth Drewett said the market attracted 2,000 shoppers last year, and this year she hopes twice as many will attend.
And let’s hope they do. Twice the shoppers will mean twice the revenue generated for local merchants as well as for the city’s coffers.
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