ArtsGoggle

Next Event - October 21, 2017

Artist, musician, venue and vendor registration opens on June 1, 2017 at www.nearsouthsidefw.org

600+ ARTISTS | 100+ BANDS | FREE EVENT

Celebrating 14 Years as the Near Southside’s Premier Arts Event
Since its inception in 2003, ArtsGoggle has evolved into a popular festival of the arts in this eclectic neighborhood of historic elegance and urbanism immediately south of the central business district of Fort Worth. This free to the public, family-friendly event attracts a crowd as diverse as the neighborhood itself with live music, artistic displays of every kind, food, drink, and fun for everyone.

ArtsGoggle is unlike any event in Fort Worth, as residents from the nearby Fairmount, Mistletoe Heights, Berkeley Place, and Ryan Place neighborhoods are joined by medical district workers and visitors from throughout the region for a community open house focused in the Near Southside.

Neighborhood Businesses Transform into Art Galleries
In support of the Fort Worth arts community, these businesses clear their walls, rearrange furniture, and transform their traditional work environments into gallery space displaying the work of ArtsGoggle artists. Venues receive no compensation for hosting; in fact, they go to great expense and effort. This unique partnership between business and artist is a distinctive feature of ArtsGoggle.

Taking It to the Street
ArtsGoggle hosts an outdoor street party spreading more than a mile across the Magnolia Village. The street festival closes Magnolia Ave. to car traffic from 8th Ave. to South Main Street and fills 16 blocks with more 650 visual artists booths and three stages with music and performance art of all varieties. This exciting street festival atmosphere that completely transforms our Near Southside public spaces. One of the event’s goals – along with celebrating art of all kinds – is to showcase the unique and memorable character of the Near Southside. The vibrancy and excitement of the outdoor block party captures the neighborhood spirit perfectly, as friends meet to share ArtsGoggle highlights and discoveries. It is easy and safe to see everything ArtsGoggle has to offer. Visitors are invited to park their cars and rediscover this revitalized urban neighborhood by foot or by bicycle, including Fort Worth Bike Sharing bikes.

ArtsGoggle prides itself in hosting a casual, approachable and vibrant environment to appreciate art and learn about the talents within our own community. For more than a decade, ArtsGoggle has been the launch pad for many artists showing their work for the first time. ArtsGoggle provides a supportive setting for both aspiring and professional visual artists, to display, sell and seek comment on their artwork.

Embracing all arts, the event also boasts an impressive program of performance art and music. The 2016 ArtsGoggle featured more than 100 bands, many of which have members who live or work in the Near Southside. The entertainment at ArtsGoggle is diverse and showcases music from a variety of cultures and styles. The event partners with arts organizations across Fort Worth to draw attention to their programs. In years past ArtsGoggle has hosted the Fort Worth Opera for pop-up concerts; showcased Ballet Folklorico de Azteca for a colorful dance performance; and hosted The Bucket List Jazz Band, a band dedicated to the lifelong dream of 90-year-old Jim Milam to resurrect Dixieland Jazz.

Affordable for Artists and Patrons
The event is committed to keeping artist’s fees affordable by requiring a registration fee of only $40, with no others fees to participate. ArtsGoggle is free to the public, with no wristbands, tickets, admission costs. Unlike many popular for-profit events in Fort Worth, ArtsGoggle is produced by a not-for-profit community organization and thus has no need to produce revenue. Instead, the event is exclusively focused on creating an environment to appreciate and celebrate the arts. All funds raised for the event will be dedicated to producing a memorable and successful experience for artists, venues and patrons of all ages.

Event Producer
ArtsGoggle is presented by Near Southside, Inc., the non-profit redevelopment organization working to revitalize this important urban neighborhood, in partnership with our sister organization Historic Southside, Inc. The event has regularly drawn crowds of 7,000-10,000 and in 2016 experienced incredible growth with a crowd estimated at 30,000 attendees filling the streets with visitors of all ages. The scene is a wonderfully pleasant testament to the community spirit that fills the Near Southside.

ArtsGoggle is an expansion of Near Southside Inc.’s efforts to promote the Near Southside and build the community fabric essential to our continued development. Since our founding in 1995, NSI has led development and promotional initiatives that have successfully transformed the Near Southside into one of the region's most distinctive and vibrant urban districts. Signs of NSI’s 20-year revitalization effort are evident throughout the district, perhaps most apparent along Magnolia Ave., S. Main Street and Park Place Ave., home to the city’s most eclectic selection of locally-owned restaurants and pubs.

Tax Information
Historic Southside, Inc., managed by Near Southside, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Sponsorship contributions made to Historic Southside, Inc. are deductible as charitable donations. W-9 forms will be provided at your request.


SPONSORSHIP INFORMATION
NSI is seeking a title sponsor, 4 stage sponsors and 16 block sponsors for the 2017 Fall ArtsGoggle event. The event provides a unique opportunity for company to promote its brand to thousands of attendees while also supporting a tremendously popular community event that has become a treasured component of life in the Near Southside. Sponsorship contributions made to Historic Southside, Inc. are deductible as charitable donations. Contact megan@nearsouthsidefw.org for details.