BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV ---- The list of top art destinations in America released recently by American Style magazine places Berkeley Springs, WV at #7 among small cities and towns, the smallest in population of the top 25. “It’s our seventh year on the list and we’re at #7, back in the top 10,” says Jeanne Mozier, local arts promoter. “It all seems magical.”
Sante Fe and Asheville top the list but Berkeley Springs ranked higher than many notable places including Boulder and Aspen, Colorado; Sarasota, Florida and Annapolis, Maryland. “Berkeley Springs continues to be the only town in West Virginia to make the list,” says Mozier.
The list is compiled from votes cast by the public. Berkeley Springs competes in the category of under 100,000 population. The complete list in all three size categories can be found on the magazine’s Website: americanstyle.com .
Berkeley Springs making a national list has benefits beyond bragging rights. “Many visitors come to Berkeley Springs specifically because it is known as an art town. They seek out the galleries and want to know where there is live music,” says Laura Smith, administrator of Travel Berkeley Springs, the local visitors center. “We start getting calls in March wanting to know who is performing during the summer concerts in the park.”
Mozier asserts that being a nationally recognized art town also has an impact on economic development since individuals and companies looking to relocate seek out places with a rich cultural scene. “Being known as a creative town is one of the most important assets Berkeley Springs has to compete in the new economy,” she says.
Mary Hott, Executive Director of the Morgan Arts Council (MAC) has been fielding requests for help from other places. “The Benedum Foundation suggested that we might want to put together a presentation for other towns who want to be ‘just like Berkeley Springs.’ That was their phrase, not mine,” says Hott, “and we just received a request from Berryville, Virginia to meet with a team and help them develop an arts presence there.” Other recognition has come from Create West Virginia which considers Berkeley Springs a model for the state, and the national Boomtown Institute which highlights the town for its success in using the arts for economic development.
“There are many pieces to the local art scene,” says Mozier, listing activities MAC stages at the Ice House, local commercial galleries like Mountain Laurel and Heath Gallery, groups like the Delectable Mountain Quilters and Concerts on the Hill and regular music venues like Tari’s Jam Night and weekends at the Troubadour. “When you consider percent of population engaged in the arts either as participants or audience, Berkeley Springs probably scores higher than Sante Fe,” she says, “maybe even New York.”
Mozier describes what she claims is a regular occurrence. “On almost any given day at the Ice House there can be play rehearsals, afterschool art classes and a gallery show being set up. Add to that group of 50 or so people rehearsals in town for the community choirs or music ensembles and people shopping in galleries and it adds up to impressive art density. That doesn’t even consider what happens on weekends when there are big audience events.”
As with major metropolitan areas that include large budget items for cultural development, widespread public and corporate financial support is a key part of Berkeley Springs’ success. “Corporate sponsors, foundation and government grant funders, and local donors especially to MAC are as essential to the thriving art scene as the artists,” says Mozier. “Investing money in the arts and arts organizations shows the value placed on the contribution the arts make to life.”
For more information on Morgan County arts activities check http://www.macicehouse.org or call 304-258-2300.
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