Huge thanks to each and every one of you for helping to make Cultural Chaos 2022 such a great success—and for your help in bringing this vision to life!! What an exceptional effort—and what a gift this was for our community!! So much heart all around!
Thank you ARTISTS, MUSICIANS, POETS, and PERFORMERS, for sharing your voices and imaginations—in all their beautiful and bountiful expressions! Thank you to all the COMMUNITY GROUPS who came out yesterday to offer and share your resources—and for the important work you do each and every day in our communities! Thank you to our beloved LOCAL BUSINESSES for all your efforts and participation—having experienced a three-year drought since our last Cultural Chaos event, it was truly a joy and honor to be able to boost the economy of our Cultural District once again! Thank you to ALL THE VOLUNTEERS for showing up, for lending a hand, and for all your efforts and support—we absolutely could not do this without you!
Thank you to the incredible support teams and detailed logistical coordination among so many entities within the City of Easthampton, including the Mayor’s Office, Health Department, DPW, Parks & Rec, EPD, CERT Volunteers, Fire Department & Public Safety, Planning Department, Conservation Commission, and the Nashawannuck Pond Committee—creating a safe and welcoming space for all participants and attendees is of utmost importance and we appreciate all of your efforts to ensure a positive and safe experience for all. Yesterday’s event went incredibly smoothly thanks to these exceptional efforts and demonstrations of community care.
Thank you to each and every member of the the Cottage Street Cultural District Committee!! What an incredible team!! This group of volunteers has literally met monthly since our last Cultural Chaos event that took place three whole years ago in 2019–and has been thoughtfully envisioning, planning, and organizing yesterday’s festival for the entirety of the past year. The dedication of these individuals is beyond and we’re incredibly lucky to have Patrick Brough at the helm as our Committee Chair! A special shout out as well to local artist Carol Ostberg for stepping up to assist with coordinating vendors this year as well!
Thank you to our incredible event sponsors—many of whom contribute not only financially, but were active and integral program partners, too! With ECA’s ongoing commitment to pay our artists as fairly and generously as we can, and with the tremendous increase in expense in supplies and equipment we’re experiencing during the pandemic, our costs were up considerably this year. The generous sponsorship and support of the following groups made yesterday’s Cultural Chaos event possible: River Valley Co-op, Mass Cultural Council, Galaxy, The Prindle School, Nini’s Italian Ristorante, Luthier’s Co-op, Cider House Media, Beyond Green Solar, Whiteley Electric, and USA Trash & Recycling!
And finally….. all of us at Easthampton City Arts extend our heartfelt gratitude to EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU for coming out yesterday!!! Between the “iffy” forecast throughout the week and the three year hiatus due the pandemic, we honestly didn’t know *quite* what to expect…. not only did you all show up but you brought your infectious joy and energy, too! The spirit of the day was tremendously joyful, celebratory, and vital—and we’ll all be feeling this boost and its influence in our community for a long time to come! We cannot thank you all enough!!! And we hope to see you all again real soon, out and about on the streets of downtown Easthampton—our little city with the great big heart!