4F2 I FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2010 Economy affects sales By Josh Bollinger FOR THE COLLEGIAN Arts Fest is now out in full force, and some participating artists say they're worried about the consistency of their sales. Greg Turco. a photographer from Georgia, has had a booth at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts for the past four years. He said he first began to notice a decline in sales about three years ago. - People would buy more regu larly before things began to fall apart," he said. Turco said art is usually the first thing to go when people tighten their budgets the cur rent economy is especially hard on artists. "We tend to be the low man on the totem pole as far as what peo de need." he said. Virginia Fergus, a painter who dlso works out of Georgia, said it's I )ecoming increasingly difficult to maintain her business. "It's not that people aren't interested it's that they're much more cautious to buy," she Band to rock Old Main lawn By Paul Osolnick COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Six days after its Central PA ithFest performance. Velveeta will rock Arts Fest Saturday night. Velveeta, an 80's cover band, has played at the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts several times, said Brent Martin, the band's booking agent. "It's one of the highlights of the year for us," Martin said. "It's just an incredible atmosphere with lots of people on the lawn, and hopefully we'll have some nice weather" The band will perform at 10 p.m. on Saturday at Festival Shell Stage located on the Old Main lawn. The performance is sched uled to last about one hour, Martin said. "We're going to play a more condensed show." Martin said. We're going to play more of the hits." Martin said the band should be able to play about 15 to 18 songs during the concert. many of them being popular 80's songs with a few classic rock songs tossed in. Velveeta's performance will provide a different genre of music Fergus said the sales decline creates larger problems. "It costs a huge amount of money to do what we do," she said. "Show expenses, booth fees and gas prices have skyrocketed, and that together has made it extra hard. I'm just worried the cost will catch up to me." But not all artists are feeling the pain of a slow economy. Sue Lances, a New Jersey-based women's clothing designer with 30 years of experience, said things are getting better. - Every single show I've done has been up in comparison to last year," Lances said. "[Buyers] went through their fear period and now they see things are level ing off a bit." Lances stressed the impor tance of buying American-made products from private vendors as a means of getting the economy to move in the right direction. - Customers are going to help us get the country back," she said. "By shopping with us and by stimulating our economy, we will not allow this industry to evapo rate.- Larry Brockman, a leather Velveeta, known as an 'Bos cover band, will play Saturday night than the other bands playing on Saturday night. Other performers include The Sweetback Sisters, a country music band, and The Rustlanders, a rock, country and R&B band. The Sweetback Sisters will per form at 9:30 p.m. at the Sidney Friedman Park Stage, while The Rustlanders will perform at 10 p.m. at the Allen Street Stage. Velveeta plays frequently at local bars throughout the year, but Saturday's performance will provide the band with a few of the perks offered by comparatively larger venues. TS FEST purse maker from Arkansas, agreed with Lances. "If it's not made in the U.SA., try not to buy it," he said. In the past two years, Brockman has seen a decline in sales up to 50 percent, but he's still not too concerned about his longterm financial success and job security "It's just slowed down," he said. "No reason to worry about it." Shopper Cindy Powlus, who came to Arts Fest from Bloomsburg, Pa., on a family out ing, said she'd be willing to pur chase something if it really strikes her fancy. "I've been doing a lot of econo mizing on a lot of things," she said. "Some things here are a little out of my pocket range." Powlus said she would be will ing to spend up to $5O on a single purchase. But at the end of the day, Powlus predicted that most Arts Fst sales would take place away from vendor booths. "I think water and ice cream will be the hot seller of the day," she said. Martin said Arts Fest will give the band a larger stage than they are used to that will mean the band has more room to move around during the show. While the band usually per forms for smaller, college-aged crowds, Martin said the band's previous Arts Fest performances have attracted thousands of peo ple of all ages. Weather, too, often plays a fac tor in the crowd turnout, Martin said, as nice weather provides the opportunity for a "packed" crowd. To e-mail reporter: prosoo4@psu.edu Brad GoII showcases his sand sculpture in Sidney Friedman Park Sand sculptor to share art in park By Eddie Lau COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER A Mack truck, an Amish buggy and the PA Turnpike sign all of these are elements of Brad Goll's famous Arts Fest sand sculpture, made of a 25-ton pile of sand. The sand sculptor is based in Sidney Friedman Park near South Fraser Street. Goll, who has been sculpting sand at Arts Fest for 15 years, said he is a full-time sand-sculp tor, sand sculpting professionally at fairs, festivals and shopping centers. Sometimes he has to handle projects overseas, he said. Goll said he hoßes everyone enjoys the art he shares with State College residents and visi tors to the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts. The theme for this year's festi val sand sculpture is "Pennsylvania Transportation." Festival executive director Rick Bryant said Goll is invited because of his talent and experi ence, Bryant said. Goll has won numerous awards in sculpture contests, he added. The key to constructing a good sand sculpture is to pack the sand firmly and build a solid base, Goll said. Then, carefully carve and out line the sculpture with different sizes of decoration knives based on the master plan, he said. Goll said he started the project on Wednesday. ~9~i~~'l~~ldil~l~~ Friday: Downtown State College Improvement District Italian Street Painting Festival 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Hiester St. Images 2010 Exhibition 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Robeson Gallery Pure Cane Sugar 12 p.m., Allen Street- Americana Eli Byrne and Marvin Home 2 p.m., Allen Street - jazz Triple Take 2:30 p.m., Shell - classical Kevin Neidig Band 4 p.m., Allen Street - old-time Blue Sky Mission Club 4:30 p.m., Shell - folk/roots Tri-Fi 5:30 p.m., Park - jazz Ted McCloskey & The Hi-Fi's - 6 p.m., Allen Street - indie rock Christopher Dean Band 6:30 p.m., Shell - soul/R&B Essence of Joy Alumni Singers 7 p.m., State College Presbyterian Church - gospel Cartoon - 7:30 p.m. in the Schwab Auditorium - folk Vinegar Creek Constituency 7:30 p.m., Park - bluegrass Billy Bauer Band 8 p.m., Allen Street - acoustic rock Simple Gifts 9 p.m., State College Presbyterian Church - ethnic folk Slimfit 9 p.m., Shell - country rock Straight Drive 9:30 p.m., Park - bluegrass The Ultra Kings 10 p.m., Allen Street - rock & roll/rockabilly Family Brew 11 p.m., Shell - sing -a-long Saturday State College Area Municipal Band 11:30 a.m. on the Shell Festival Stage concert band Rustical Quality String Band 12 p.m. Allen St. Appalachian string band THE DAILY COLLEGIAN After working one and a half days, he made some landscapes, pine trees, a bridge, the shape of a Mack truck and Pennsylvania's iconic keystone symboL Goll said he plans to add a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and an Amish buggy to his sculpture and have it finished by Saturday afternoon. Though the sand sculpture is not yet completed, many local residents and Arts Fst visitors stopped by to take a look Some stopped by to take pic tures, some read the descriptions next to it and some stopped to chat with Coll. "It's really unique," said Donna Lorah, the mother of a Penn State student and an Arts Pest visitor. "I always admire when I go to the shoreline where they do it on the beach." Lorah, who is attending Arts Fest for the first time, said she can see the sculptor stays patient, adding that she under stands the whole thing can't be easy especially in the hot weather State College resident Andee Kiraly agreed, saying seeing Goll working was a completely new experience for her. "It's really cool I have never seen anyone doing that before," she said. Kiraly said she and her friend are looking forward to seeing the finished work To e-mail reporter: tolslos@psu.edu Penn State Karate Club 12:30 p.m. on Old Main lawn Zeropoint Big Band 1:30 p.m. on the Shell Festival Stage jazz Ruby & the Hunningbirds 2 p.m. Allen St. vintage jazz Musicians from Music at Penn's Woods 3 p.m. St. Andrew's Episcopal Church classical Chris Ruggiero 3 p.m. Park Perkasie 3:30 p.m. on the Shell Festival Stage ragtime folk Steppin; Razor 4 p.m. Allen St. rock/reggae Christine Havrilla Trio 5:30 p.m. Park indie Friar's Point 5:30 p.m. on the Shell Festival Stage blues Deirdre Flint 6 p.m. Allen St. folk/satirical Homecoming Rikshaw Brass Band Sponsored by Mortgage Source 4:30 p.m. Festival Route scramble band Chris Bell & 100% Biues Sponsored by Penn State Alumni Association 7:30 p.m. on the Shell Festival Stage blues Mark Deßose Band 7:30 p.m. Park acoustic rock Feria-Marcinizyn Guitar Duo Sponsored by The Village at Penn State 7:30 p.m. State College Presbyterian Church classical guitar Eric & the Adams 8 p.m. Allen St. Indie David Leonhardt Jazz Group with The Shelley Oliver Tap Dancers 8:00 p.m. in the Schwab Auditorium jazz/tap The Sweetback Sisters 9:30 p.m. Park - cowgirl The Rustlanders 10 p.m. Allen St. - rock/blues/Americana Velveeta 10 p.m. on the Shell Festival Stage - 'Bos cheese Astrofest 8:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to Saturday, Davey Laboratory
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