Blair Creators Festival

The Blair Creators Festival is an annual event that was founded by myself and other students from the Sheetz Fellows program in cooperation with Arts Altoona. The event's stated mission is to bring the community together in a meaningful way and showcase the immense talent that Blair County has to offer. In the second year, I was able to direct the entire event, putting my project management and leadership skills to the test. Together with an amazing team, the festival was a resounding success, bringing together 8 live bands, a dozen food trucks, and 70+ vendors for an amazing event. As a non-profit organization, we rely wholly on the communities support of our event and together we were able to raise over $10,000 in sponsorships, donations, and vendor fees to support the event and its ongoing success. Much of these proceeds benefitted Arts Altoona and its mission to bring arts into the community. Another goal of the event is to pay the event forward to other non-profits and we are extremely proud to partner with area non-profits such as The Gearbox Union, The Central PA Humane Society, Leadership Blair County, The Arc of Blair County, and many others. Additionally, we were able to advertise the event in coordination with area newspapers, talk radio shows, and TV stations, expanding the visibility of the event. While I am extremely grateful that I was able to expand my knowledge of program management and leadership abilities, I think I am most proud of the impact on the community this event has. Working with the Altoona Blair County Development Corp we have been able to make this event that started as a small dream with some students and a non-profit and turn it into a yearly event for the community that brings thousands of people to downtown Altoona to uplift the area and create a real economic and social impact.