More than four years after starting Williamsburg Fall Arts, the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance is ready to declare a second season chock full of arts-related attractions to bring tourists to the area.
Williamsburg Spring Arts is set to begin March 15, delivering nearly seven weeks of arts-related activities headlined by food and wine events, concerts and festivals, all in an effort to get more people to see the Greater Williamsburg area as a destination for the arts.
For the Alliance, Spring Arts is a chance to gather a bevy of arts-related events — some are new, but others are long running — under a single umbrella, which can then be marketed to tourists. Along with its Fall Arts companion, a lengthy arts drive for the area is a way to spur economic activity during the non-summer months.
The move to expand the arts to a second season comes after four years of increasing consumer spending in the area during September and October when fall arts is running. Figures from the Alliance show total spending in those areas climbing from $440,260,692 in 2010 to $493,873,405 in 2014.
“When you’re going up against how we’re doing the rest of the year, it’s good,” said Bob Harris, the Alliance’s vice president for tourism. “It helps offset losses during summer season. If we didn’t have a strong fall arts and Christmas in Williamsburg, it would really be hurting.”
There will be some differences between the fall and spring arts seasons in Williamsburg. Fall arts is mostly targeted toward couples aged 35 to 64, while spring arts has more of an appeal for families looking to experience the area, Harris said.
To that end, Williamsburg Spring Arts includes the New Town Family Fun and Chalk Art Festival. There is also the Second Sunday festivals featuring artists and musicians on the streets of downtown Williamsburg.
Harris said the goal is to eventually cast Greater Williamsburg as a year-round arts destination. Such a move would allow the local tourism sector to take in more money during the offseason between summer vacation seasons.
“There’s a real nice variety of events,” he said of the area’s spring arts calendar. “When we sat down and started looking at it, we said this is kind of easy from a product offering standpoint.”
The offerings at spring arts cover numerous disciplines.
Lovers of food and drink can check out the Williamsburg Music & Wine Festival on April 18 or Blues, Brews & BBQ in Yorktown on May 2. Those who are theater-minded can take in College of William & Mary dance concerts on March 26 to 29, William & Mary’s Spring Awakening on April 23 to 26 and the Williamsburg Players’ presentation of Guys and Dolls in late May.
Also falling during spring arts are two conferences in Williamsburg: the American Daffodil Society National Exhibition in April and the Embroiders’ Guild of America International Conference in May. Music offerings include a concert by Ron Fetner in March, the Virginia Symphony Bass Quintet in April and the Tide Radio’s 10th anniversary concert featuring Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakers in May.
Spring arts will be bookended by the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit at the Muscarelle Museum of Art — which closes April 5 — and the Busch Gardens Food and Wine Festival, which begins May 22.
The Alliance has not yet finalized an advertising budget for spring arts, but the focus is going to be primarily on social media. The Visit Williamsburg Facebook Page has more than 50,000 likes, making it a source of eyeballs for advertisements. Other potential advertising sources include Instagram and Pinterest.
“We want to do some targeted ads to promote some of these events and drive traffic through overnight visitors,” Harris said.
He said the Alliance already spent $40 for a paid Facebook advertisement for the da Vinci exhibit. That ad was seen by more than 15,000 people.
Williamsburg Spring Arts runs from March 15 through May 31. Find a complete guide to all events included in the more than two-monthlong celebration of the arts by clicking here.