Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           www.selu.edu/NewsEvents
    Date: 4/9/97
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple  52k

FANFARE 1996 HAS $2 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT ON REGION
     HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University's Fanfare 1996 had an estimated $2
million economic impact on the Hammond-Ponchatoula area, according to a report compiled by
the annual October arts festival.
     The report said that attendance at Fanfare's 76 events was 48,178, including 9,260
Southeastern students. The attendance figures represent a 55 percent increase over 1995's head
count of  approximately 31,000 attendees.
     Sale of 15,505 tickets generated $62,037. Ancillary spending per ticket buyer at an
average of $25 per person totaled $1,204,450. More than 4,800 children from area public and
private schools also attended Fanfare's education outreach events, an increase of 2,023 over last
year. 
      "The progress Fanfare has made, just this past year, in strengthening our collaborations
with public and private schools and local and regional businesses has been dramatic," said
President Sally Clausen. "I don't think there is any doubt that Fanfare programming provides a
great model for university-community collaboration and cooperation."
     John Miller, dean of Southeastern's College of Arts and Sciences, said he too is especially
pleased with the growing number of school children and SLU students attending Fanfare events.
"Fanfare's mission," said Artistic Director Harriet Vogt, "has always been to develop audiences
for the arts in our area. But it is also extremely gratifying to see that what we are doing is
financially beneficial to businesses and that the community is embracing Fanfare. The arts are
definitely good business!"
     The economic report is based on formulas provided by Southeastern's College of
Business, the Louisiana Division of the Arts and the National Association of Local Arts
Agencies. 
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