Wow! Thank you Cindy, Chris, and Bernard for such a great article! For decades artists up here have wanted this area to be an arts destination, where the number of people who come to see the art outnumber the artists. An annual artists studio tour is a good start, but it's like a cactus flower, it blooms fantastically and briefly once a year, then it is gone.
Arts tourism isn't happening overnight, but it is developing, like it or not, want it or not. Like people who pine for a Trader Joe's up here, they have to understand that you need population growth, a certain amount of gentrification, benefactors, and amenities like fine restaurants more expensive than we are used to, and plenty of lodging, for that to happen. I guess what I am saying, is be careful what you wish for, because it's happening! One reason I read the Desert Trumpet is to follow what's going on with the TBID. It is frustrating that the county happily collects TOT from this area, but neglects the very reason for that income, the artists and entrepreneurs who are growing the tourism!
Wow! Thank you Cindy, Chris, and Bernard for such a great article! For decades artists up here have wanted this area to be an arts destination, where the number of people who come to see the art outnumber the artists. An annual artists studio tour is a good start, but it's like a cactus flower, it blooms fantastically and briefly once a year, then it is gone.
Arts tourism isn't happening overnight, but it is developing, like it or not, want it or not. Like people who pine for a Trader Joe's up here, they have to understand that you need population growth, a certain amount of gentrification, benefactors, and amenities like fine restaurants more expensive than we are used to, and plenty of lodging, for that to happen. I guess what I am saying, is be careful what you wish for, because it's happening! One reason I read the Desert Trumpet is to follow what's going on with the TBID. It is frustrating that the county happily collects TOT from this area, but neglects the very reason for that income, the artists and entrepreneurs who are growing the tourism!