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Ithaca, NY, March 15, 2007 ---- The Light in Winter Festival, Ithaca's annual celebration of art and science, doesn't just chase away the mid-winter blues for the increasing number of people who have attended over the last four years. It also pumps more than $200,000 into the local economy, according to a study conducted by Cornell University's Department of City and Regional Planning. Among the study's findings:

  • The gross economic impact of visitors and participants was approximately $220,000.
  • Out-of- town visitors to the festival spent an average of two days here.
  • Most out-of-towners who came here primarily for Light in Winter stayed in hotels.
  • The majority of both residents and nonresidents take some of their meals at local restaurants during the three-day festival period.

Although most participants in the 2007 festival came from Tompkins County, a substantial portion came from New York City, as well Onondaga, Monroe, Steuben Chemung and Erie counties. Overally, attendees came from 100 cities and 14 states, including Washington, Texas, California, Ohio, Massachusetts and Maine.

"We've seen steady growth in attendance over the years, and increasing numbers from people outside the county," said Light in Winter Festival Artistic Director Barbara Mink. "It's important for the individuals, businesses and organizations who help subsidize the costs of the festival to know that their investment is working."

The survey was sponsored by City and Regional Planning Professor Susan Christopherson, and will be included in contemporary scholarship on creative economies and the economic contribution of festivals. It was conducted and supervised by graduate student Jessica Daniels. Thirty volunteers from CRP and the community interviewed 737 festival attendees. They found that the median age at the festival is about 50, that most respondents attended two or three events over the course of the weekend, and that the attraction of the arts and of science was evenly split.


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