ARTOWN TO HOST CLOSING NIGHT STREAM-A-THON AIRING LIVE, JULY 31, FROM 7PM-9PM ON ARTOWN’S FACEBOOK AND YOUTUBE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO RAISE FUNDS FOR CRITICAL PROGRAMS.
THE EVENT WILL BE A RETROSPECTIVE, BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT ARTOWN 2020, WITH FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS AUDIENCES ARE SURE TO ENJOY. THE STREAM-A-THON DOUBLES AS A FUNDRAISER TO SUPPORT THE NON-PROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATION, AND WILL FEATURE LIVE PERFORMANCES BY RUTH LENZ, GRACE HAYES AND NATALIE JONES, WITH VIRTUAL PERFORMANCES BY ERIC ANDERSEN, MILTON MERLOS, CLIFF PORTER AND A SPECIAL VIDEO BY ADRIANA AND THE WILDFLOWERS. LUCKY VIEWERS WHO WATCH UNTIL THE END OF THE LIVESTREAM BROADCAST WILL GET TO SEE A SNEAK PEEK OF THE NEW VIDEO AND SONG FOR THE CITY OF RENO TITLED “HEARTBEAT TO HEARTBEAT, EYE TO EYE” PRODUCED BY ERIC ANDERSEN, FEATURING NEARLY 50 RENO-SPARKS ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS AND SHOT BY BRYON EVANS FILMS.
(JULY 29, 2020 Reno, NV) As Artown 2020 winds down, the Reno arts organization aims to end the festival strong, with a Closing Night Stream-a-thon celebration that looks back on a year unlike any in its 25-year history. Faced with a looming pandemic that restricted live interactions and assemblages, and closed venues and theater operations throughout Washoe County, Artown was challenged to present a festival that was both exciting, engaging, and safe for the public to participate in and enjoy.
Artown turned to the more than 125 artists and organizations who kept their events going, and found innovative ways to present nearly 250 virtual and live programs during the 31-day festival. The Closing Night Stream-a-thon will take audiences behind the scenes, to look at the many ways Artown worked with the community to bring art to the people, and will feature projects like the “Heartown” campaign, the regional effort to express hope, love and gratitude in the face of tragedy. The show will also feature interviews with Artown presenters like Natalie Jones (“Broadway Duets”) and Artown commissioned artist Keely Cobb, while showcasing testimonials from Artown’s sponsors and the organization’s Board of Directors.
Artown’s Closing Night Stream-a-thon doubles as a fundraiser to raise much needed funds for its critical programs. The organization is particularly excited about the donation of 2,000 pairs of women’s shoes from Sparks shoe manufacturer SIMCO shoe company, who gave their stylish Arcopedico brand of women’s slip on shoes that come in sizes 5-11, in a variety of fashionable colors for the auction. Arcopedico’s “Lolita” brand of shoes will be added to Artown 2020 merchandise bundles as thank you gifts for donations at the $50, $100 and $250 levels respectively.
Artown will also auction-off a one-of-a-kind piece of original artwork by Mexico City born Reno artist Edwin Martinez Esco. Additionally, Artown’s Heartown Auction, underway now, will be a part of the Stream-a-thon, where the public can bid on Heartown Hearts made by community artists and personalities like Emily Reid, Edwin Martinez Esco, Meredith Tanzer and Lauren Huft.
Leading up to the livestream, Artown will air a “Discover the Arts Marathon” on their Facebook page, where folks can catch up on the webinars that they might have missed, before watching the exciting two-hour closing night event at 7pm on Friday, July 31.
About Artown
Now in its 25th festival season, Artown is a 501 c(3) non-profit Nevada corporation whose mission is to strengthen Reno’s arts industry, enhance our civic identity and national image, thereby creating a climate for the cultural and economic rebirth of our region. Each year the festival hosts 300,000+ attendees at over 100 venues, set against the back drop of northern Nevada’s beautiful Washoe County basin, which features high desert landscapes, green forests, snow-capped mountains, the Truckee River and Carson River, Pyramid Lake and the glistening jewel of the region, Lake Tahoe.
Artown is supported, in part, by the Nevada Arts Council, a state agency, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency and the State of Nevada. Artown is made possible through the generous support of its festival sponsors, The City of Reno, NV Energy, Nevada State Bank, IGT, News 4, Fox 11 and Nevada Sports Net, PBS Reno, THE ROW, KUNR, Wild River Grille and these foundations: Bretzlaff Foundation, E.L. Cord Foundation, Gabelli Foundation, Inc., The Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation, Roxie and Azad Joseph Foundation, The Robert S. and Dorothy J. Keyser Foundation, Charles H. Stout Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, WESTAF Estelle J. Kelsey Foundation Other corporate sponsors this year include the RSCVA, Microsoft, Renown, Albright and Associates, Hometown Health, City of Sparks, The Nevada Dairymen and Dairy Council of Nevada, The Hello Project, and The Brewer’s Cabinet.
