The creative economy in Fayetteville is a supply chain for belonging, talent and business growth! When we buy a ticket, sponsor a festival or hire a designer/artist, we aren’t just making something beautiful. We’re moving dollars through local restaurants and hotels, keeping skilled people here and signaling to new businesses and stakeholders that we are a region that builds, imagines and creates ideas.
The numbers seem to back this up. According to the latest study by Americans For the Arts, nonprofit arts and culture in Cumberland County generated $72.2 million in total economic activity, supported 1,111 jobs, delivered $44.1 million in personal income to residents and produced about $9.5 million in local, state and federal tax revenue. That’s not “nice to have”—that’s an industry.
Audiences aren’t passive, either. An average attendee here spends about $30 per event on food, shopping and other incidentals—money that flows straight to small businesses before and after curtains rise. Last year, our community logged roughly 900,000 visits to arts and culture activities. That’s real foot traffic and real customers, week in and week out…