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Community meets to brainstorm ArtsCrawl ideas

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First ArtsCrawl of 2017 starts in March

Members of the general public from all walks of life met Jan. 14 at the Downtown El Morro Events Center to talk about ideas for the 2017 ArtsCrawl. ArtsCrawl is in the midst of a two-month break due to the fact that the colder Gallup temperatures don’t bring people downtown in huge numbers, some connected to the event said.

“I think we have heard of some very good ideas,” Rose Eason, executive director of ArtsCrawl, said after the two-hour meeting. “I think it was a good brainstorming session.”

Dozens of people gathered at tables and talked about what they’d like to see in 2017. The sessions were broken into months – appropriately staring with March. The topics ranged from ”Flower Power,” to Get Your Kicks,” to “Thank You For Your Service.”

Each topic aimed at highlighting a specific theme in which a particular ArtsCrawl could be geared around. There were no right or wrong answers – only suggestions that now can be used to coordinate an actual event.

“I thought it was fantastic,” Francis Bee, executive director of the Gallup Business Improvement District, said. “There were a lot of suggestions and a lot of spinoffs from suggestions that were presented.”

Outlined for November is the theme of “Thank You For Your Service.” Some of the suggestions from one table included having color guards perform and giving booth demonstrations about Navajo Code Talkers or what the military is about as a career.

“I think information is what people want,” Don Davis, 45, a retired health care worker originally from Oregon said. Davis said he’s lived in the Indian Capital for 12 years.

The various themes presented at the meeting were:

November: Thank You For Your Service: Gives thanks to those who provide community service, from volunteers to veterans.

October: Whodunit? Downtown would be the host of a scavenger hunt mystery whereby people would end up on a search at local businesses to find clues to solve the puzzle.

ArtsCrawl occurs on the second Saturday of each month in downtown Gallup. It is funded by the downtown BID.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent