BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — In March, the organizers of the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts announced that after 24 years the festival would come to an end.
The announcement was made in a post on the festival's Facebook page which said in part "after twenty-four years of producing an all-volunteer, free community event, and after much deliberation, we have decided to cease producing the festival."
On Wednesday, the Elmwood Village Association (EVA) announced it has taken on the management of the festival. A new name will be pronounced at a later date.
"The EVA envisions a smaller festival, to begin with for this year, that includes many of the activities and features the public loved about the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, including music, a “kids’ zone,” food, and especially the work of artists and craftspeople from the region and beyond."
- Elmwood Village Association
"The mission of the EVA has always been to promote the local arts community and add vibrancy to the Elmwood Village, a mission shared by the organizers of the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts. We are thrilled to have their blessing to carry on their vision in a smaller capacity this year."
- Therese Deutschlander, President of the EVA’s Board of Directors and longtime small business owner in the Elmwood Village
"We have worked with Therese Deutschlander, owner of Thin Ice and President of the EVA, for seventeen years and have known her to be a tireless promoter of local artists. We wish her and the Elmwood Village Association the best of luck in reimagining a new festival for the city of Buffalo.”
- Tanya Zabinski and Joe DiPasquale, Directors, The Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts, Inc.
