Dates for the 2012 Westobou Festival were announced Thursday along with several changes to the annual arts festival.
The fifth Westobou Festival will be just six days, from Oct. 3-8. Previous festivals were 10 days, and included 50 to 200 performances in five categories: visual arts, words, film, music and dance.
For the first time, the program for the festival will be solely produced and presented by the Westobou Festival, according to a release from Westobou Festival Inc.
Westobou will also no longer re-grant funds to outside organizations or accept applications for participation. Organizations are encouraged to apply for programming funding through the Porter Fleming Foundation. The deadline is Dec. 1.
A town hall meeting to discuss the changes for 2012 is scheduled for noon Nov. 15 at the Morris Museum of Art auditorium, 1 10th St. See westoboufestival.com for more information.
Please don't make too many changes. I know Westobou is still growing and the leaders are learning. I hope the changes will focus on quality events and promotion. Another suggestion is to showcase local talent. Include one program with the finalists of local talent to draw more young people.
They should have a Kanye West rap concert so the residents of Augusta can have something, too.
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