Three Rivers Arts Festival Gets Sponsorship

The Three Rivers Arts Festival is getting an extra hand covering costs this year—Dollar Bank announced today that it will be the main financial backer of the ten day festival that begins June 4th. Marguarite Jarrett Marks is the festival director and says the public is in store for a great event this year. Using results from a public survey as part of their guide, the festival will include more visual art and Marks says she can’t reveal too much about another element--but says it involves large temporary pieces of public art installations that are sure to be conversation starters. Like last year the arts marketplace will have a big presence and Marks says applications for the marketplace were up 30% over last year, with many artists telling her it's one of their most important sources of revenue. Marks says for 51 year the festival has been a national summer destination that attracts hundreds of thousands of people to the Pittsburgh region and generates 23 million dollars in tax revenue for the local economy. The budget for this year's festival is $750,000, but it's free to the public.