It was a weekend for the arts in LV

Jace Radke and Kristen Peterson

Monday, Sept. 28, 1998 | 10:54 a.m.

The Gateway Arts and Music Experience may not have been visited by the 10,000 people that promoters had hoped for but most involved still considered the weekend's two-day street festival a success.

About 40 booths with artists and food vendors and two stages with musical groups greeted visitors as they strolled the area behind the Arts Factory at First Street and Boulder Avenue on Saturday and Sunday.

"There have been a lot of people walking through and enjoying the atmosphere," said Kathy Kahler, an artist who creates pictures of animals by burning wood. "There aren't a lot of people out here buying, but there are a lot of people having a nice afternoon and giving the artists some really good affirmation."

The festival was put on as a joint effort between the city of Las Vegas, the Arts Factory and the Contemporary Arts Collective.

"Our job was to round up some of the different artists that are displaying their works," said Phyllis Needham, a member of the Contemporary Arts Collective. "We would have liked to have seen some more people, but everything has been run great."

Artists involved with the festival included sculptors, painters, carvers, and ceramic dealers.

The city has already committed to bringing the event back for a second year, Needham said.

"People come to Las Vegas and they are looking for art and culture," Needham said. "This area downtown and the interest in art has grown in the past 10 years, and we hope that it will continue."

Needham said that downtown area businesses like the Enigma Garden Cafe on Fourth Street and the Arts Factory have shown that art can be a viable part of downtown.

"It's a good time to be an artist in Las Vegas because they can grow with the city," said Jacqueline Nelson, another Contemporary Arts Collective member. "It gives the artist a chance to get a toehold in the arts scene while it is still being molded."

Across the valley, the arts were brought to life as locals packed into Henderson's Foxridge Park in Green Valley for free performances of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" at the annual Nevada Shakespeare in the Park festival. Now in its 12th year, the festival has grown from 2,000 in 1987 to last year's attendance of 28,000, officials said.

"At this point we really can't grow anymore. Pretty soon we're going to have to turn people away," said Pamela Mains, executive director of the Arts Council of Henderson/Green Valley.

One reason cited for the festival's increasing popularity is the number of people who have moved to Southern Nevada from other cities that are used to a wide selection of cultural events, she said.

A week-long series of events led up to the Friday through Sunday productions. Actors visited 14 schools throughout the Clark County School District in an effort to teach students the Elizabethan language Shakespeare's works are written in.

"We get a lot for our money," Mains said adding that the $116,000 to $120,000 it takes to put on the event comes from grants from the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Nevada Humanities provides a grant which is used for the school visits and includes teachers' packets.

Mains added that local businesses and individuals contribute along with the city of Henderson's Parks and Recreation Department.

"People donate because it's the largest cultural event in the area and it builds a following of people who love it," she said. "It's become kind of a symbol of pride for Henderson."

Last week, Gov. Bob Miller proclaimed the last week of September as Nevada Shakespeare in the Park week.

The Excalibur Theater Company of Los Angeles performed the plays. While they'd like to see a local group put on the production, they haven't had local professional troupes answer the bids, Mains said.

Area residents who were more interested in exotic eats than art made their way to St. John Greek Orthodox Church for what has grown into the largest Greek Festival in Las Vegas.

What began 26 years ago as a fund-raiser for the church, saw crowds expected to exceed 15,000 from Friday through Sunday.

The festival goers who roamed the church grounds at 5300 El Camino with plates filled with Greek salad, spinach pie and dolmathes extended well past the 450 active parishioners of the church.

"There's only about 3,000 Greeks and the whole town shows up for it," said Kay Stefanou an 11-year resident and parishioner of the church. "The whole town backs us up ... they're wonderful."

Residents like the ethnic exposure the festival provides, said Christine Poulos, secretary of Parish Council.

"I would say over all, the food is the reason people come -- others also come to dance," she said.