First-Ever GLOBAL Arts Bootcamp Draws Over 100 Participants

by Joe Mello, Community Correspondent

(Oct. 4, 2011) -- Over 100 artists, musicians, non-profits and panelists participated in the first ever "Long Beach Arts Bootcamp" at the Expo Art building in Bixby Knolls on Tuesday night (Oct. 4).

By all accounts, from the participants and the organizers, the event exceeded expectations. The only disappointment, the participants had to choose between competing popular break-out sessions scheduled at the same time.

In one of the popular sessions, organizer Ryan Smolar presented a huge amount of information on "Marketing Essentials" gleaned from over a decade of working with the arts community in Long Beach.

Smolar's advice on Planning, Promotion, Experience and Follow-up was packed into an information rich session that he proudly noted only went two minutes over his limit. Among his experienced honed advice, Smolar stressed the importance of personal contacts, partnerships, promotional materials, engaging the five senses and "managing expectations then over delivering."

During the Meet the Media session, reps from five Long Beach media outlets (including this writer on behalf of LBReport.com) discussed various strategies for press releases, presenting story ideas, story lead times and strategies for making personal contacts.

Photo by Linda Ivers

After the six break-out sessions, participants were treated to a mixer featuring beverages and pizza...and took advantage of the opportunity to make those personal connections and share knowledge and experiences