Before one of the Savannah Music Festival’s performances by Joy Kills Sorrow and the Deadly Gentlemen, MedBank Foundation hosted an annual fundraiser in a tent just behind the Charles H. Morris Center.
MedBank is a 20-year-old nonprofit that helps qualifying chronically ill, uninsured and underinsured residents obtain crucial prescriptions.
Guests were offered drinks, excellent food and tickets to the sold-out show. The event seems like a great model for other organizations hoping to raise funds and build good will among supporters.
At one of the evening performances by Jane Monheit and Jennifer Sheehan at the Morris Center, I sat next to a couple from Canada who spend part of each winter in Hilton Head. They had attended an SMF show early in the day and had spent the afternoon dining and shopping.
Before the SMF concert by Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell and Richard Thompson at the Johnny Mercer Theatre, a friend and I decided to grab a drink and a quick bite.
But the Public Kitchen & Bar was packed, and so was Six Pence Pub.
We eventually found a comfortable spot at McDonough’s, which was also doing brisk early evening business.
After the Sea Wolf show at the Ships of the Sea’s North Garden, the nearby hotspot the Sparetime filled up fast — just as it did on other nights when the venue was in use.
Brian Huskey of the Gaslight Group told me that B. Matthew’s Eatery, which he bought in 2007, has seen double digit increases in sales every year during the SMF.
Huskey also noted that their nearby bar Abe’s on Lincoln has become “a stopping point for SMF staff and attendees.”
“This year,” Huskey added, “we even saw some spillover at the Blue Turtle.”
The Blue Turtle Bistro & Bar at 66th and Paulsen streets might seem far from the SMF venues, but increasingly busy downtown restaurants are having trouble absorbing all the traffic.
By contrast, Huskey said, St. Patrick’s Day is “a frustrating event” for B. Matthew’s, despite the seemingly perfect location at the corner of Habersham and Bay streets.
“We struggle to prepare for the parade due to the ever-changing rules days before the event that have often affected the overall turnout,” Huskey said. “This past St. Pat’s, we were off by over 30 percent compared to last year.”
In writing about the arts, I don’t like to get too caught up in the issue of economic impact. Our lives are nourished by music and the other arts in ways that are impossible to quantify.
But it’s clear the Savannah Music Festival has become a mighty economic engine that fuels spending throughout the community.
Seems like a win for everyone.
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net and http://www.billdawers.com. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA 31401.