In the wake of the massive fire that destroyed the oldest section of the Majestic Hotel at Hot Springs, a wide-ranging discussion has begun about the future of that city’s downtown.
Some still pine for downtown casino gambling, but that dream has been floating around for more than four decades now while the city’s historic core crumbled. It’s time for the leaders of Hot Springs to understand this: It’s not the answer to downtown’s woes. First, it would take the approval of voters statewide, which is unlikely to occur. Second, with the proliferation of gambling opportunities nationwide, Arkansas is at least 20 years late to the casino game.
Far better that downtown Hot Springs build on existing assets, namely the Hot Springs Music Festival and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. The goal should be to become a regional cultural attraction. The large number of downtown art galleries also provides part of the foundation for a cultural renaissance. People with vision, tenacity and money to invest need to come forward with a coordinated strategy focused on the arts.
The Hot Springs Music Festival attracts more than 200 musicians to the city each June for what is, in essence, an apprenticeship program. Mentor musicians from orchestras, chamber ensembles and conservatory faculties nationwide work with talented young people during a two-week period.There are more than 20 concerts and 250 open rehearsals. Almost 10,000 people attended festival events last year while millions more heard radio broadcasts from the festival. The second edition of “The 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America” said the festival already has “carved out a place on the nation’s classical music map.”
What if the voters of Hot Springs were to take what had been the location of the Majestic and build a performing arts center that would provide a home for the festival? Such a facility also would attract musicians on tour,off-Broadway productions and more. The facility might even contain a theater along the lines of downtown Little Rock’s new Ron Robinson Theater in order to provide a home for the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.
As downtown Hot Springs attempts to rise from the ashes of the Majestic fire, the film festival provides a vivid example of perseverance in the face of a near-death experience.
Two years ago, the film festival appeared to be on its deathbed. Volunteers who for years had dedicated themselves to the event were frustrated with financial difficulties that had grown worse. What a difference a couple of years can make. It recently was announced that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has named the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival as an Academy Awards-qualifying festival. There are just 19 U.S. festivals that have qualifier status in the Documentary Short Subject category. In other words, this is a big deal.
More than ever, the film festival will be the festival of choice for influential documentary filmmakers, and a mecca each fall for documentary lovers and celebrity guests. Festival organizers also are working to create a series for sports documentaries that will attract a different demographic to the festival. Crowds were good last October for the sports-related films. The organizers now hope to spread their marketing efforts beyond Arkansas to the Dallas-Fort Worth, Tulsa and Memphis markets.
During the past two years, the Arkansas Motion Picture Institute has dedicated its organizational resources to the festival. Courtney Pledger, the institute’s executive director, has been loaned to the film festival to raise funds, plan programs, bring in celebrities and then run the event. Without increased support from the Hot Springs business community and film lovers across the state, the festival won’t be able to build on the momentum of being named an Academy Awards-qualifying festival. A needed first step in the revitalization of downtown Hot Springs is for the leadership of that city to step up and take ownership of the music and film festivals.
“If the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival, which has the potential to transform downtown Hot Springs, is to survive, the citizens there need to open their eyes and recognize the value of what they have right in front of them,” I was told by one person in the film industry. “They need to pull together and support this event with city money and private donations.That kind of support is common for film festivals in other states, even those that don’t begin to have the potential that the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival has. We need to put the bad feelings that developed around the festival during its low period aside and focus on taking it to the moon.”
The Sundance Film Festival brings more than $70 million to Utah each year. No one should compare the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival to Sundance, but that financial figure is an indication of what a film festival can do for a city and state. In Austin, Texas, this week, thousands have converged for South by Southwest, a series of music, film and technology-related festivals and conferences. It’s the city’s signature event with an annual economic impact of $220 million.
Using the Hot Springs Music Festival and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival as anchors, those interested in downtown Hot Springs have a fighting chance to transform the neighborhood into one of this region’s cultural hot spots.
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Freelance columnist Rex Nelson is the president of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities. He’s also the author of the Southern Fried blog at rexnelsonsouthernfried.com.
Editorial, Pages 17 on 03/12/2014