Today (Tuesday), the Niswonger Performing Arts Center hosted a presentation by Drs. Katerina Ruedi Ray and Michael Carroll of Bowling Green State University.\u00a0 They are both part of the NWOAX (Northwest Ohio Arts Exchange) and were commissioned to study the effect of the arts on the economy of northwest Ohio.\u00a0Hope Wallace, executive director of Wassenberg Art Center in Van Wert, organized the presentation as part of the Van Wert Rotary Club noon meeting.<\/p>\n
The findings of the study were rather revealing.\u00a0 Would you believe that the arts are responsible for $2.4 billion of the economy of northwest Ohio?\u00a0A total of 33,426 jobs are created and sustained by the arts, which brings in $97 million in state and local tax revenue and nearly $151 million in federal tax revenue!\u00a0That\u2019s BIG business any way you look at it.<\/p>\n
We in Van Wert County do our part.\u00a0Although the study did not specifically break down results county by county, we do know that, although Van Wert County is not one of the most populated counties in the state, we certainly do offer much in the area of culture and arts.\u00a0Think for a moment about Van Wert County.\u00a0 We have a little under 30,000 citizens, just fewer than 11,000 in the city.\u00a0 For the relatively small number of people, Van Wert County offers Van Wert Civic Theatre, Wassenberg Art Center, Niswonger Performing Arts Center, a thriving summer concert series in Fountain Park, Off-Stage Dinner Theatre, the Arts Factory located in the Main Street office building, several other local art studios, and probably many others you could name.\u00a0 Culturally, we offer the beautiful Brumback Library and the Historical Museum and many festivals throughout the county and in the villages of Van Wert County.<\/p>\n
The study was actually completed in 2007 and they are hoping for Ohio Arts Council funding to do a more recent study this year.\u00a0 The Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio opened in March of 2007; so much of its affect on our local economy would not have yet taken effect.\u00a0 We do know that since 2007, the NPAC has grown from 11 professional concerts\/shows to 29.\u00a0 This represents a growth of patrons from 9,526 in 2007 to 23,925 in 2012.\u00a0 I realize that many are repeat patrons, but in 2007, 29 percent of our ticket buyers were from outside Van Wert County.\u00a0 By 2012, 55 percent were from outside the county.\u00a0As many as 20 different states in the U.S. were represented by ticket buyers at the NPAC.<\/p>\n
The mission statement of the Van Wert Area Performing Arts Foundation is: \u201cTo provide a premier venue for a wide variety of performing arts, concerts, lectures, meetings, and special events which will inspire, educate, and entertain residents of, and visitors to Van Wert County; and to provide an economic catalyst by increasing cultural tourism, creating new jobs and generating business for the region.\u201d\u00a0 This is provided mainly through the Niswonger Performing Arts Center of Northwest Ohio.\u00a0 We continue to be driven by this mission that Scott Niswonger challenged us with nearly 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
We also continue to provide new and fresh shows, concerts and entertainment for local residents and visitors who patronize the NPAC.\u00a0 Coming up this weekend is the Community Health Professionals \u201cOhio Has Talent\u201d show on Saturday.\u00a0The fun starts at 7 p.m. and tickets are available at the box office and the day of the show.\u00a0The box office opens an hour prior to the start of the show.<\/p>\n
The next week is another big one as we draw closer to Valentine\u2019s Day.\u00a0 Christopher Cross, singer and songwriter of some of the most loved songs of our time such as, \u201cRide like the Wind\u201d, \u201cSailing\u201d, and \u201cArthur\u2019s Theme\u201d will bring his band for an exciting evening on Thursday, February 14 at 7:30 p.m.\u00a0 Tickets are still available!\u00a0 Then on Saturday, February 16, the AMAZING Cirque Ziva! sets up on stage for two performances at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.\u00a0You just have to see the \u201cout-of-this-world\u201d theatricals this show has to offer.\u00a0You will quite simply be amazed!<\/p>\n
Get your tickets now and remember, you can order on-line and on Facebook or at the door. Be part of the excitement at the Niswonger Performing Arts Center where you get to meet the world!<\/p>\n
FIN\u00c9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Today (Tuesday), the Niswonger Performing Arts Center hosted a presentation by Drs. Katerina Ruedi Ray and Michael Carroll of Bowling Green State University.\u00a0 They are both part of the NWOAX (Northwest Ohio Arts Exchange) and were commissioned to study the effect of the arts on the economy of northwest Ohio.\u00a0Hope Wallace, executive director of Wassenberg […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 09:42:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34574\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}