Proposed Movers and Shakers Festival Returns to Vienna Town Council

The Vienna Town Council will tackle a proposed outdoor music and art festival during its work session tonight (May 20).

Movers and Shakers for Vienna Arts, a nonprofit organization that promotes and supports the arts, wants to hold a two-day festival, which would double as a fundraiser, with juried art vendors, live music, food and beer in 2020.

Unlike the Town of Vienna’s two current outdoor festivals with craft vendors — ViVa! Vienna! and Oktoberfest — the proposed one would require items sold by vendors to be handmade.

“Vendors that make their own products cannot compete with prices of goods sold by vendors that sell buy/sell or imported items,” according to town documents. “The overall quality of items sold at an art show with no regulations is not as high as a festival that requires only hand-made items.”

The document also said that high-quality artists selling handmade crafts may refuse to participate in events that also allow the sale of imported items.

The proposed Movers and Shakers Music and Art Festival returns tonight to the Town Council after its organizers made adjustments based on previous comments from the Town Council.

While town staff said in the documents that limited funding and resources are concerns, they noted that the festival “could generate visitors to Town and additional spending at local businesses.”

The festival has support from the Parks and Recreation director, according to the documents.