Fremont Solstice Parade and Arts Council at risk of folding

Meghan Walker Ballard

The Fremont Solstice Parade and Fremont Arts Council are both at risk of folding due to lost revenue this year.

Events are the key fundraiser for the council, and with pandemic restrictions, the usual income has been virtually nonexistent this year. In response to the need to restructure and reimagine the future of the Fremont Arts Council, they’ve put out a survey to gauge what’s most important to the community.

“In these trying times, we have not been able to hold any of the events, which generate income to sustain the livelihood of the FAC. Furthermore, our sponsors and donors are themselves strained by COVID 19 and we are short staffed in board members, volunteers, and members,” the Fremont Arts Council board wrote in a newsletter to the community. 

“Faced with all of this, we wonder,’Will the Fremont Arts Council survive?'”

The board says they are looking to raise $200,000 for their 2020/2021 contingency planning. This will help them hire staff, restructure the organization, help fund security and maintenance of the Fremont Troll, and maintain the Powerhouse art studio.

“This organization has been a scrappy, sequined, colorful, whimsical, disorganized and creative force for three decades,” the survey reads.

“We want to keep making the arts public —but we are hoping to move towards a more relevant, community-responsive, and flexible model that supports and engages artists (and we believe everyone is an artist!). In order to move forward, we need to reconnect to the Seattle arts community at large. Give us some honest feedback here, because that will determine how and if we move forward.”

To fill out the survey, click here.

Photo: Fremont Solstice Parade