Crystal City BID Recognized with International Downtown Association’s Prized Economic Development Award
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2008
Crystal City (Arlington, VA) – The Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) was recognized with a Merit Award in Economic Development for their work on Artomatic in 2007 and Arena Stage in 2008. The International Downtown Association (IDA), representing more than 650 worldwide urban revitalization organizations and BIDs, honored Crystal City at their 54th Annual Conference in Calgary, Canada on September 13, 2008. Both arts and culture based-projects have shown exemplary fiscal results, bringing new audiences and patrons to Crystal City on a regular basis.
A bi-annual event, Artomatic brought more than 32,000 visitors to its debut Northern Virginia location during its six- week run in Crystal City. Two floors of the signature office building were transformed to showcase engaging works of art, live artistic performances and educational presentations that were free and open to the public. The event brought hundreds of participating artists together and drew thousands of visitors to view, absorb and enjoy the talented community of artists. The model has since been replicated by two other BIDs in the Washington, DC Area.
Arena Stage, Washington DC’s largest not-for-profit producing theater, temporarily located its performance space and administrative offices to Crystal City for three years while its permanent home is undergoing major renovations. This move was widely heralded as one of the most unprecedented collaborations in artistic and economic development in the area’s history. The 460-seat theater has proven to be a big draw for arts enthusiasts resulting in a 10-15% economic boost for Crystal City. The Washington Post has previously honored the Crystal City BID and its partners for this effort with their Innovative Leadership in the Theater Community Award, as part of the annual Helen Hayes Awards.
“We are very excited to be honored with the IDA’s Economic Development Award which formally recognizes the impact of our work,” said Angela Fox, President and CEO of the Crystal City BID. “We are even more excited about the actual impact and the growing recognition of Crystal City as an artful and fun place to play.”
This award comes at the beginning of an exciting line-up of fall events in Crystal City, such as Crystal Market, Vintage Crystal, and the season’s third and largest Crystal Run event – the Marine Corps Marathon Street Festival. Crystal Market will give shoppers a taste of DC’s Eastern Market with a unique offering of hand-made ceramics, glasswork, jewelry, soaps, candles, clothing and other artwork. The open-air market will be located in the 2200 Crystal Drive courtyard and run Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11:30 AM – 6:30 PM between September 18th and October 25th with live musical performances during lunchtime and early evening hours. Crystal Market will also be open on Sunday, September 21st as part of Crystal City’s 2nd Annual Vintage Crystal – A Taste of Wine & Jazz event from 2:00 PM – 6:00 PM at 2200 Crystal Drive. The tasting will highlight 30 wines from all over the world, showcase gourmet samples from area restaurants, many from Crystal City, and feature tunes by The Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. On October 26th, starting at 9:00 AM, the Crystal Run/Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) “All Day Street Festival” will kick-off with local bands, food samples, street activity and other family-friendly fun. The festival will culminate with the American roots-rock group, the BoDeans, headlining the MCM Post-Race Celebration at 3:00 PM on the Crystal City Stage at 2200 Crystal Drive between 20th and 23rd Streets.
Additional information on these and all other upcoming Crystal City events can be found in the Events section at www.crystalcity.org. Come explore, experience and enjoy first-hand the many cultural, artful and just plain fun events the award-winning Crystal City BID has planned for residents, employees and tourists alike.
About the Crystal City BID
Established in April of 2006, the Crystal City Business Improvement District (BID) is creating a soul for Crystal City. A public-private partnership, the BID is providing a higher level of service to visitors, workers and residents in Crystal City - driving to become a world-class destination in both Arlington and the greater DC region. For more information, visit www.crystalcity.org.
