Ethnic Festivals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Transcription

1 Ethnic Festivals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin An economic impact study university of wisconsin whitewater Fiscal and Economic Research Center

2 exploring economic impact Each summer, hundreds of thousands of patrons flock to Milwaukee to enjoy ethnic festivals. These events not only promote understanding of diverse cultural backgrounds, they also inject millions of dollars into the regional economy. Milwaukee hosts multiple ethnic celebrations Polish Fest, Arab Fest, German Fest, African World Festival, Festa Italiana, Irish Fest, Mexican Fiesta, and Indian Summer providing a bold splash of food, drinks, music, art and dance. Because of these festivals and fairs, Milwaukee has earned the nickname City of Festivals, further enhancing its reputation as a culturally rich place. This report explores the economic impact of these festivals, and includes an in-depth look at four of them: Mexican Fiesta began in 1973, when a south side street was closed to traffic to celebrate Mexican Independence Day. It marked the first time the neighborhood came together to celebrate with others through music, food and dance. This perennial event grew larger, and in 1977, Mexican Fiesta moved to Henry W. Maier Festival Park, where it now takes place every year for three days. It is Wisconsin s largest Mexican Festival, showcasing Mexican heritage, and encouraging young Hispanics to pursue education. Festa Italiana began in 1978 to reunite an Italian community torn apart by urban renewal projects. Today, it is the largest Italian-American festival in the United States. The three-day festival takes place at Henry W. Maier Festival Park and celebrates food, family and fireworks. Furthermore, this festival offers unique music entertainment ranging from Italian opera to jazz and rock and roll, as well as a parade. Milwaukee Irish Fest debuted in 1981 at Henry W. Maier Festival Park as a way for Milwaukee to celebrate its Gaelic heritage in a city known for its German roots. Today, it is the world s largest celebration of Irish, Irish American and Celtic music and culture. Each year, Milwaukee Irish Fest brings in more than 100 acts from around the world to perform on 16 stages. The festival also features a Cultural Village with language, arts, genealogy and more. Guests can also find Celtic canines, sports, dance, food, and shopping throughout the grounds. To further celebrate Celtic culture and heritage, North America s largest Principal Researcher and Analyst Russ Kashian, Ph.D. kashianr@uww.edu Professor, Department of Economics University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 800 W. Main Street Whitewater, WI Consultant Farrokh Nourzad, Ph.D. Professor of Economics Marquette University Project Leader Jeremy Peterson Analysts Jason Baron Patrick Fogarty Jose Zenteno Maps Tyler Tomaszewski

3 outdoor mass is conducted on the last day of the festival. Indian Summer began in 1987 at Henry W. Maier Festival Park and is one of Milwaukee s most popular ethnic festivals, in addition to being one of the largest. In fact, Indian Summer is the largest cultural celebration of its kind in the United States. The event offers a Pow Wow to the American Indian community a time for dancing, singing, renewing old friendships, and making new friendships. focus The Fiscal and Economic Research Center (FERC) at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater analyzed the economic impact that the ethnic festivals generate in the region. Our focus is to determine the number of jobs created, the labor income generated, and total economic output produced by the fairs. methods The FERC deployed a crew to survey festival visitors to gauge their spending habits brought about by the festival. This includes items such as money spent on refreshments, music, shirts, trinkets and food at the festival, and also money spent on gasoline, groceries and hotels outside of the festival grounds. By inputting this data into the IMPLAN software, the FERC was able to determine the direct, indirect and induced economic effects of the festivals. - Direct effects include sales, labor income, and job creation by visitors directly spending money at the festivals. - Indirect effects occur when a broader economic sector in the area is affected as a result of spending by the festival attendees. - Induced effects are derived from local spending on goods and services by people working to satisfy the direct and indirect effects. Results are published in the charts and maps in the succeeding pages.

4 Copyright: 2013 Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ Mexican Fiesta mexican fiesta economic impact 79.6 $1,864,909 $4,625, $691,347 $1,869, $746,759 $2,117, $3,303,017 $8,612,721 Marquette Columbia Green Fond du Lac Sheboygan Ozaukee Dodge Washington Home Locations of Surveyed Patrons Milwaukee County Residents Other Patrons Dane Jefferson Waukesha Milwaukee Rock Walworth Racine 25 Kenosha Boone McHenry 50 Michigan Ogle 75 DeKalb Kane DuPage Cook Lee Distance from Mexican Fiesta (Miles) Kendall Will 100 Porter

5 Text Copyright: 2013 Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ Festa Italiana festa italiana economic impact 88 $2,200,260 $5,459, $871,661 $2,333, $897,913 $2,545, $3,969,834 $10,339,239 Marquette Columbia Green Dodge Fon du Lac Washington Sheboygan Ozaukee Home Locations of Surveyed Patrons Milwaukee County Residents Other Patrons Dane Waukesha Jefferson Milwaukee Racine 25 Green Rock Walworth Kenosha Michigan 50 Boone McHenry Ogle 75 Kane DeKalb DuPage Cook Lee Distance from Festa Italiana (miles) La Salle Kendall Will 100 Porter

6 Copyright: 2013 Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ Irish Fest irish fest economic impact $4,352,445 $11,221, $1,671,345 $4,496, $1,759,100 $4,987, $7,782,892 $20,706,372 Marquette Green Fon du Lac Sheboygan Home Locations of Surveyed Patrons Milwaukee County Residents Columbia Dodge Washington Ozaukee Other Patrons Waukesha Dane Jefferson Milwaukee 25 Green Rock Walworth Racine Michigan Kenosha 50 Boone McHenry Ogle Cook 75 Distance from Irish Fest (miles) DeKalb Kane DuPage

7 Copyright: 2013 Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ Indian Summer indian summer economic impact 57.8 $1,355,330 $3,429, $515,472 $1,381, $546,317 $1,549, $2,417,118 $6,360,411 Wood Portage Waupaca Outagamie Brown Kewaunee Home Locations of Surveyed Patrons Milwaukee County Residents Waushara Manitowoc Adams Calumet Other Patrons 1-2 Juneau Marquette Green Fond du Lac Sheboygan 3-5 Sauk Columbia Dodge Washington Ozaukee Dane Waukesha Iowa Jefferson Milwaukee Racine 25 Green Rock Walworth Kenosha 50 Michigan Stephenson Boone McHenry 75 Carroll Ogle DeKalb Kane Distance from Indian Summer (Miles) DuPage Cook 100 Kendall Will

8 Conclusion In 2013, ethnic festivals Polish Fest, Arab Fest, German Fest, African World Festival, Festa Italiana, Irish Fest, Mexican Fiesta, and Indian Summer generated a $68,034,275 economic impact. Ethnic festivals in Milwaukee generate tax revenue, create jobs, spur consumer spending, lead to improved infrastructure and bring economic prosperity to the region. Top industries affected Food services and drinking venues Hotels and motels Retail stores Civic, social and professional organizations Personal services Real estate establishments Amusement parks, arcades and gambling Private hospitals Employment services Building and dwelling service Passenger transit economic impact of milwaukee ethnic festivals $14,486,196 $36,517, $5,550,764 $14,920, $5,853,154 $16,595, $25,890,115 $68,034,