Ann Arbor Summer Festival

Program History

A community tradition

Founded by Eugene Power, and established as an equal partnership between the City of Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival presented its first full season of events in 1984. Early festival seasons emphasized classical music and theater, but have since become more popular and diverse in nature, encompassing a breadth of performance genres.

Recognized today as one of the leading performing arts festivals in the country, the festival produces two concurrent and complementary performing arts programs, one indoor and one outdoor, on the campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The indoor Mainstage series includes ticketed performances of world-class music, dance, theater, and comedy. The outdoor program, Top of the Park, is held along a beautiful campus green and offers admission-free concerts, movies under the stars, open-air spectacles, family attractions, and more.

Now preparing to celebrate our 27th season, the Ann Arbor Summer Festival offers an energetic mix of regional, national, and international artists of all disciplines. Presenting over 100 events each season, the festival’s spectrum of artistic expression attracts a diverse audience in terms of age, interest, ethnicity, socio-economic background, education, and gender. With an estimated attendance of over 60,000 attendees each year, we provide a multitude of creative ways to engage our fans and supporters.

Director’s Note

Thanks for coming!

Were you one of the tens of thousands of people who attended the 2010 Ann Arbor Summer Festival? If so, thanks to all of you: the enthusiastic concert-goers, the families on the lawn, the old-timers and first-date couples, the snow-cone-stained children, and so many friends and neighbors who gathered indoors and out for our annual celebration of arts and community.

The fact that you and so many others wanted to experience a life less ordinary for three weeks this summer makes me believe that during times of economic uncertainty it is more important than ever to gather together and celebrate ourselves, the richness of our stories, the talent of our artists, and the creativity of the human spirit.

This season, the festival garnered critical and audience acclaim across all areas of programs, including our Mainstage performances and Top of the Park attractions. National and international artists joined regional performers and local partners in transforming Ann Arbor into a vibrant, creative playground, a place brimming with entertainment and artistic inspiration for 21 nights.

Highlights of the 2010 season abound, from the superb stylings of Bernadette Peters and John Pizzarelli, to the boundary pushing artistry of Devo and Caravan Palace, to the visual wonder of Company T.P.O. Audiences laughed non-stop at the comedy of Cinematic Titanic, moshed to music of Die Roten Punkte, and danced in the aisles to the infectious rhythms of the Afro-Cuban All Stars. Festival-goers were just as enthusiastic outdoors at Top of the Park with record-breaking crowds at a number of weekend concerts, thousands of people dancing in street, jam-packed late nights in The Grove, and hundreds of face-painted children transformed into walking pieces of art throughout the opening weekend celebration.

We are immensely proud to have brought some of the world’s great artists to Ann Arbor this past season, including a number of festival debuts and regional premieres. Once again, we are reminded how the arts can enrich our community with ideas and moments of great beauty that will endure in our minds for years to come. I am thrilled that audiences embraced the work of these artists with such warmth, enhancing the reputation of Ann Arbor as a cultural destination.

If you enjoyed this season, I ask you to please consider making a donation to the festival today to help us maintain the high quality programs that you have come to love. Whatever amount you can spare, we ask you to add your name to the list of generous supporters who believe that the festival’s work is valuable, and then ask your friends and peers to do the same. Your contributions help us to offer the finest arts and cultural experiences from around the world, and to support local and regional artists by providing a platform for their creative aspirations and collaborations.

This is your festival, and we greatly appreciate your support and patronage.

With sincere thanks,

Robb Woulfe
Executive Director

Mission & Leadership

Mission

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival’s mission is to present a world-class celebration of arts and entertainment that enriches the cultural, economic, and social vitality of the region.

Core Values

Excellence, Diversity, Relevance

Vision

The Ann Arbor Summer Festival's vision is to increase the positive impact on audiences and the community while building a financially stable and adaptable organization.

Strategic Plan

Click here to download the Strategic Plan (PDF)

Board of Trustees

Patricia M. Garcia, Chair
James A. Kosteva, Vice Chair
Julie Fritz, Secretary
Erik W. Bakker, Treasurer
Dawn H. Foerg, Imm. Past Chair

LeAnn Auer
Christie Wong Barrett
H. David Baru
Lisa Bee
Susan Chandler
Sally Churchill
Alan G. Cotzin
Paul Cousins
Michael S. Dubin
Karen Edwards
Bettye S. Elkins
Peter B. Fayroian
Susan Gott
John C. Hieftje
Jerold Lax
Kenneth Magee
Sudha Maheshwari
Kevin S. McDonald
Margaret B. McKinley
Jayne Miller
Ronald G. Miller
Y. Jamie Mistry
Anthony Y. Nam
Patricia Pooley
James S. Reece
Kimberly L. Scott
Ellie Serras
Angeline Smith
Daniel Washington

Trustees Emeriti

Paul C. Boylan
George D. Goodman
Margaret Massialas
J.P. Weidenbach

Management Team

Robb Woulfe
Executive Director

Amy Nesbitt
General Manager

Credits

Phire Branding Co.
Festival Branding

Myra Klarman
Festival Photography

University Lithographers
Festival Printing

Highlander Graphics
Festival Signage & Display

Consultants

Robin Sherer CPA, Accountant
Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC, Attorneys
Willis & Jurasek PC, Auditors & Tax Advisors
JJR, Landscape Architecture, Planning & Urban Design
DIDAKTIKOS, Technology & I.T. Consultant

Greening Efforts

Dedicated to the planet

In addition to our commitment to providing a first-rate entertainment experience, the festival is also committed to consciously greening our events and lowering our environmental impact wherever possible. We want to leave the planet, and Ingalls Mall in particular, as beautiful as we found it.

Starting in 2008, the festival launched an ambitious environmental initiative as a way to make a vocal and public commitment to raise awareness about green issues and to encourage the community to be more eco-conscious. Some of our current efforts include:

FOOD & BEVERAGE

*Requesting all food and beverage vendors use biodegradable or compostable packaging for their food and tableware, whenever possible

*Using cold drink cups from our beer distributor O&W that are made from PLA plastic derived from corn. PLA plastic is a compostable material that when placed in a commercial environment will naturally decompose back to organic elements.

*Engaging food and beverage vendors from the Ann Arbor community in an effort to support local businesses, and to decrease the amount of travel and fuel consumption required for product to get to the event.

*Promoting the efforts of our food vendors such as Silvio’s Organic Pizza, which works with organic ingredients and offers numerous options in their menu that do not include any animal products (vegan); as well as Glass House Cafe, which offers biodegradable containers and cutlery at its Top of the Park location.

*Working with our partners at Whole Foods Market and Coca-Cola to return and recycle cans and bottles more effectively from the festival site.

TRANSPORTATION

*Promoting alternative methods of transportation to and from Festival events by encouraging attendees to use mass transit, car-pooling and bicycle racks. Local area bike enthusiasts are helping with this effort and promoting bike transportation to festival events all month long.

*Working with local vendors, service providers and staff whenever possible to conserve gas and transportation energy – reducing our carbon footprint on every level while we support ‘all things local’.

*Commuting and encouraging others to commute to our office and event site using hybrid vehicles, bicycles, and carpools.

*Partnering with BTB Party Bus to provide green transportation for patrons to and from festival events. Besides giving festival-goers a carbon-neutral way to get to Top of the Park -- BTB Party Bus runs on waste vegetable oil from Ann Arbor area restaurants -- the buses also provide patrons the opportunity to support the festival with $.50 of each fare donated back to us. Click here for more information.

MATERIALS & PRODUCTION

*Reusing/repairing as much of our production equipment as we can each season, thus keeping excess waste out of landfills.

*Printing our season program guide, brochures, calendar, letterhead, business cards, and other collateral materials using soy inks on various grades of recycled paper.

*Offering organic cotton for the festival apparel sold at the TOPshop.

*Accepting Top of the Park performer submissions electronically online via Sonicbids, an efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional press kits.

*Asking caterers, food and beverage vendors to use recyclable or biodegradable products.

*Increasing the number of recycling bins at festival events, and ensuring that they are more prominently and clearly displayed.

FUN & EDUCATION

*Hosting a variety of environmentally-focused activities and entertainment at Top of the Park. Many of these events include numerous hands-on events at the KidZone tent.

*Presenting bands that are touring using bio-diesel vehicles and other environmentally friendly touring methods. These artists often talk about these choices from stage and on their websites.

*Encouraging all festival staff and patrons to “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” in appropriate ways in our many areas of messaging.

There are many, many things the festival and the community can still do to improve our activities to lessen our impact on the environment, so please join us in doing all you can to “green” our collective activities!

Media Room