It Takes a Village
There’s a version of events in which Create Upstate is the product of the collective willpower of Sarah Miller, Ken Woodworth, and Dan Rose. And while there’s many (late, late) nights where that feels accurate, the reality is that Create Upstate wouldn’t be possible without many, many helping hands.
The purpose of this post is to help you become familiar with said hands.
Coordinators
Suffice to say, event planning is a rollercoaster of a gig. You essentially spend the better part of a year sweating details, writing emails, and convincing yourself you’ll be more efficient the next time around. What far exceeds the effort it takes to create the event is the enjoyment that’s generated by 200+ of your closest friends. Totes worth it, as the kids say.
Now, let’s get back to that part about efficiency. It became clear that there were three aspects this year that could use someone focusing their attention on: Registration & Volunteers, our Street Fair, and Satur-Yay.
We couldn’t be happier to welcome Katy Decorah, Kim White, and Theresa Hans, respectively.
These three amazing people are already making a huge impact on this year’s event. Can’t wait to share more details soon.
Downtown Ithaca Alliance
Our first field trip was framed around meeting with the great team at the Downtown Ithaca Alliance. It quickly became clear that Ithaca & CU were a creative and cultural fit. As we plan activities throughout the city, the DIA’s guidance and recommendations will be invaluable.
Sponsors
It’s awesome when sponsors come on board to provide financial resources for various aspects of the event. It’s kismet when they want to work with us to pull off our crazy ideas. Thankfully , the majority of the sponsors we partner with fall in to both categories.
From contributing artwork for bags and photo booths to providing bonus swag, we loved working with the tremendous sponsors we’ve been lucky to have in the past. We’re building out this year’s sponsor group right now, so if you want in, find out more on our sponsors page.
AIGA Upstate New York
Over the years, we’ve received a tremendous amount of help from AIGA Upstate New York (the card-carrying members that we are). The community-building goals of our two organizations harmonize quite well. It’s fun to meet new people at CU, then see them at a Coffee with Creatives back home, or vice versa.
We’re proud to host our event as the cap to this year’s AIGA Upstate New York’s Design Week!
The chapter is also the official welcoming committee for CU, sponsoring our Kickoff Party on Thursday, May 4th. Don’t miss it! If you’re looking to get involved with AIGA, Doug, Michael, and Christina are your people.
Volunteers
Our volunteers routinely make Create Upstate a smooth operation, and we’ve been lucky to have some of the best helping hands around. If you’re a student looking to get involved in this year’s event, shoot us an email.
Community
Running the event in Syracuse was a calculated risk of sorts, knowing that at least I was in close proximity to venues if necessary. It also helps to know a thing or two about the location.
We aren’t complete newbies to Ithaca, but our collective visits probably fall between 8–10. What helps tremendously is having friends in Ithaca who are also fantastic advocates of it. Clandestine discussions with Allison, Tyler, Tyson, and Bonnie have helped us grok what’s not only possible in Ithaca, but what’s ideal.
And of course, there’s you. We try our darnedest to make sure we’re running an event worthy of your attendance. Thanks once again for past input, and don’t hesitate to shoot us a message, tweet, ‘gram, or email about what would make CU’17 worth your while.
