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Paint the Town Red is a baby, technically not even a year old.  That doesn’t mean it won’t impress you.  Its creative genius thrives on the brainpower of artists and organizers all under the age of 35.  The vibrancy and ingenuity of the festival wouldn’t be possible without fresh ambitions and neither would the art.  Paint the Town Red is a digital arts festival hosted in downtown Birmingham’s loft district.  PTTR uses the blank brick walls and storefronts of 2nd Avenue North to project graphic art, digital photography and animated shorts.  It doesn’t stop there, not only does the festival use downtown as its canvas, it also presents live local music and great local food.  To top it all off, the event is a fundraiser for the American Red Cross.

Birmingham isn’t first to embark on this kind of digital journey.  The idea to bring this type of event to Birmingham was the brain child of Kevin Burke, marketing and public support officer for the Red Cross' Birmingham chapter. After attending the Digital Grafitti festival at Alys Beach in Florida, Kevin thought, “We have got to bring this back to Birmingham.”  Despite objections from a few senior staff members, Kevin was able to make the event happen.  In its first year, the festival brought in over 1000 people and returned over $10,000 to the Red Cross.

Paint the Town Red happens from 6pm to 11pm on Saturday, April 17th.  Tickets are $15 at the gate and $10 in advance.  Save 5 bucks and purchase your tickets online now.

Atticus Rominger, one of the festival planners explains the plan for this year: “The idea for this year is to build on that success, to really grow it.  We’re fully expecting 3,000 to 5,000 people and to return$50,000 to the Red Cross.  We’ve been able to do that by taking it from where it was last year as mainly a staff project to a team of 15-20 volunteer planners and hundreds of man-power volunteers putting it on this year.”

The festival wouldn’t exist without the volunteers.  They’re doing everything.  “Much of the 'work' of an event this big happens in the months leading up to it. We have more than a dozen committee chairs and key team members who are making action plans and doing the legwork,” Atticus says.  “Volunteers are currently working on everything from marketing to logistics, artist outreach to permitting. On the weekend of the event, duties will range from setting up scaffolding and lighting to selling tickets and liaising with neighbors.”

The festival planners are all young professionals and experts in their fields. They’re the brightest young minds in marketing, advertising and volunteer coordinating in Birmingham.  The advantage to having a young group of volunteers is that it produces a lot of excitement.  However, the festival is appropriate for any age group.  Anyone who would enjoy a spring night is sure to enjoy themselves. 

Paint the Town Red represents the best aspects of Birmingham.  It encourages people to come together in a way that benefits a good cause and canvases the oceans of creativity and artistry alive in our city. 

This event not only celebrates art, but also celebrates what’s great about downtown Birmingham.  Businesses surrounding the festival benefit from the festival as well.

“Part of what we’re doing is reaching out to the local community and making sure that they’re partners in any way that they want to be,” Atticus says.  “This year we are not only booking all of the talent for our main stage but we’re also booking the music for Rouge Tavern.  Also, Rogue Tavern and Urban Standard will be setting up tents off site of their restaurants as exclusive food vendors for the festival. The Wine Loft is hosting the official after party and they’re donating 15% of all drink sales that night back to the Red Cross. We’ve talked with Charm about not only displaying art in their windows but selling tickets from there.  In terms of this being a partnership for local businesses, there’s no question about it.”

The art format is a new frontier as well.  They’re calling specifically for “digitally created art:”  digital animation, digitally altered photography and digitally captured photography. This type of art projected onto the streetscape brings a bright, stunning atmosphere to downtown.  In fact, art is still being accepted for the festival.  Anyone with a knack for expressing themselves in the digital medium is encouraged to submit their art via The Paint the Town Red website.

“This is a young event for Birmingham.  We’re hoping it’ll be 100% better than it was last year and 5 years from now, we’re hoping it’ll be 500% better than it is this year.” Atticus says, “We’re really excited to grow and we’re hoping the community will come out and support us in a way that allows us to become one of those “must do” cultural events for the city of Birmingham.”

Paint the Town Red represents the best aspects of Birmingham.  It encourages people to come together in a way that benefits a good cause and canvases the oceans of creativity and artistry alive in our city.  With enough support and enthusiasm, this festival will reach its maxim as an event that becomes an essential Birmingham activity.
 
Paint the Town Red happens from 6pm to 11pm on Saturday, April 17th.  Tickets are $15 at the gate and $10 in advance.  Save 5 bucks and purchase your tickets online now.

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