My Life in Numbers (AKA Why Event Producers Are Crazy)

The Bayou City Art Festivals are produced twice a year — one spring, one fall — by arts nonprofit group Art Colony Association. Executive Director Kelly Kindred distills her life down to the hard figures.

Stakeholders to Whom I Answer

• 12 Board Members
• 4 Emeritus Board Members
• 1 Featured Artist each Festival
• 300 Artists Participating in any given Bayou City Art Festival
• 1000+ Artists Applying to any given Bayou City Art Festival
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• 92 middle school artists
• 50 high school artists
• City of Houston
• 19 Nonprofit Partners
• 20+ Sponsors
• 30,000+ Patrons
• 100+ Members

People Who I Manage (and Who Are in the Trenches Helping)

• 2 Full Time Staff Members
• 0.5 Accountants
• 1 PR Team
• 1 Design Firm
• 1 Concessions Management and Catering Company
• 1 Production Manager
• 6 Contractors
• 5 Operational Committees
• 9 Committee Heads
• 100+ Committee Members
• 1000+ Volunteers

What I Give

• Lots of sweat
• A little blood
• Sometimes tears
• Much more than 40 hours a week at the office
• Hundreds of hours of my personal time attending events, spreading the word about the Bayou City Art Festivals
• Dozens of sleepless nights either working late or worrying

Who Loves Me and Keeps Me Sane

• 2 dogs
• 2 cats
• 1 horse
• 13 family members
• 20 close friends who understand why I disappear from their lives for the three months around festival time twice a year. Yes, that’s 6 months a year.

What I Get

• Lots of satisfaction knowing I’m following my passion for the arts, supporting the arts and community services in Houston, and helping festival artists by providing them a solid place to sell their art.
• Money, but not a ton. I’m not in this to get rich. Far from it. After, all I work for a nonprofit. You work for a nonprofit because you love it, not for the money.

by Kelly Kindred
The 2013 Bayou City Memorial Park Art Festival takes place March 22-24, 2013 in Houston, Texas.