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Festival of the Arts Boca says 2025 festival drew thousands and generated local spending
Summary
Executive Director Joanna Marie Kaye reported the 2025 Festival of the Arts Boca drew about 6,700 attendees, generated ticket sales and local spending, and highlighted community outreach, student participation and dependence on tourism‑related bed‑tax grants.
Joanna Marie Kaye, executive director of Festival of the Arts Boca, briefed the Boca Raton City Council on May 12 about the festival’s 2025 results and plans for the festival’s 20th anniversary in 2026.
Kaye said the 2025 festival welcomed more than 6,700 attendees and that Americans for the Arts data estimate those attendees spent $260,048 locally on items beyond tickets, such as dining and lodging. Kaye reported about $213,000 in ticket sales and said the festival spent more than $200,000 on local businesses (hospitality, printing and other vendors). She said total economic impact exceeded $1.2 million and that 21% of attendees came from outside Palm Beach County; the transcript also records “61 came from out of Boca Raton,” which staff said they can clarify if council members want a precise breakdown.
Kaye reviewed programming highlights: a Dallas Brass opening that included 103 students from local high schools, a Pavarotti Voices Opera Gala collaboration with Opera Naples that included the widow of Luciano Pavarotti, a world‑premiere Néstor Torres performance, an Authors & Ideas series featuring Doris Kearns Goodwin and Carl Hiaasen, student music competition winners performing on the main stage, community workshops with local visiting artists and partnerships with FAU for dance workshops.
She thanked the city for tent provision at Mizner Park and noted the festival’s media reach — television and radio impressions with local stations and trade deals — plus a digital audience and more than 5,000 subscribers to the festival’s communications. Kaye asked council members to advocate to legislators to preserve the bed‑tax funding used by the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County and the Tourist Development Council, which support significant festival grants.
Council members asked for clarification on visitor transportation data (Council Member Nackles asked whether attendees used Brightline or local Boca Connect transit); Kaye said the festival does not have specific Brightline usage data and said she would consider promoting Boca Connect in festival communications to help with event parking and mobility.
Kaye said the festival has already begun booking acts for its 20th anniversary in 2026, with return performances from known artists and possible additional headline attractions under negotiation.
