No Art In Your Eye in Batavia this year

There won't be an Art In Your Eye festival this summer in Batavia.

Batavia MainStreet, the organization that sponsored it in 2014 and 2015, decided not to do it because of its cost in money and volunteer effort.

"It breaks everybody's heart not to do it. It was a really, really tough decision," said Rob Hollis, vice president of MainStreet.

The three-day festival had been held at the Riverwalk, mostly in mid-August, from 2005 to 2015. It included juried contests, sales by artists, and activities for children. It was started by a group called the Batavia Renaissance Project, which sought to promote fine arts in Batavia.

After nine years, "they just kind of got worn out," Hollis said, and sought another entity to take it on.

MainStreet tried to increase the festival's allure by adding music, food and a beer and wine tent.

Hollis said the original promoters wanted it to be a regional art fair, attracting visitors from throughout Chicago and the suburbs. "That never really came to fruition," Hollis said, with most visitors coming from nearby.

Batavia MainStreet's mission is to promote the health of downtown Batavia, including celebrating the arts, according to its mission statement. Hollis said the agency wanted the festival to be financially self-supporting. It cost "tens of thousands of dollars" to put on, and was a high-risk endeavor since bad weather could discourage visitors or even shut down the event. "The risk is really significant," he said.

It also was a lot of work, using as many as 140 volunteers to run it. At a post-event debriefing last fall, it was clear support had waned, according to Hollis.

Hollis said the original organizers did not want to take the festival back. Some other people expressed interest, but not in time to make plans, including booking artists, for this year.

Batavia MainStreet does organize and promote other events downtown, including the 21st annual outdoor summertime farmers market, an indoor winter market, Green Fair on the Fox, and BatFest. It is organizing an Oktoberfest this year, and bringing back a housewalk.