President & Executive Director
Doreen Ravenscroft
doreen@wacoartsfest.org

Vice President
Bart Townsend
btownsend@tsquaredmfg.com

Secretary
Matthew Maron
matthew_maron@me.com

Treasurer
Kathy Davis
kathyd48@aol.com

At-Large Members

Laura Beck
Rhett Dawson
Daniel Hollingsworth

Advisory Board:

Michael Bettersworth
Steve Cook
Lucretia Darden
Brett Eaker
Karin Gilliam
Brenda Khozein
Lance Magid
Barry Perez
Valerie Robinson
Stephanie Schattschnieder
Lisa Sheldon
Jimmy Stones
Sam Torres
Erica Wickett
Henry Wright
Scott Wright

Waco Cultural Arts Fest incorporated: June 2, 2004

Mission: to celebrate and promote the community’s diverse artistic and cultural life; develop and enrich its cultural capacity; and champion the economic, social, and educational benefits of the arts in the Greater Waco area and beyond.

“Doing Business As” (dba) Name: Waco Cultural Arts Fest (WCAF) dba Cultural Arts of Waco (CAW). In 2010, the Board of Directors, through a grant from the Cooper Foundation, completed extensive strategic planning with Bower & Co. Consulting LLC to begin a 10-year plan for the future. At that time it was decided that the broader name Cultural Arts Waco better represented the organization’s mission and vision. In the last seven years, CAW’s activities have evolved from planning and conducting once-a-year festival into making arts available to the entire community (“Arts for All”) throughout the year.

CAW is rooted in the following values:

Excellence – Fostering excellence in the arts and culture.

Pride- Creating programs that our community can celebrate.

Education – Transmitting creative knowledge and skills. Integrity – Operating with clear values and sincerity.

Diversity – Bridging a variety of peoples, arts, and cultures. Commitment – Investing in the future by nurturing arts and people.

Optimism – Committing courage, energy, and hope to all we do.

CAW realizes these values through several avenues, all free to the public:
•Waco Cultural Arts Festival, a three-day festival celebrating hands-on “Arts for All”, performance art includes varied musical genres symbolizing the cross cultural power of music and dance. Attendance has risen from 3,000 to 18,000. Since 2004 the festival has placed educational outreach performances and workshops in the Waco Independent School District investing over $20,000 in school programming for K-12
• Art on Elm, a one-day pop up art event on Waco’s historic Elm Avenue. With a juried exhibition, artist booths, food, music and local nonprofits, it’s a great opportunity to go east of the Brazos
• Top Young Artist, an art exhibition and scholarship competition for high school juniors and seniors
• ArtPlace, a planned arts hub on Elm Avenue
•Art at the Arc: a summer day camp for Arc of McLennan County, an organization for intellectually disabled individuals especially autism and cerebral palsy.
•Doris Miller Memorial Sculpture, which honors an awe-inspiring African-American hero while providing a place for reflection and learning.
• Waco National Outdoor Sculpture Invitational, which brings unique sculptures by renowned and emerging artists into Waco’s downtown in order to promote art in public places.
•Branding the Brazos “Waco Chisholm Trail Heritage” Sculpture, a series of sculptures that pay homage to Waco’s role along the historic cattle-drive trail and enable visitors to visualize Texas folklore, culture and history.
•CAW has a volunteer governing Board of Directors and an advisory board. With no full-time paid staff, all festival and outreach activities require coordination of more than 450 volunteers, and administrative duties are conducted in donated office space. Primary funding is provided by community businesses, grants, and fundraising events.