On Sunday night, at the Danforth Museum, the START Partnership unveiled their economic impact statement with much fanfare. The MC for the evening was none other than our own Executive Director, Annie Murphy who spoke about how the six organizations in the partnership currently impact the local economy and their projected impact over the next 10 years. For example, last year 22,530 people from outside Middlesex County came to Framingham to support the various arts and cultural activities. That number is projected to grow to 264,396 over the next ten years.
The organizations who contributed data to this study were the Framingham History Center, the Danforth Museum, Amazing Things Art Center, Framingham Public Library, the New England Wildflower Society/Garden in the Woods, and Performing Arts Center of Metrowest. Staff and directors were at the event as well and many spoke or hosted presentations by their organizations. Speakers included a full slate of our local representative delegation with State Senator Karen Spilka, Representative Pam Richardson and Representative Tom Sannicandro and Greg Liakos from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
There were mini-performances by the Performing Arts Center, story tellers and musicians as well as a video presentation on how the START Partnership members contribute to the arts and culture of Framingham. It was a great way to see what Framingham has to offer and how it’s only getting better! If you are interested in receiving a copy of the Economic Impact Study, please email me at michelle@framinghamhistory.org