I’d like to thank the Durham Arts Council for the fantastic job that they did with CenterFest this year.

I'm a Durham artist with a strong interest in the success of the artists participating in CenterFest. When DAC held public meetings to get input for reinventing CenterFest, I attended and voiced my opinions. I feel that DAC executive director Sherry DeVries and her team combined public input with their expertise to create a model that not only worked for artists but also for downtown businesses and most importantly the festival goers.

The number of people that stopped by my booth and expressed their amazement about all of the improvements to the festival was incredible. Everyone was thrilled about being in the heart of downtown. It was a great opportunity for them to either re-familiarize themselves about all that downtown has to offer or to experience it for the first time.

Thanks Sherry, Margaret, Lindsay and the whole DAC staff as well as the countless volunteers and the downtown businesses for making the festival a success!

Matt Tomko

Durham