Girls Inc. pulls its arts and crafts show from Plaza

Santa Fe will have one fewer established event on the Plaza in 2019.

Girls Inc. of Santa Fe announced Monday the nonprofit will no longer sponsor the arts and crafts show it has held each summer for the past 46 years. Officials said the financial burden and 800 or more work hours needed to generate the event outweighed its benefits.

“It was a very hard decision,” said Kim Brown, president and CEO of Girls Inc. of Santa Fe. “Sometimes things run their course, unfortunately.”

While the event typically drew about 30,000 people to the Plaza, Girls Inc. didn’t receive a percentage of the sales and instead relied on booth fees, Brown said. This year there were several empty booths, the most in years, and many of the event’s regular artists had retired.

Until 2015, the nonprofit paid the of Santa Fe a flat rate of about $5,000, which included police and parking services, Brown said. Over the past three years, those fees have doubled as the city no longer bundled services, she added.

Brown estimated the arts and crafts show raised between $3,000 to $5,000 after subtracting staff time, contractor fees and city fees. She said as Girls Inc. calculated next year’s estimated costs, with the projection of additional fees being charged by the city, net revenue wouldn’t justify continuing the show.

“We’ve been hanging on to [the show] because of a sense of obligation to the artists and community,” Brown said. “When we’re looking at an event that

could put us in the red in the future, it’s not worth it.”

Instead, Girls Inc. will focus on a spring gala and a summer fundraiser called “Conquer Heights, Empower Girls.” This past August, the nonprofit played host to the event for the first time, sending about 60 people rappelling down the side of La Fonda on the Plaza.

“It’s more closely aligned with our mission to show girls to conquer their fears,” said Rhynda Stephens, Girls Inc.’s partnerships and events manager.

Girls Inc.’s programs are aimed at helping girls ages 5 to 18. Brown said while deciding to end the arts and crafts show was difficult, officials want to focus on what will allow programs to grow.

“We want to support the girls of Santa Fe the best we can,” Brown said. “We need community support to keep our doors open.”