Five Colleges, Incorporated: GoDutch! successful

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105,201 People Decided to GoDutch!

Museums10 announced today that attendance during its GoDutch! celebration from January through August, 2006, was the force behind a fifteen percent increase in museum attendance over the same period in 2005.

Galina Vromen of Amherst, Mass. was one of the thousands who decided to GoDutch! and it paid off. Vromen won a trip to Holland and Belgium valued at $7,700 from Cross-Culture Journeys of Amherst. The trip was the grand prize in the GoDutch! passport contest, sponsored by Museums10 and the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Museums10* is a two-year-old collaboration of seven college and three independent museums in the Pioneer Valley's Five College Area with the mission of promoting the region's cultural and natural resources. GoDutch!, organized by Museums10, with the participation and partnership of arts organizations, chambers of commerce, restaurants, hotels and beds and breakfasts throughout the entire Pioneer Valley, was the region's first thematic cultural collaboration, with everything from great art and horticulture that celebrated the Netherlands, to special lodging and dining offers.

"We are very excited by the attendance we have seen during the life of GoDutch!," said Carol Angus, of Five College, Incorporated., the consortium that serves as the umbrella organization for the project. "We believe the arts have a crucial role to play in bringing more visitors into the area and to benefiting the local economy. Museums10 sees itself as a leader in promoting not just the Five College Area but the greater Pioneer Valley, as well.

"We are trying to encourage our museum-goers to take advantage of the cities and towns and the local businesses," Angus continued. "The Museums10 GoDutch! passport program was a successful vehicle toward that end."

Museums10's partnership with the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau led to the creation and distribution a GoDutch! passport to encourage visitation of twenty-two GoDutch! partner sites. The passport offered a means for local business involvement by providing advertising placement. Visitors to six different GoDutch! partner sites could have their passport stamped to enter to win a trip to Holland and Belgium for the spring of 2007. Galina Vromen of Amherst was the winner of the $7,700 prize, donated by Cross-Culture Journeys of Amherst, Mass.

Museums10 attributes its early success to its joint marketing efforts and the commitment of the museums to get the word out about their superior collections in the stunning setting of Western Massachusetts. The genesis of the collaboration dates to a simple rack card touting the Museums of the Five Colleges. Now, in addition to an updated rack card, Museums10 boasts an attractive website, a logo, a year of branding on radio and television, and a firm presence in the region. With generous funding from Massachusetts Cultural Council's John and Abigail Adams Program, Museums10 was able to spread the word about the region to New York, Boston, the Berkshires, and beyond.

With GoDutch! just complete, Museums10 now begins work on next fall's joint collaboration, BookMarks, a varied set of exhibitions celebrating the art of the book -- encompassing book making, illustration, and literary themes. With the region's rich literary history, the organization hopes to see even more success during the life of BookMarks, and to generate an even greater economic impact and chances for collaboration throughout the Pioneer Valley.

"GoDutch! was just the beginning toward establishing Museums10 and the region as a magnet for cultural tourism," said Angus. "The early results are terrific and should underscore to our partners that investment in the arts bring favorable returns."

Museums10 and its GoDutch! initiative has received generous funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Cross-Culture Journeys, and The Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, and support from the Greater Springfield Convention and Visitor Bureau and the Amherst Area, Franklin County, and Northampton Chambers of Commerce.

Museums10 is a partnership of ten outstanding museums -- Amherst College Museum of Natural History, Emily Dickinson Museum: The Homestead and The Evergreens, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Hampshire College Art Gallery, Historic Deerfield, Mead Art Museum at Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, National Yiddish Book Center, Smith College Museum of Art, and University Gallery at UMass Amherst -- within a radius of twelve miles in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. For more information about Museums10, please visit www.museums10.org.

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