Abstract
In recent years, the number of festivals in Romania has increased significantly, not only musical ones, which are also the most well-known, but also events aimed at promoting local traditions and gastronomy, theater and film festivals, poetry and literature or mixed events. Regardless of the type of event or festival, its organization is usually associated with benefits for the host locality, by positively influencing its image, but also by aspects from the economic and social sphere of development - entrepreneurship and the local community. Regarding the social effects of small scale festivals, it is worth mentioning that they strengthen sustainable social development thanks to the relationships that are built between the different social groups living in the same area. These concepts that are increasingly used today were illustrated with a case study focused on the Northern Days Festival, organized by the Asociatia Nord, which, in the ten editions held so far, brought together citizens, public administration, young people, local representatives of the business environment, schools and civil society, but also tourists. All these actors are actively participating in the process of planning the future of the city, proving that small-scale festivals are good opportunities to display and strengthen local identity, but also to increase cultural and economic capital. The results show that the impact on the community depends on a number of internal factors (demographic features specific to the place, behavioral dimension, pre-existing capital - economic and cultural) and external (festival characteristics, social context, spatial and temporal dimensions).
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Community Diversity and Governance
KEYWORDS
Stakeholders, Small Festival, Local Identity, Community Development
