Ep 21: REI MBA - Kassie Hilgert: Reveals the Vision of How Musikfest and the SteelStacks Came to Be
In this episode, Kassie Hilgert joins us for an interview where she shares her perspective and experience with ArtsQuest and how the organization is transforming the Lehigh Valley within today's Real Estate Market.
This is a must listen episode where Kassie provides the listeners with a history lesson of the Bethlehem Steel and who and what was necessary to lay the ground work for Musikfest, the SteelStacks and ArtsQuest, and how the real estate was extremely important in the infrastructure of the overall plan.
Kassie Hilgert is President and CEO of ArtsQuest, one of the largest nonprofit arts organizations in Pennsylvania. Founded in 1984, ArtsQuest is dedicated to providing unparalleled access to the arts, as well as using arts and culture as key tools for economic development in the region. Each year, it presents over 4,000 concerts, art and educational programs, with 45 percent of this programming available to the community for free.
The organization’s flagship program is Musikfest, a 10-day music festival presented by ArtsQuest each August. With over 500 concerts and one million attendees, the event is one of the largest free music festivals in the country. ArtsQuest also presents Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, a holiday market that attracts nearly 90,000 visitors annually to Bethlehem, helping to support the region’s popular Christmas tourism program.
Kassie has been with ArtsQuest since 2008 and has overseen ArtsQuest’s sponsorship, marketing, development, ticketing, public relations and volunteer departments. Her accomplishments with ArtsQuest include playing a key role in helping to raise funds for the development of the $26-million ArtsQuest Center and ArtsQuest’s programming at the SteelStacks arts and cultural campus, the development of strategic partnerships with area nonprofits and leading the development of the organization’s Strategic Plan by meeting with members of ArtsQuest’s boards, volunteer leadership, staff and the community to help shape the nonprofit’s direction and goals for the coming years.
You can reach Kassie and her team through the ArtsQuest website at www.artsquest.org.
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