Sharing my origin story has become a regular part of my role as a leader and mentor, about how a young boy from Detroit, Michigan, would ultimately move to St. Paul, Minnesota, as an adult to lead one of the most prestigious performing arts centers in the world. While it was undoubtedly a non-linear path, the dots can be connected back to being exposed to the arts as a young person by my elementary school teacher, going on field trips to cultural events on the yellow school bus, and having access to places like the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.
The arts thrive when they belong to everyone. When the Ordway opened its doors in 1985, our chief benefactor and guiding spirit, Sally Ordway Irvine, had a vision to create a place where ALL the performing arts would be embraced and ALL members of the community would feel welcome. That vision is alive and well 40 years later. The Flint Hills Family Festival, presented by the Ordway, embodies this ethos each summer in downtown St. Paul.
It is a gift to the community, and I am proud to champion the Flint Hills Family Festival. Not just because it’s the country’s largest and longest-running festival of its kind, but because it drives economic impact and contributes to the vitality and vibrancy of our community. I continue to be inspired by teachers, parents and guardians who often make sacrifices to share the power of the arts. As a lifelong learner, I have picked up a thing or two from the youngest festival attendees, like hula-hooping and the power of perseverance.
2025 is a big year of milestones for us. In addition to it being the Ordway’s 40th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of the Ordway Concert Hall opening, this year the festival is celebrating its 25th year. This milestone is a celebration of what happens when businesses and communities prioritize the arts as a public good. Since 2001, the festival has welcomed more than 1 million people to Rice Park in downtown Saint Paul to enjoy live performances, concerts and free activities designed to spark curiosity in toddlers, teens and adults alike. This year, the festival will welcome over 25,000 attendees and will feature more than 270 artists, including local veterans and Grammy winners, alongside interactive art stations run by local educators and volunteers.
For 25 years, the passion of Minnesotans has made this event more than just a music festival for families. It’s an invitation to the arts for the next generation. When families attend the Flint Hills Family Festival, they’re part of a legacy. Many of the first generation of festival-goers – kids whose eyes lit up at their first theater or concert experience in 2001 – are now parents themselves. Some of them will return with their children to this year’s event, passing down a tradition of curiosity and artistic discovery.
Nationwide, 25-year corporate partnerships are becoming increasingly rare. For a quarter century, Flint Hills Resources has partnered with the Ordway as a believer in making the arts accessible to all. Together, we’ve weathered economic downturns, shifting trends and a pandemic, all while keeping these formative experiences affordable. We have worked side-by-side to invest in ensuring families of all shapes, backgrounds and socioeconomic status see themselves represented onstage.
Live, in-person, shared experiences with the arts are more important now than ever. When we experience the arts, it transforms the way we see the world, and most importantly, helps us to better understand our place in it. I believe we have a responsibility to invest in the current and future generations of creatives, as well as our business, civic and community leaders. This can be done by exposing young people (and the young at heart) to the arts through longstanding events like the festival, which runs from May 28-31 at the Ordway in downtown St. Paul.
There is a plethora of data that documents the many benefits of being exposed to the arts, including emotional and social growth, better academic outcomes and being more civically engaged. But you don’t need data to feel it — watch a child’s face decorated with paint light up as they step into a crowd buzzing with music, and you’ll understand why this festival — the largest and longest-running of its kind — isn’t just the Ordway’s or Flint Hills’ legacy. It’s all of Minnesota’s.
Christopher Harrington is president and CEO of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul.
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