East West River Fest Makes Economic Impact - CBS4 - WHBF Quad Cities, IL-IA News Weather Sports

East West River Fest Makes Economic Impact

By Natalie Zarowny
nzarowny@cbs4news.com

Visitors from all over the Midwest are in the Quad Cities for the East West River Fest.

And while it's exciting for folks now, the economic impact is what will last.

"You get to talking to people and they're from all over the place, they come up for it," said Tom Day of Port Byron, Illinois.

Tom Day is just one of several hundred visitors who came out to the
Beaux Arts Fair in Davenport to soak up all the Quad Cities has to offer.

And the fair is just one of three hundred events taking part in the East West River Fest, and tourism officials said local businesses are benefiting from it.

"So we're talking, you know, somewhere over 500 thousand dollars I think for an economic impact with all the hotel rooms, people doing multiple events, going out to restaurants, shopping," said Jessica Waytenick of the Quad Cities Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

And tourism officials said the event is so popular because of its low cost.

"A lot of the events are free so it's very affordable," said Waytenick.

Visitors said there's just something special about the Quad Cities when it comes to arts and culture.

"There's such a large quality of good quality artists in this area, and it seems to attract a lot, so that's why we made the three hour trip down here," said Stephanie Wilkey of Elgin, Illinois.

The events continue until next Sunday.

For more information on the happenings at the East West River Fest, click on CBS4's popular links page.