VisionFest was a community summit held on December 7, 1996 at Flagstaff High School. Flagstaff 2020 aired a commercial featuring Mayor Christopher Bavasi and Vision Task Force and Action Team members on local TV news stations to advertise VisionFest. People of all ages were encouraged to attend, and the event had a space set aside solely for youth visioning.
Though no official count was taken, participants estimate that hundreds of greater Flagstaff area residents attended VisionFest.
Major activities will include full group presentations, small work groups organized by target area and an “interactive” vision marketplace where small group visions are discussed, critiqued and reconciled. A large composite “vision map” cataloging vision ideas will also be created as a part of the process
-Steven Ames, “Phase Two Activities & Events: Meeting & Workshop Descriptions (Draft),” 1996, p.2
Many of those involved with Flagstaff 2020 note that VisionFest was one of their favorite events from the entire process. In the clip below, Project Coordinator Kathy Turner shares her memories of VisionFest. Watch Turner’s entire oral history interview via Digital Collections.