Introducing CEFI, Community Event & Festival Incubator

A knowledge and networking platform for local leaders and organizers engaged in revitalizing their communities. CEFI is dedicated to sharing best practices to help develop authentic and sustainable festivals and events geared toward economic development.

Founding Partners

Holiday Outdoor Decor is your preferred partner for outdoor events and festivals. Holiday Outdoor Decor provides advice, design, installations and logistical help for all your outdoor decorations needs. Also based in the Lehigh Valley, and in business since 1921, Holiday Outdoor Decor is the specialist in the commercial outdoor decorations business.

ArtsQuest reaches 2 million people annually with an economic impact of $136 million on the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania through it flagship events like Musikfest and Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem, as well as the programs of the SteelStacks arts and entertainment campus. The Social Valuation of ArtsQuest programming reaches an additional $99M annually.

About CEFI

In 2019, Julien Godbarge, President & CEO of Holiday Outdoor Decor and ArtsQuest President & CEO, Kassie Hilgert got together over coffee in the beautiful, historic downtown of Bethlehem, Pa. The leaders of two, long-standing and reputable Lehigh Valley based organizations shared their knowledge, experience and aspirations. Kassie explained how ArtsQuest was created to help the Bethlehem community recover from the closure of Bethlehem Steel back in the early ‘90s. Julien shared how, since the beginning of ArtsQuest’s revitalization efforts, Holiday Outdoor Decor has been fortunate to be a trusted partner in the success of numerous ArtsQuest festivals and events – providing many of the decorations, flags and banners millions of visitors get to see each year when they come into town.

According to Kassie, “It was obvious that both of our organizations had a long history working together towards the same vision and goals.” The conversation soon turned towards exploring how Holiday Outdoor Decor and ArtsQuest could leverage their strengths and resources to assist other communities throughout the country. When, Kassie shared with Julien the number of calls her office receives each year by other community leaders and concerned citizens that want to learn more about how to do the same in their downtowns, an idea was born. “It became readily apparent that the nationally proclaimed programs and events ArtsQuest successfully manages to deliver each year, are excellent case studies to be shared with others!” said, Julien.

Shortly after that meeting, the teams of Holiday Outdoor Decor and ArtsQuest reconvened. And, CEFI was formed, the Community Event & Festival Incubator, dedicated to sharing best practices to help develop authentic and sustainable festivals and events geared toward economic development in communities throughout the United States. Julien describes CEFI as a catalyst or tool for regional economic development, a program designed to provide mentorship, expertise and access to real-world case studies, educational programs and industry experts. According to Julien, “CEFI is built upon the three guiding principals of Authenticity, Sustainability and Public / Private Partnership.” Our proprietary, knowledge and networking platform is designed to share best practices through sharing real-world case studies, offering certified training courses and facilitating networking events via our Website, CEFIncubator.org

Discover, Inspire, Grow

As local leaders and organizers engaged in revitalizing your community, visit CEFIncubator.org and join us by helping you ‘drive your community forward, faster’ towards the economic development of your downtown!