President Irvin D. Reid and Dr. Pamela Trotman Reid were honorary chairs for the Art a la Carte event held Friday, Sept. 18, at the Detroit Public Library. The fund-raiser opened the Detroit Festival of the Arts on the day of Reid's inauguration as the ninth president of Wayne State University.

The event opened with a cocktail and hors d'oeuvre reception and silent auction in a gaily-decorated tent in the front garden of the library. Following a seated dinner in Strohm Hall, guests returned to the tent for an afterglow. Festival street performers and several groups of musicians provided entertainment throughout the evening.

The 1998 festival, which enjoyed three days of wonderful weather for the first time in its 12-year history, had an attendance of 300,000, the largest ever. It was a huge success in many ways, says Susan Mosey, director of the University Cultural Center Association office.

"This festival was a tremendous collaborative effort by the University Cultural Center Association, Wayne State University and our many Cultural Center institutions, sponsors and friends," she says.

"The support for the festival throughout the year was phenomenal, and the payoff was the most successful arts festival to date with exceptional art and performances. Crowds loved the international flavor of the street performers and artists, who hailed from around the world.

"From the Children's Fair to the new stage at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, this year's arts festival was a huge success and a benefit to the entire metropolitan area," Mosey says.

The festival offered more than 500 visual, stage and street performing artists from across the country. Its 20-block site encompassed the Detroit Cultural Center and Wayne State campus.

Major features were the Artists' Marketplace, two International Food Courts; five outdoor and two indoor performing stages, including the Wayne State Stage; and the English department's Literary Arts Festival.

A large and well-attended Children's Fair with a Youth Artists' Market was set on Gullen Mall. More than 60 organizations presented arts and science activities for the youngsters; university departments participated in a number of children's activities.

University participation ran throughout the festival activities including the Wayne State Pavilion.

A colorful festival of banners, provided by guest artists, billowed in the gentle breezes above the Artists Market on Cass from the Reuther Library to the Prentis Building and welcomed guests to the fun event.

A popular attraction was the 50-ton sand sculpture, which created a zoo of lifelike animals. The Grand Procession featured costumed and decorated folk of all ages from the Children's Fair; those inclined to do so joined the parade as it moved across campus from the Gullen Mall, down Cass and Kirby, across Woodward to John R.

Arthur Johnson, former vice president for WSU University Relations, is a festival founder and continues his support as a consultant and attendee.

The Chrysler Corporation Fund presented the festival; the University Cultural Association and Wayne State produced it.