Creative Community

The many arts and entertainment venues, bike trails, beautiful nature, farmer's markets, and community involvement together with prominent technology industry and increasing diversity form a creative community.

A fellowship in a community could not happen without a proper location designed to create synergy and bring forth fresh, creative ideas. Public spaces in Eau Claire can play host to large public gatherings or can be intimate enough for two people. Phoenix Park, L.E. Phillips Public Memorial Library, and the State Theater offer facilities that cater to large groups of people, with events such as the Summer Concert Series and a variety of community forums. The year round Idea Lounges that are hosted by Downtown Eau Claire, Inc and VolumeOne are also events where much discussion and creative thinking occur. If you are looking for a smaller place to hang out, look no further than our own Acoustic Cafe which hosts live music and readings, or the Stones Throw, which showcases a variety of music.

According to Richard Florida's thesis on the new-age economy, the amount of creativity that a community is able to grow and sustain has a substantial effect on that community's economy. It is his belief, as well as that of countless others, that communities engaged in creative industries, such as the arts and technology, will foster new innovations and ideas, thereby stimulating economic growth. In order to assess our own creativity, we decided to use Florida's Creativity Index (patents per capita, diversity, technology and the share of the workforce that the creative class occupies) to compare Eau Claire to other cities within the nation. In an overall ranking of 322 different regions within the United States, Eau Claire County came in at 123. This ranking means that we are in the top 40 percent of creative economies throughout the nation, something that we are incredibly proud of.