By JODEE TAYLOR
TRAVERSE CITY -- As the sound of jazz drifted down the block, Ellen and Bob Pisor acknowledged their roles as First People in a Standby Line for the 2009 Traverse City Film Festival.
"I'm told the faithful are always rewarded," Bob Pisor said. Sure enough, the couple got into the 6:30 p.m. screening of Tuesday's Opening Night film, "Troubled Water," at the City Opera House.
A block away, hundreds of people gathered for food, speeches and performance art. A street party on the closed-off 200 block of East Front Street opened the fifth annual festival.
"When we stood here four years ago, we had no idea what would happen," said Michael Moore, festival founder. "We had a pretty good feeling that people in the Midwest loved to see a good movie."
Moore told the crowd that organizers this year had been planning to accommodate the economic downturn, but in reality 25 percent more tickets have been sold than last year at this time and there's been a 37 percent increase in sponsors.
Moore introduced two honorary co-chairs -- a new designation this year -- and said Susan Brown and Jason Pollock were themselves co-founders for all the work they did on the inaugural festival in 2005.
"It could not be done without all the volunteers," said Brown, an attorney who took a month off from her job that year to help with the festival. "All I did was get them in the same place."
Festival cofounders John Robert Williams and Doug Stanton presented the Michigan Filmmaker of the Year Award to Rich Brauer, a Traverse City cinematographer, director, producer and writer.
"It's a great industry. It's a lot of hard work," Brauer said, "but at the end of the day, it's crowds like these that make it all worthwhile."
When the crowds weren't listening to speeches, they were listening to Latin music by Rojo Loco at the east end of the block, jazz by Charlie's Root Fusion at the west end and mingling in between.
Ali Gribi, of Elk Rapids, was inside "The Madonna," a balloon sculpture by Jason Hackenwerth of New York City.
"This is really fun," Gribi said. "It's just fun to socialize. I've had a million pictures taken."
Hackenwerth had three sculptures at the street party; he's been making them since Saturday.
"I decided what type of sculptures I wanted to bring and I brought them," Hackenwerth said. "I don't even know if there is a theme and I couldn't care less."
Drew Lambaria, 6, of Davison, had never seen anything like the balloon art. "I think they're insects," he said. He also said it probably took three people 10 days to make each one.
Gerry McGee, of Yonkers, N.Y., leaned against a storefront across from the State Theatre "enjoying the festivities."
"We stumbled upon the first one and we've been back every year," he said of the film festival. "It's a completely different feeling as opposed to the big city festivals. It's more accessible, the venues are closer together.
"The movies are just about the same," McGee said, "but in New York, the film festival competes with everything else. Here, it's the only game in town."
About the same time the opening ceremonies were wrapping up, Erin Kiessling, 11, of Traverse City, was staking her space at the Open Space for Tuesday night's free movie, "Men in Black."
"We've been playing hacky sack and cards," she said, with her two brothers and three other friends nearby. "We got here early so we could get good seats."
Other movie-goers watched Tommy Tropic juggle and ride a unicycle, while still others shopped.
"They're buying a lot of T-shirts," said Niesje Dowell, Open Space sales manager. She said the festival shirt that lists all the movies on the back is popular as well as one with a "5" in a movie countdown circle.
Denise Bland, of Traverse City, and Brenda Castino, of Cedar, munched popcorn while listening to Mike Moran sing about popcorn.
"These movies, we see them all the time," Bland said of the Open Space lineup, "but I think it's the ambience, the atmosphere. I like it better than the drive-in."
"It shows the camaraderie of Traverse City," Castino said. "I love that it's no alcohol, no smoking. You can come down here and have good wholesome entertainment and not worry about anything."
Both women planned on returning tonight for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," but had commitments the other three nights.
"We're kinda hoping for a rainout," Castino said. "We can come back Sunday."
