Kurtis Loftus, founder and executive director of Deck the Chairs, combined his experience in advertising and marketing with his love for the beaches community to create an event that sparks joy and supports children’s art education.
Tell me about your background.
I grew up in St. Augustine, I studied and finished school at the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in traditional graphic design. I ended up opening up a little graphic design studio after spending about a year with another firm.
I did it mostly with illustration talents, and then I wanted to do desktop publishing, so I was one of the first in the field branching out with graphic design and desktop publishing services.
It went really well. In 1987, I published an international surfing magazine called South Swell and did that for about three years as I continued to do local advertising, marketing and creative services for people in the area.
How did you establish yourself in the Beaches community?
When my oldest daughter was born, I didn't feel like I could be a dad and run the magazine at the same time. So, I closed it down and just focused on advertising and marketing again and rebuilt that business in the Beaches area. We rebranded in 1989 and started doing a lot of local business, local advertising. There were people that needed creative services at the Beach, people that needed creative services throughout Jacksonville. My wife, Margaret, and I moved to the Beaches with our daughters Kirsten and Catherine and just knew we were going to stay.
How did you come up with the idea for the Deck the Chairs annual event?
My focus on the local community was always evident. I always paid attention to the small businesses and the nonprofits that were in the area and tried to provide creative services, especially if they couldn't afford it. I just embraced the local community and supported small businesses and nonprofits like the Donna Foundation and the Beaches Museum and became very active in the Chamber. By 2011, I was trying to transition my work out of boutique advertising and really pay more attention to the nonprofits. The idea for Deck the Chairs came about because I was spending a lot of my time looking at our city, going to meetings, talking with the Chamber and talking with businesses about our own challenges with the perception of what kind of community we were. In the wintertime, everything would shut down and get dark, and there would be several winters and Christmas seasons where business leaders couldn’t attract business. Since I grew up in St. Augustine, that puts on the annual Nights of Lights, I thought up the idea of an affordable holiday event that could be beneficial for the local community. And that’s how Deck the Chairs was born.
Can you tell me more about Deck the Chairs?
I love the community, and I also love the idea of putting art in public spaces, promoting the arts, so I took that idea, and I dropped it into this concept for a decorated lifeguard chair display during the holidays. That first year, there were about 16 decorated chairs in the Seawalk Pavilion. It was free, it was safe, family-friendly, creative and the city loved it so much that they asked me to do it again. The Volunteer Life Saving Corps, the lifeguards, were the beneficiary for many years, but that shifted in 2019 to reflect our mission to promote children’s arts and arts education in the community. Now, as a 501(c)(3), we aim to benefit children’s arts with our student decorating challenges. You’ll see 20 chairs, 10 at the Jacksonville Zoo and 10 at the Seawalk Pavilion, where middle school and high school students in Jacksonville and St. John’s County decorate their own chairs.
What excites you most about how the event has grown over the years, and what does it mean for the community?
There's so much going on. I’m really excited about the year ahead. For me, as an artist and a creative that loves to help the city be exposed to more art, and bring more art into the city, it's been an amazing transformation of the small event that we did in 2013. The Deck the Chairs organization is a nonprofit, mostly all volunteers, so you’ll see us out there in the park or at the event itself. The local people that support it, and the organizations and businesses that commit money and time and treasure to it, they're all amazing community representatives. Every year, we keep building on this idea that the vibe and the heart of the experience is important. We need that kind of love and joy, and the holiday time frame is perfect. It’s just a wonderful place to be during the holiday season.
Do you feel that the community has supported your mission?
I've been very fortunate and very grateful because the communities around us have embraced it. We think we have something that no one else in the world has. To continue to see it grow and express itself every year, to witness the whole spirit of joy, it's just some really beautiful, fun stuff.
What kind of legacy do you hope Deck the Chairs will leave — both for your family and the community?
The first year we did Deck the Chairs, I brought my grandson Steven out to see it. I owe a lot to him. I knew at that time when he was walking and with his mom in the park that this was something that I wanted for him, as well as the community. If I can build something for Steven, or any of my other three grandchildren, Loch, Leo and Lilly, then maybe it will be special for other people to experience it, too.
