Year later, funk museum going strong, gets recognition from state, founder says

Credit: Tom Gilliam

Credit: Tom Gilliam

A little more than a year after it opened its doors, the Funk Music Hall of Fame and Exhibition Center received a recognition from the state of Ohio that its director hopes will draw even more visitors.

 

The center, located at 113 E. Third St. in downtown Dayton’s Fire Blocks District, recently received word it was accepted on Ohio.org, the state’s tourism website.

>> RELATED: Meet David Webb, the man behind the Funk museum 

"That's big for our organization and will let (more) people know we are out there," David Webb, the center's founder and CEO, said.

Tamara Brown, TourismOhio's public relations manager, said tourism industry organizations are invited to submit events and other information to the website.

The office draws from submitted information when promoting events and attractions in the state.

>> RELATED: All funked up with Ohio Players’ Diamond Williams 

Part of the goal is to draw people to travel to Ohio from 50 or more miles away, she said.

Dayton-area aviation sites and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force are among the location tourism attractions listed on the site.

The Funk Hall officially opened just before Christmas 2017.

>> RELATED (Dec. 21, 2017):  Dayton’s funk museum is now open, and even the legendary Bootsy Collins is excited about

Since then, Webb said the museum has drawn funk fans from as far away a England, Japan and Germany.

A list of musicians that include members of the Steve Miller Band and George Thorogood and The Destroyers have visited the museum.

Funk legend George Clinton was there in July before a show at Hollywood Gaming Dayton Raceway with Parliament Funkadelic.

>> RELATED: What was George Clinton doing in downtown Dayton?

Students from local grade schools and colleges have also been frequent visitors to the center, Webb said. 

“Our goal and mission is to educate the public in the history of funk music,” Webb said.

The funk music genre put Dayton on the map as the Land of the Funk in the 1970s and '80s, thanks to a stable of groups that included the Ohio Players, Steve Arrington's Hall of Fame, Zapp, Faze-O, Heatwave, Sun, Slave and Lakeside.

>> MORE: 8 Dayton acts you should give a funk about

 

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