Why were the Festivals split up?

To the editor:

Having read the many comments on various social media outlets regarding the recent Arts In the Park event, I thought I would add to the discussion. Let me preface my opinion by stating that my family has been a Balloon sponsor for over 15 years and an Art Patron for many years. I was also a member of the Ballonfest Steering Committee, a volunteer coordinator and I sat in on the discussions that resulted in changing the festival into the current format.

To put the changes in full perspective we have to remember that the Ballonfest started as a Downtown event, with the balloons actually taking off from downtown, hard to imagine that after watching them go up from the fairgrounds, and now the airport. The festival grew to include the Art Fair, later a craft fair, wine tent and BBQ competition. During this growth the festival was directed by the Lincoln/Logan Chamber of Commerce with 2-3 full time employees, depending on the year. Even though the festival grew tremendously, the number of employees to manage the day to day event organization remained the same and the amount of volunteers needed grew to over 700 for all events held on that same weekend. It’s a great problem to have, but proved more difficult each year to get enough local volunteers the 4th weekend in August every year. Last year, less than 5 days before the festival, the event was over 300 spots short! Not being able to fill all these spots isn’t safe or efficient for the on board volunteers or the thousands of visitors that come to Logan County that weekend. Some had mentioned that volunteers were “turned away”. I can assure everyone that this only happened if the spot requested was full; the volunteer too young for the position, or the person didn’t meet background criteria. Running the 2014 festival with over 200 spots unfilled could not be repeated and those in charge didn’t see additional resources for future years.

Like many people, for personal and sentimental reasons, I hated to see the events split over various weekends in 2015. However, after listening to the many in charge of each event, it was clear to me that it was the best choice. Many reasons, not just the volunteer shortage went into this difficult decision. A weekend full of rain, like we had 2 weekends ago (and much of this summer) would cause all events to be cancelled. Vendors would make little to no money, downtown businesses would get no traffic, and the many expenses already incurred by the Chamber would cause extreme financial harm with no “gate revenue” from the airport. We have been fortunate over the past few years, even though all our eggs have been in the same basket. You can’t count on that same luck year after year. Bringing people to Lincoln over multiple weekends (even when not blockbuster weekends) also helps fill hotels, brings people to our shops and highlights all the other great activities in our county.

I ask everyone to have patience and realize that there are some great and talented people behind each event working to make them all better year after year. The Art and Ballonfest didn’t have the 20,000+ visitors in year 1; we can’t expect every new event to draw thousands in the first years. Criticism is to be expected and learned from, by staying positive we will encourage those in charge to find new and creative ways to bring even more people to our communities.

Deron Powell

[Posted July 24, 2015]