Davenport blues fest's future hangs in balance
8:01 AM
By David Burke Lee Enterprises | Posted: Wednesday, September 10, 2008
DAVENPORT, Iowa -- The future of the IH Mississippi Valley Blues Festival may hinge on a campaign to raise $100,000 in seed money for next year’s event.
“It’s very iffy that we will have a festival if we don’t have $50,000 raised by the end of the year,” said Karen MacFarland, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, which produces the annual summertime event.
The combination of the economic downturn and a weather-forced change in venue is to blame, said Ricardo Burris, the president of the Blues Society.
The festival was moved for the third time in its 24-year history after Mississippi River flooding forced it from its traditional home in Davenport’s LeClaire Park. The location was changed to the streets of downtown
Davenport, the RiverCenter and the Adler Theatre for the July 3 to 5 event.
Burris estimated the total crowd at 6,000 people. It had drawn 12,000 to 13,000 in one night during previous years.
“Anytime you change the venue, you lose about 30 percent of your crowd. Think about that on a shoestring (budget), where everything’s counted out down to the dollar,” he said. “The best thing about the Quad-Cities and the Blues Fest is that we’ve always got this core crowd of 6,000 people. They were there at this fest in Davenport. We get another 6,000 from across the country and around the world.”
The first of several concerts as part of the fundraising campaign will be Sept. 23 at the Redstone Room inside the River Music Experience, downtown Davenport. It will feature Davenport native Michael “Hawkeye” Herman, who has received international acclaim in the blues community.
Other plans for raising money include selling $1,000 Silver Anniversary Club memberships in honor of the festival’s 25th anniversary and increased sponsorships and grants. MacFarland said the group also is seeking a portion of the money raised through area hotel and motel taxes.
According to the Quad-Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, the festival’s economic benefit to the area is $2.5 million annually, a news release from the Blues Society states.
The “seed money” guarantees performers for the festival, MacFarlane said. In past years, performers have included such blues stars as Koko Taylor, Ike Turner and Robert Randolph and the Family Band.
Money raised by the society keeps its Davenport office open and funds the Blues in the Schools program as well as the festival. MacFarland and Burris said there is enough money for both the office and the school program to continue operating.
“We like to be self-sufficient, and we have been self-sufficient for the past 24 years,” MacFarland said. “We just don’t have it to have a festival in 2009 unless we raise more money.”
Members of the Blues Society are optimistic that the event will continue.
“We’ll make it. If we don’t get to the level of festival we’ve been putting out, we’ll put out a festival for whatever we have,” Burris said. “We’ll never give up, we’ll just scale back.”
He said society members are looking to themselves for the financial assistance as well.
“In ’93 (when floods forced the festival out of LeClaire Park), a lot of people came forward in our own organization and gave an extra 100 bucks,” he added. “It’s just too good of a thing. People aren’t going to let it go under.
“The main thing is that the fest lives on.”
“It’s very iffy that we will have a festival if we don’t have $50,000 raised by the end of the year,” said Karen MacFarland, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Valley Blues Society, which produces the annual summertime event.
The combination of the economic downturn and a weather-forced change in venue is to blame, said Ricardo Burris, the president of the Blues Society.
The festival was moved for the third time in its 24-year history after Mississippi River flooding forced it from its traditional home in Davenport’s LeClaire Park. The location was changed to the streets of downtown
Davenport, the RiverCenter and the Adler Theatre for the July 3 to 5 event.
Burris estimated the total crowd at 6,000 people. It had drawn 12,000 to 13,000 in one night during previous years.
“Anytime you change the venue, you lose about 30 percent of your crowd. Think about that on a shoestring (budget), where everything’s counted out down to the dollar,” he said. “The best thing about the Quad-Cities and the Blues Fest is that we’ve always got this core crowd of 6,000 people. They were there at this fest in Davenport. We get another 6,000 from across the country and around the world.”
The first of several concerts as part of the fundraising campaign will be Sept. 23 at the Redstone Room inside the River Music Experience, downtown Davenport. It will feature Davenport native Michael “Hawkeye” Herman, who has received international acclaim in the blues community.
Other plans for raising money include selling $1,000 Silver Anniversary Club memberships in honor of the festival’s 25th anniversary and increased sponsorships and grants. MacFarland said the group also is seeking a portion of the money raised through area hotel and motel taxes.
According to the Quad-Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau, the festival’s economic benefit to the area is $2.5 million annually, a news release from the Blues Society states.
The “seed money” guarantees performers for the festival, MacFarlane said. In past years, performers have included such blues stars as Koko Taylor, Ike Turner and Robert Randolph and the Family Band.
Money raised by the society keeps its Davenport office open and funds the Blues in the Schools program as well as the festival. MacFarland and Burris said there is enough money for both the office and the school program to continue operating.
“We like to be self-sufficient, and we have been self-sufficient for the past 24 years,” MacFarland said. “We just don’t have it to have a festival in 2009 unless we raise more money.”
Members of the Blues Society are optimistic that the event will continue.
“We’ll make it. If we don’t get to the level of festival we’ve been putting out, we’ll put out a festival for whatever we have,” Burris said. “We’ll never give up, we’ll just scale back.”
He said society members are looking to themselves for the financial assistance as well.
“In ’93 (when floods forced the festival out of LeClaire Park), a lot of people came forward in our own organization and gave an extra 100 bucks,” he added. “It’s just too good of a thing. People aren’t going to let it go under.
“The main thing is that the fest lives on.”
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