The Festival of the Arts’ primary responsibility is to carry out year round activities, in a timely manner, to produce a professionally run, juried, fine arts and crafts event maintaining the quality artisans and attendees have come to respect.

Our second responsibility is to the artisans themselves.  It is essential to provide a clean and safe site, comprehensive advertising, and expected promotional materials. The quality artisans who apply to the Festival of the Arts plan their schedules in January. Festivals are their livelihood. It is our responsibility to assure them they are accepted as soon as possible or notify them immediately of any problems, allowing them to make other arrangements. April 12th, after three months’ delay in our scheduled work and three months of unsuccessful attempts to obtain an approved application, these responsibilities could no longer be met. It is our hope and stated intention to return the Festival of the Arts to the Port and the Brookings Harbor Community in 2012.

Anyone involved with preparation for a festival of this caliber can appreciate the yearlong advance work and planning necessary. From January through March we were unable to meet crucial deadlines for advertising, promotional materials and festival operations. This involved newspaper articles, press releases, magazine submissions, rack cards, posters, apparel, Festival of the Arts web site work including artist promotion, jurying applications received and preliminary activities related to entertainment, security, volunteers, and the Late Bloomer Grant. By April all foundation activities should have been completed. We could not move forward or make commitments without an approved application from the Port. In previous years our Festival applications were not even sent out until the approved Port application was returned. 

Since our letter to Mr. Fitzgerald on April 12th and our public announcement on April 14th, the Port has not contacted us to sit down and meet with them personally. A meeting could not change the decision the Festival was forced to make this year, but a working relationship could have been initiated for next year.

Festival of the Arts History with the Port

The Festival of the Arts was started in 1993 as a Chetco Village Merchant Event.  No Port fees were charged.  Between 1997 and 2006, the Festival donated over $6,000 to the Port in the form of material items such as the original stage, picnic tables, doggie bag dispensers, holiday and summer flags for the parking lot, and feather flags for the retail entrances. Up until 2006 the Port and the Festival worked together as partners. In 2006, due to economic conditions at the Port, festival fees became an issue.  The Festival of the Arts was the only festival asked to pay Port fees of $350 that year. In 2007, the Southern Oregon Kite Festival, the Festival of the Arts, and the Slam’n Salmon Ocean Derby all threatened to cancel their Festivals.  It took 3 ½ months for negotiations to be completed before a five- year agreement covering, 2007 through 2011 was reached. The outcome was successful due to the fact that all festivals met directly with the Port Director and assigned Commissioners.  Articles regarding this period can be found in the archives of the Curry Coastal Pilot and The Daily Triplicate. Since 2007 the Festival has paid a four-day fee per the agreement beginning with $400 in 2007 and scheduled for $800 in 2011.
In addition to the agreement, for any event to take place at the Port, the Port requires an application be submitted for approval, along with proof of insurance, $200 security deposit, and the fee.  For 17 years the application has been signed and returned within a few days.

Many years ago, at the Port’s request, the Festival was asked to provide a list of Port and Festival responsibilities to be used as a checklist for the Harbormaster.  This has always been submitted one month before the Festival directly to the Harbormaster. The essentials of this checklist have not changed over the years.  This year, on April 4, Mr. Fitzgerald requested the checklist be submitted directly to him.  It was submitted to him April 6th.

In April we obtained the minutes of the January 18 Port Commission meeting during which festivals and fees were discussed.  Mr. Fitzgerald was under the impression the agreement with the festivals ended in 2010 rather than 2011.  He stated he met with the Kite Festival and they may be charged a lower fee because they required less work than another festival.  January 18th minutes, covering discussion of “Strategy of Events” is available from the Port.

On April 15, after the Festival was cancelled, the Festival of the Arts received a letter from Mr. Fitzgerald stating we would need to pay an additional $200 (total of $1,000 this year), abide by the Port’s new management policy regarding festivals (of which we have no knowledge), and he returned our $200 security deposit.  Mr. Fitzgerald stated he would keep our weekend open for 15 days.  The Festival was to let him know if we were able to remain at the Port this year.   Mr. Fitzgerald’s’ subsequent involvement with Brookings Area Council for the Arts (BACA) escalated the situation.

SUMMARY

The Festival of the Arts is supported entirely by Festival participant fees and the sale of Festival apparel. In 2010 Festival of the Arts income was $19,871. 93% of this income covered operational expenses.  A major portion of this money remains in our local community to pay for services provided.  58% ($10,766) of operational expenses was spent on paid advertising and promotions which directly benefited not only the Port and the artisans, but the community as a whole.  Every promotional piece includes and promotes the Brookings Harbor.   Proceeds are donated yearly to projects which promote the Arts or beautify the Brookings Harbor area.  Donations in 2010 included $500 to American Music Festival, $500 to Brookings Harbor Community Theater, $500 to Children’s Summer Art Program, $1,100 for the Late Bloomer Grant Program, and $160 to Manley Art Center’s Azalea Art Show.   In addition, an estimated value of at least $25,000 can be calculated in the form of free promotional efforts and volunteer hours spent.  The economic benefit to our community and the surrounding area is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In summary, the Festival of the Arts has always had good working relationships within our
committee, with our artisans, vendors, volunteers, other festivals and events, and community organizations. Over the years, the old stage and tables provided to the Port have been utilized by the Port and other Festivals and events. The Festival has loaned tents and signs to other Festivals such as Slam’n Salmon Derby and Chetco Merchant events.  We are a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and have a second website on the Chamber Gateway.

As stated in our original letter to Mr. Fitzgerald April 12th, we hope we can meet and establish a working relationship for 2012.   If we cannot return to the Port, we will need to make a decision regarding a new site by July 2011.  We would like to thank the artisans and the community for their continued support.

Festival of the Arts Committee
Dolores Maillet, Chairperson
Jo Mochulski
Sheila Curtis

Visit Brookings Harbor Festival of the Arts on Facebook for updated information.

Applications for 2012 will be available soon!