There was a little larger crowd today for PrairieFest. Part of that was due to the Butler Brothers, who are a very popular local band.
They were really good as usual. Page Butler has not been playing with Steve as much this year, so it was nice to hear and see him playing. They did more songs that he has written, which was also cool.
Teresa Swope Hatfield and the Wired Hands
were also good. She is an excellent singer. They did some nice tunes. The wired hands did Midnight Rider, which was kind of different. Hatfield sang a Creedence Clearwater Revival song.
So the music was really good. It was still very hot though.
There was not much food left and the artists were starting to pack up.
I heard some people complaining about it being downtown instead of its usual place, at Wilson Park.
Had the weather not been so it, I doubt there would have been as much complaining. It might be a good idea to take more space. Maybe they should take 2-3 blocks of Summit instead of just one.
I still like the idea of the downtown event though. I even thought about our own River of Life Festival. Not this year, but it is something to think about down the road.
Anyways, maybe things didn't turn out as well as hoped, but it still took a lot of work to get it done. It took guts to try something new. Maybe it didn't work out so well, but still a thumbs up for giving it a try.
I talked to several of the artists, and none of them liked the fact that it had been moved. They said the crowd was much smaller this year, and they blamed it on the location. One even said that he and his wife always came here because they liked the park atmosphere so much.
ReplyDeleteI didn't have one person say they liked it better downtown. I was sitting in the hot sun watching a band and had to get up and go find some shade.
I bet you money it will be back at the park next year. Too many people realize now that downtown was a mistake.
One plus with the park was shade from trees, and they also could help sheild from the wind. I was quite disappointed with the art fest this year. Bring back Gary G and Connie B and higher some promotions people.
ReplyDeleteAs abrasive as those two are, they could sure throw a festival!! Good post.
ReplyDeletelol, yea, GG could be a real a**h*** at times, but a heck of a talent and a great promoter.
ReplyDeleteLots of great talents and great promoters are that way.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the kind words James. Countless volunteers worked tons of hours to put the festival on. If you don't like how it was done, please get involved we can always use fresh ideas, people who are willing to spend time and money making the festival happen. The Arts Council puts on Prairiefest free to the public and barely breaks even. With more help and funding we could really do something great!
ReplyDeleteI have a fresh idea.
ReplyDeleteMove it back to the park where it belongs.
The only reason it was downtown was to give Burford tours anyway.
Yes, back to the park please. And find a person to write some grants. I hear the Koch foundation in Wichita really likes art activities, there would be some money for you.
ReplyDeleteBonfy was an excellent grant writer. A fresh idea would be to have her write some grants.
ReplyDeleteKudos to Kerry Schnackenberg for daring to take a risk in moving the festival. It never hurts to change things up a bit, and you never know until you try. Thank you for your tireless efforts in organizing PrairieFest.
ReplyDeleteand Kudos to the community minded people who only say positive things to build up others!