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Well, that's more like it! Action Greensboro and Grassroots stepped up to the plate this week and did the right thing. The Center City Park, previously an unsightly melange of grass and gravel, has been smoothed out and covered in a layer of soft mulch. It looks much better. Not as nice as it did a year ago when the park was all verdant lawns and trimmed nicely. But Grassroots said they would do what they could to make the park look better and they did. We are grateful. We also appreciate the folks at Action Greensboro listening to our concerns. I know we were not the only group worried about the state of the park. But it is better now and we're getting ready for a great day on May 7! Posted by JAmberg
Hello Again! Okay, first of all, I may be a blues blogger, but I am NOT wearing pajamas and I don't hold any extreme political views. This blog is purely for entertainment and to provide a little behind-the-scenes insight to the 19th Annual Carolina Blues Festival. We actually began work on this event approximately one month after the last Festival...around July of 2004. The first order of business was to secure the Center City Park for our Festival for 2005. What a long strange trip it's been, and it's not over yet.... First, I asked Ray Gibbs, president/CEO of Downtown Greensboro Inc (DGI) if the park would be available in May of 2005. We had read reports of major construction happening in the park and we wanted to make sure we would have the park before construction began. Ray said yes. So, off we went making plans for this event at CCP again. Subsequent e-mails and phone calls to Ray went unanswered. I found this disturbing but I did not worry because we had his verbal agreement for use of the park, and because I can be a persistent cuss and figured eventually I would track Ray down. Fall turned to winter and the next thing you know it's early February. We began making plans for our Press Conference/Announcement Party at Europa, and I started sending out news releases via e-mail to that effect. I then received a call from a representative of Grassroots Productions, a downtown Greensboro group headed up by the estimable Betty Cone. This rep informed me that Grassroots had assumed control of the Center City Park, Ray Gibbs was no longer in charge, and that this was the first they had heard about our desire to book the park for a blues festival. After a few frantic hours it was determined that the park indeed would be available and they would send over an estimate for expenses. That's when the fun really started. The initial expense estimate stated the park's rental would be $900 higher than in 2004. Furthermore, the parking lot would not be available to us, and a large metal "Pod" storage unit would have to be moved onto the festival area. In other words, we would have less space than in 2004 and we would be paying about 60% more than the previous year. All of you know about our financial struggles since the year 2000. Last year's festival netted us a $7000 profit, which looks good on paper. In reality, we are still keeping things very close to the bone on expenses. We have to watch every penny. We negotiate like madmen to get the best deals on everything. We're getting pretty good at it, too. However, we were unprepared for the brick wall we were about to run into. Here's where it gets confusing. I asked Ray Gibbs if he was still running Center City Park operations when he gave us his verbal okay to hold the Festival there. He said yes. He said he did not know Grassroots had taken over the Park operations until the end of 2004. Why he never returned my calls or e-mails to inform me of this remains a mystery. What is even more of a mystery is the strange triumverant of DGI, Grassroots and Action Greensboro. It seems all three have some sort of hand in running Center City Park. Grassroots handles the actual day-to-day stuff, rentals, etc. Action Greensboro sets the price for the park and is in charge of the construction at the park. DGI also has something to do with the construction, etc. I don't really know because no one has really communicated clearly with me who is doing what. Now, we did meet with Betty Cone and the price was adjusted downward by about $250, which was good. Since then, a huge hole has been dug up in the grass area of the park. This also was news to us. We were told the PARKING LOT would be dug up, but not the grass area. The hole has been filled with a gravel-type substance. It is the same material that composes the walk-way around the park. It's very firm, does not sink, and is perfectly serviceable, but it does not look as nice as the green grass that was there previously. Now, it appears that no sod will be laid over this gravel patch. Action Greensboro does not want to spend more money on the Center City Park since they will be tearing it up in June. I asked the rep at Grassroots to find out if they would address our main concern which is, why are we spending more money on Center City Park when A) there is less room than 2004, and B) it is not in the same good condition as 2004. Action Greensboro answered that they will not drop the price and that if we did not want to use Center City Park, we are free to move the event somewhere else. You can almost imagine the newspaper headline: ACTION GREENSBORO TO PBPS: "DROP DEAD." I tactfully replied to the rep at Grassroots that there was no way we could move the event to another park two months out from the date. So, we have the park, and it will be serviceable, and the tent will cover the gravel patch...all will most likely be fine, but the whole ordeal has left a very sour taste in my mouth. Why Action Greensboro would treat a non-profit group who is trying to stage a big event that will attract paying customers to spend an entire day (and night) in downtown Greensboro like this is beyond me. I still support Action Greensboro's long-term plan for the downtown area in general, and Center City Park in particular. But this is bad business, bad PR and it does not auger well for their battle of perception. But, my blues friends, the bottom line is, we're going to have a great Festival. We have an awesome line up, the ticket prices have been reduced to $10 until the end of this month. The advance ticket price from April 1 to May 6 is $5 cheaper than last year. The Day Of ticket price is also $5 cheaper. The park will be more than adequate; the tent will be up, we have great things planned for the Kids Area, we have a new dance area...it's all good. We'll worry about the details. All you have to do is buy advance tickets, show up on May 7 and have a wonderful time. We're doing this for you, the blues lover. We want to give you a chance to experience the best of what blues can be. Every one of us, from the PBPS trustees to the volunteers and helping hands, are giving up family time, working late hours after work, hanging up flyers, calling, planning, e-mailing, lifting, hauling and doing everything we can do produce the highest quality blues event we can. For our labors we are earning exactly nothing. Not one penny of profit. We are doing this because we have to. All of us believe very strongly in promoting and preserving a genre of music that has for too long been relegated to the sidelines of popular culture. The blues are part of our shared American culture. Personally, I will endure a thousand hours of downtown political BS to present this Festival to you. I'm happy to do it. Stay tuned for the next behind-the-scenes peek as the run-up to the 19th Annual Carolina Blues Festival continues! Peace, love and blues to ya! Posted by JAmberg
Welcome to the Blog! Watch this space for a peek behind the scenes at what it takes to put together the Carolina Blues Festival... |
