Hi Blues Fans!
Happy October! This would have been the weekend of my Flagstaff Oktoberfest event. It’s a little bittersweet as it’s supposed to be 78 this weekend which would have been amazing! We would have had record attendance and I probably would have sold more beer than ever before. Instead I’m planning on where I should hike this weekend.
September was filled with ups and downs. We celebrated a lot of birthdays – mine, my dad, my best friend, my aunt, my boyfriend and my dog! But we also lost another family member to cancer. I would love to scream F*$! CANCER at the top of my lungs. Such an ugly and unfair disease.
On to festival news. I honestly don’t know what to think. Our city is still at events under 250 people, and 6 feet apart with masks required. I just read that a large festival in Tennessee is moving to the Fall of 2021 because they just don’t think we will be back to normal in June of 2021. I’m planning but cautiously. I’m trying to talk with my City and County leaders about what the next steps are but the reality is we just don’t know. I don’t know how I can put on our festival socially distanced. I’ve seen examples and the labor involved, not to mention reducing capacity. This isn’t practical for a music festival.
I’m going to forge ahead knowing March 1st will be the decision on whether we can move forward or not. I have always been open and honest, and I won’t stop now. I am going to contact all my vendors, logistics teams, sponsors and artists to put this event on June 11th and 12th 2021. I’m simply being smart about contracts, and deposits. I spent a lot of money this year for Blues and I can’t afford to do that again. I also don’t think people will be as understanding with deposits as they were this year. So just bear with me, and know if I can hold this festival the way we’ve always done it, I will!
I’ve recently gotten some nasty comments about cancelling Oktoberfest. I don’t want to cancel a festival, this is my passion as well as livelihood.. But these decisions are completely out of my hands. Not only is the City not permitting events but the Liquor Department isn’t giving special event permits. So no venue and no beer – sounds horrible, right?
Let’s play a game… I want you to email me what your DREAM Blues lineup would be. You’ve got 4 slots for Friday and 6 slots for Saturday… who would you put in as your dream lineup? I can’t wait to hear what everyone says!
Take care, enjoy the Fall weather (unless you’re in Phoenix and then you’re screwed, because it’s still over 100 degrees), and we’ll chat again in November!
Jen
