Festivals Galore

We better get those PR flacks working soon. Norma Coleman can't do everything. Windsor's flyer for the upcoming meeting as shown above is a disgrace. It's not on the website yet although the meeting is coming up shortly. We need to see Eddie's smiling face for heaven's sake! Where's the branding after all!

It's not Festival Epicure or the Buskers Festival that tens of thousands of people attend including families. It's "the next great gathering of ROTCC in June in Windsor, Canada and the host is the Honorable Eddie Francis, the Mayor." It is Eddie's Latest Festival Extravaganza!

ROTCC is

• "The River of Trade Corridor Coalition (ROTCC), created in the fall of 2004, spans nine states as it travels along a 3,300 mile-long corridor. The Coalition unites cities, counties, transportation authorities, freight movement entities, and businesses along its route. The Corridor moves from the western gateway of Asian trade at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, traveling east then northeast across California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michian and into Windsor, Ontario, the Eastern gateway to the United States' largest trading partner, Canada."

What a grand festival it will be. Perfect for families I am sure. Surprisingly, we have not heard to much about it. If only we had those $250K PR flacks to brand Eddie errrrrr Windsor.

I wonder how much if anything that the City is paying for this event. In the session at Los Angeles in March, "All meals and touring costs after arrival will be paid for by your hosts. Meeting attendees will pay for air travel, shuttle to and from the hotel, and hotel accommodations." Was this set out in our Operating Budget?

It has to cost many thousands of taxpayer dollars I am sure and for what benefit. I wonder if Councillors are attending or even know about it.

Oh and speaking about the Buskers Festival...something does not add up. Do you remember the reason given why it was cancelled:

• "We found ourselves in a position where we did not have everything in place that we needed to, at a critical point," said Jan Wilson, director of recreation...
  
  According to Wilson, the resources in the department that took care of those things in past years were occupied this year by other major projects -- particularly the new Windsor hockey arena.
  
  "We found ourselves stretched a little thin," Wilson said."

Yet there is a CAO approval that says that the City was to enter into an Agreement with Windfest Productions (Kenneth Brandes) to produce the Festival. What gives? If he was to do the work then what did the City have to do? How could they be stretched thin?

Ken Brandes is an interesting guy. Remember he puts on Festival Epicure. It brings 30,000 people downtown. Hmmmm Something strange is going on. Back in March, Jan said

• "Regarding Brandes's comment about lack of support [for Festival Epicure], Wilson said she doesn't think it was directed at the city, citing an e-mail of gratitude Brandes sent Windsor Parks and Recreation for the department's help over the years...
  
  "We support festivals as much as we can, through helping to facilitate their needs as far as municipal services.
  
  "We can't provide financial support, but we do provide support in ensuring things are put in place that are needed."
  
  Wilson said the city-run Windsor International Busker Festival isn't affected by the announcement."

Not a word then about a problem with the Buskers. What happened so quickly afterwards to change things especially since the arena is delayed!

I must admit that the Mayor did not seem too concerned about Festival Epicure dying:

• "Although Windsor's popular Festival Epicure may be cancelled this summer due to lack of sponsorship, some residents and local businesses have expressed an interest in creating a "new and different" food festival, Mayor Eddie Francis said Sunday.
  
  Francis said he wasn't overly concerned that the spirit of the successful food and drink festival won't be revived in some other form since Epicure's executive producer, Ken Brandes, announced Friday the withdrawal of the event's title sponsor, the Windsor- Detroit Tunnel.
  
  "I've received several indications from people who are interested in stepping in to do some type of similar festival," Francis said.
  
  But Brandes said the mayor should direct those offers of help to him so that he can revive Festival Epicure, which has been drawing thousands of visitors over the past 12 years.
  
  "If Mayor Francis is getting calls from people interested, with resources to run a festival, I'd hope that he would direct them to me because all I need to run this festival is sponsors," he said.
  
  "I would think that, as the mayor of the city, he would want to see the cornerstone of the summer festivals keep going."

Why imagine if Ken lost both Festival Epicure and the Buskers Festival. Would Eddie's unknown "residents and local businesses" be asked to run both festivals the following year.

Now here's an interesting co-incidence too. The date of the approval for the Buskers under the CAO notice is April 3. On April 2, the City's "enemies" the Ambassador Bridge and DRTP united in "an improbable partnership to sponsor the [Festival Epicure] event" and presented a cheque in the amount of $35,000 to Ken. This was to replace the funds contributed by the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel in the past.

Another interesting co-incidence....Festival Epicure was going to be cancelled in the last minute due to the "late withdrawal of its title sponsor." The Buskers was cancelled in the last minute too, several weeks before its start. Almost too late to save Epicure. Too late to save Buskers.

It's too much for me to figure out. Perhaps you, dear reader, can make sense of all of this.

Meanwhile I am going to see if I can register for that new ROTCC Festival. The price is right!