ROGERS — The Main Street Rogers Board of Directors are considering a number of changes are being for this year's Frisco Festival, including charging to attend the festival.
The festival is scheduled for Aug. 26 and 27.
AT A GLANCE
Festival Changes
Other changes for the 2011 Frisco Festival include:
Adding a Frisco Festival Finance Committee to oversee and make all finance-related decisions.
Having only one music stage at First and Elm streets, eliminating the $10,000 expense for the second stage and sound system.
Modifying the festival layout.
Hiring a part-time festival coordinator to support the festival chairman. The board put $6,000 in the 2011 budget for a coordinator's salary.
Source: Staff Report
Changes are necessary to increase the revenue generated by the festival, according to board members. The goal is to have the festival generate $30,000. The money is needed to fund other projects sponsored by Main Street Rogers.
Board members reviewed a laundry list of changes Monday, including charging admission.
Board member Paul Olinger said he supports charging admission, but isn't sure how to do it. He said he could see charging $1 or $2.
"Admission isn't exactly the right term for what we are proposing," said Lorrie Madden, chairman of the board, because there isn't any feasible way to cordon off the festival area. The festival stretches along First and Second streets, between Walnut and Cherry streets.
"We don't want to put up fences; that sends the wrong message to our residents," Madden said.
Rather than admission, board members want to sell buttons in advance of the festival. The idea is to make the button featuring the festival logo and date something people want to buy and keep as a souvenir.
Purchasing buttons would not be necessary to attend the Frisco Festival.
"We don't know exactly what we are going to do or what the cost will be," Madden said. "Besides selling buttons in advance, we would have people going through the crowd to sell the buttons. We don't want to stop people from attending the festival. Anyone can attend whether they have a button or not."
The board's executive committee will continue to discuss the issue and report back to the full board next month on the admission issue.
Charging admission is not gaining favor in the community, according to one woman.
Lucy Kehmeier, a Rogers native, said charging admission is not going over well with people she knows.
"I've talked to a lot of people and they aren't supportive of charging admission," Kehmeier told Madden after the board meeting.
Kehmeier, who is not a member of Main Street Rogers, said people she talked to said they might not attend if there is admission because it would be too expensive to pay admission, then pay for everything else.
One thing festival-goers can expect is a change in how they pay for food, beverages and rides.
Main Street Rogers will issue scrip which attendees must use to pay for rides, food and beverages. Vendors will redeem the scrip for cash. Main Street will take a percentage of vendor sales. The percentage amount has not been determined.
There will be no free carnival rides this year.
Food and beverage vendors will come from local restaurants and concessionaires; no outside vendors will be invited, said Kerry Jensen, Main Street Rogers executive director.
"There are local vendors that can provide the carnival-type foods, such as funnel cakes, corn dogs and other such fare," Jensen said. "We hope to recruit some local restaurants to set up booths and offer food from their menu."