Little Rock's Riverfest music festival suspended after 40 years

Crowds gather at Riverfest in downtown Little Rock on Sunday, June 5, 2016.
Crowds gather at Riverfest in downtown Little Rock on Sunday, June 5, 2016.

The Riverfest music festival held annually on the banks of the Arkansas River in Little Rock will be suspended, the event's board said Tuesday.

“We can no longer deliver the experience that Riverfest fans have come to expect,” said DeAnna Korte, the festival’s executive director, in the statement. “Rising costs of performers’ fees, coupled with a greater number of competing festivals around the country are the underlying factors leading to this decision.”

The festival has been celebrated in central Arkansas for 40 years, the release said. At its height, the festival hosted more than 250,000 attendees with an economic footprint of $33 million, the board said.

“For a nonprofit like Riverfest, it’s about income vs. expenses,” Korte stated. “We are a very small market, and there are larger music festivals surrounding us. ... It’s hard for a nonprofit to compete in a growing market of for-profit festivals, which are driving up prices and making it difficult to secure artists.”

Korte also cited the event's budget as a reason for shuttering the festival.

Riverfest through the years

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“Our entire budget is $2.6 million,” Korte stated. “That may sound like a lot, but in the world of music festivals, it is a shoestring budget."

It cost $300,000 to run two stages, $200,000 for security, $60,000 to fence the perimeter and $30,000 to clean the grounds, the board said. Cost-cutting efforts over the past two years trimmed $300,000 from the budget but was not enough to prevent shutting down the event, the release said.

Another reason for the suspension was unpredictable weather, the release said. It's an outdoor event, so planners “are always at the mercy of the weather for most of the revenue,” Korte said.

In an attempt to stave off closure, the Riverfest board created a complementary festival, Springfest, as a free, family-focused event. In 2016, the board decided to move the days-long festival away from Memorial Day weekend to increase attendance. Springfest is also now suspended.

“With our bills paid, and our heads held high, we are closing the doors,” Riverfest board member Cheddy Wigginton said in the statement. Wigginton served two terms as board chairman.

Director gives thanks, hopes for eventual return

In a phone interview, Korte thanked the Little Rock Police Department as well as the Pulaski County sheriff's office and other law enforcement agencies for keeping people safe at the festival for the past four decades.

She noted said that violent crime in Little Rock was not a contributing factor to suspending the festival. Security costs haven't risen in recent years, she said, but $60,000 is “just what it costs to keep over 150,000 people safe.”

Korte said the board realized the finances for the festival might not bear out long term after it suffered a big loss in 2015. The following year, the event broke even, and the board “felt good about where we were,” she said.

“But when you had consistent losses like that, as a nonprofit, it makes it difficult to climb back up,” she said.

Korte said the loss of the annual event will be felt by those who volunteered to make it happen. More than 2,500 people volunteered to run the festival last year, 250 people were on the planning committee, 30 people were on the board, and three people were on staff, she said.

As for the possibility of the music celebration returning, on a smaller scale, in the future, Korte said “we'll wait and see what comes."

"My hope would be that somewhere down the road, hopefully the festival can resurrect and come back,” she said.

Reaction to suspension

Joe David Rice, tourism director for the state Parks and Tourism Department, said he was “stunned like anybody else” when he got the news. Riverfest is an “iconic event” that he grew up with, which started a time when there weren't many entertainment opportunities in central Arkansas, Rice said.

Riverfest was beloved, he said, and it filled up hotels in Little Rock and North Little Rock. Though the annual event will be missed, there are other burgeoning music venues in El Dorado and northern Arkansas that will “pick up the slack,” Rice said.

“We'll miss Riverfest, but I sure don't think its the end of the world,” he said.

[RELATED COVERAGE: Business owners in Little Rock's River Market District mourn loss of Riverfest]

The festival marked the beginning of Little Rock summers for generations of families, Mayor Mark Stodola said in a statement.

“It is part of the arts and culture that makes our home a wonderful place to live. ... My hope is that a new group of citizens will pick up the torch they are leaving behind and start a new endeavor reflecting music as an important element of our city,” Stodola said.

Riverfest's 40-year run created a “significant economic impact” in central Arkansas, Gretchen Hall, president of the Little Rock Convention & Visitors Bureau, said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, mid-market music festivals are becoming a dying industry with approximately 10 established festivals folding in the last two years,” she said.

Riverfest history

The impetus of the festival came in August 1978 when the Junior League of Little Rock brought the American Wind Symphony to the capital city. It was originally dubbed the Summer Arts Festival and held at Murray Park.

The next year, the name was changed to Riverfest, and the current logo was drawn up. As the annual event grew more popular, the merriment was moved in 1982 to the Convention Center Plaza on Markham Street, the release said. Riverfest then expanded along the banks of the Arkansas River in Julius Breckling Riverfront Park and onto the North Little Rock shore. In 2009, the event encompassed the Clinton Presidential Park and library.

In total, Riverfest contributed more than $1 million in proceeds back to local projects, the release said. One dollar from every ticket was donated to the city of Little Rock.

“The festival played a vital role as an organization helping the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock work together to make Arkansas a better place to live and work,” the release said.

Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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