CAREFREE TRUTH
Carefree Truth #337
Carefree Truth
Issue #337, August 1, 2014
Mayor David Schwan asked Gary Neiss about the collections from the Thunderbird Artists (TBA) festivals last year. Mr. Neiss replied that it was around $12,000. Councilman Marty Saltzman asked if anyone was tracking the trends, wanting to know if the TBA festivals were getting larger in terms of patrons or shrinking. Judi Combs, owner of TBA, said traffic has gone down. Mr. Saltzman asked if Mrs. Combs' patron numbers were down in locations other than Carefree. Mrs. Combs explained that Carefree is an established venue and that the younger shows take time to build, but that traffic has been down in all. She said the Scottsdale show last October suffered due to a heat wave.
Mr. Saltzman summarized that Scottsdale doesn't have an established track record, and that Surprise had a good turn-out, but not one like Carefree. Mr. Saltzman pointed out that Mrs. Combs read out permit fees for towns in which she doesn't hold shows, and she said they were read for the sake of comparison. Councilman Mike Farrar wondered if the other towns were closing their streets for shows. Councilman Glenn Miller said that fees charged to vendors go strictly into the marketing fund and are used to market every event and promoter, including TV coverage. Mr. Neiss confirmed that.
Vice Mayor Les Peterson stated that fees are off-sets for sales tax that isn't charged. Mayor Schwan said sales tax is collected for items that remain in Arizona, per state law, but many buy art at shows and ship it out of state. Mrs. Combs clarified that the artists, not TBA, are responsible for collecting sales tax, and agreed that many patrons are from out of state.
Mr. Farrar said it is easy to tell when a TBA festival is being held because of all the cars parked along the sides of the streets. They are popular and long standing events. With the exception of bad weather conditions, he said it seems to be a "seller". Having worked TBA shows, he's seen the number and type of visitors, and he didn't think an extra $1 ticket price would be a burden to them. He felt that is where Mrs. Combs should be spending her attention, and thinking of other ways to decrease her expenses, rather than looking to Carefree, which is already co-promoting TBA. As there is also an impact to the Town, he said it is quite unfair to not have anyone else shoulder this burden. The Carefree shows are so successful and popular that they are "almost on auto pilot."
Mrs. Combs replied that TBA holds fine art shows, rather than craft fairs, which brings artists in and helps increase sales tax revenue. It is an asset to the Town. Many TBA artists travel. They are not working just with the locals. Some artists are becoming unwilling to travel now due to the expense. Mr. Farrar asked how far in advance the artists plan their itineraries. Mrs. Combs said TBA starts sending out applications in May, and that quality artists are committed well in advance. But beginning at the time of the economic downturn, more artists are doing shows closer to their homes because they can't afford to travel.
Mr. Saltzman said, "Thunderbird Artists is not a charitable organization, it's for-profit, correct?" Mrs. Combs confirmed it is for-profit and that the charity is the Carefree/Cave Creek Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Miller said he talks to the artists at all the shows, and they tell him Carefree is "the perfect real estate". Most say they do well here. The population has money, the festival is long established, and the Town has the beautiful Gardens. "Bottom line, 25% is the cost of doing business. What the artists pay is their cost of doing business." He pointed out that they are not paying rent and overhead like the local merchants.
Vice Mayor Peterson reminded Mrs. Combs that she held up U.S. Air's magazine as an example of her promotional efforts. On a flight from Seattle to Salt Lake City, or one from Buffalo to Ft. Lauderdale, it would have little impact here in Carefree. Mrs. Combs responded that patrons have told artists that they saw the ad for the show on U.S. Air. But she knows she has to look again at advertising venues. The Vice Mayor pointed out that they are expensive dollars. He went on to say that while TBA festivals are overall positive for the Town, they can have a negative affect on some of the merchants due to blocked access. It becomes a trade off. It's not 100/0. Mrs. Combs replied that there are also merchants who like the show. "You're never going to please everyone all the time."
Mrs. Combs said she had hoped that Carefree would consider the 15%, but it didn't look like it was going in that direction. Mr. Farrar repeated that he supports the shows, but feels there are other ways to sharpen the pencil to decrease the burden without looking to Carefree's treasury. He felt that raising the ticket price by $1, from $3 to $4, was a good start, stating that it was a fraction of what he would spend for several hours of entertainment in a day. Mrs. Combs said the Mayor had mentioned that too.
Mr. Miller suggested that keeping the wine consumption in the Pavilion, where most of the wineries and the tables and chairs were located, could save significant costs for fencing and security. Mrs. Combs said that people want to stroll around the show sipping their wine, that it adds to the ambience. They tried containment and received complaints.
Mayor Schwan asked Mrs. Combs if she wanted to go forward. Mrs. Combs said they spent 22 years building the Carefree shows and she doesn't want to walk away. She was hoping for acceptance of 15%, but if the Council insisted on 25%, she would acquiesce.
Mayor Schwan noted there was one slip to speak from the public, and called me to the podium. I said I was in complete agreement with Councilman Farrar. Thunderbird holds wonderful events. The quality and expense of the art in the shows are high, which attracts patrons with money, and $1 more for a ticket is not going to discourage them from attending. "What's $4? That's a cocktail." Everyone started laughing and asking where they could get that $4 cocktail. I observed that it's obviously been a long time since I bought I cocktail. But my gaffe did provide comic relief for the meeting. I agreed that raising the ticket price slightly was a good suggestion.
I also pointed out that there are many cost effective advertising options on the Internet, and said that Kim Prince, owner of Proven Media, uses Internet advertising and Facebook to great advantage when doing the PR for the Carefree Christmas Festival. My husband Herbert makes videos using photos he takes at the Christmas Festival, and Mrs. Prince puts them on the Facebook page. They get around 800 hits. Mrs. Prince swears by Facebook. It has become a "must" for businesses.
Mr. Miller made a motion to approve the TBA festivals with the Town getting their historic cut of 25% from the gate fees. Mr. Farrar seconded the motion. Vice Mayor Peterson reiterated that TBA should look at raising the ticket prices to $4 and reducing their promotional costs. Mayor Schwan said they are good suggestions but that it is up to TBA to decide how to conduct their business.
Town attorney Mike Wright interjected that the contract in hand specifies that the Town receive 15%. Mr. Saltzman asked if it required an additional meeting to make that change. Mayor Schwan asked if the change could be handwritten into the contract and initialed by Mrs. Combs to satisfy the legal concern. Mr. Wright agreed that would work. With Council members Melissa Price and John Crane absent, the motion passed 4-1, with Councilman Saltzman voting no.
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
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