Back to the Streets...Hoo-Ray!!

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SpringFest goes back to its roots - the streets
Bushwacker music team takes over three-day music festival

December 14, 2004
TroyMoon@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

The Florida SpringFest -- Pensacola's downtown three-day musical celebration -- moves back to the streets after last year's stop at the Pensacola Civic Center. And it could cost much less to attend than in previous years.

The 15th annual SpringFest will take place May 20-22 on Spring Street and adjoining downtown streets, said Tom Carmichael, general manager for Quietwater Entertainment Inc., which will produce the 2005 festival.

"We are honored, excited and absolutely committed to bringing the Florida SpringFest back to the streets in 2005," Carmichael said Monday at a news conference. "It is a tradition, and it is Pensacola's musical celebration."

Quietwater Entertainment Inc. operates the Bushwacker Music Festival on Pensacola Beach and manages the popular Jubilee Restaurant as well as the Capt'n Fun Beach Club and Capt'n Fun DownTown.

Last year, SpringFest was managed by SMG, the management firm that runs the Civic Center. The 2004 event attracted about 15,000 over the three-day event -- down from 70,000 in 2003 -- and lost a significant amount of money, said Sandy Aaron, SMG regional general manager.

SMG and the SpringFest board had a one-year agreement, and both sides called the decision to part ways "mutual.'' Before 2004, SpringFest was always on outdoor stages in downtown Pensacola.

Although acts have not yet been announced, Carmichael released several details Monday:

· Ticket prices will be lower in hopes of raising attendance. Last year, a single-day pass was $30, while a three-day pass was $45. Single-day ticket prices for 2005 should be in the $10 to $12 range, Carmichael said, while weekend passes will be "a much better deal.''

· The 2005 SpringFest will have three outdoor stages, featuring national and regional acts.

· Festival hours will be cut on Saturday morning and early afternoon. In recent years, crowds have waited until late afternoon to arrive on Saturday, and Carmichael said costs can be controlled by cutting performance times that are poorly attended.

Quietwater Entertainment has an agreement with the SpringFest board to produce the festival for three years.

"This was not an event that was dropped on us,'' Carmichael said. "We asked for it. And we intend to have a bigger and better festival than ever."
©The Pensacola News Journal
December 14, 2004

[iceangel]

I have been looking for this post all day! I was in a hurry when I posted, and posted on the wrong forum. Sorry!!