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Commissioners question permit allowing Festival of Colors to charge entry in Pembroke Park
Summary
Commissioners raised concerns about a private organization’s permit to stage a Festival of Colors in the town park and charge a $5 per-person park fee; staff said the organizer is a Florida not-for-profit and that county tourism funds partially support the event.
Commissioners debated a permit for a Festival of Colors event scheduled for March 15 at the town park after at least one commissioner said the permit allows the organizer to charge a $5 park fee and to sell VVIP parking for $50 and VIP parking for $20.
Commissioner Jacobs said town parks are public and should not be closed to the public or monetized without commission review; she said the permit to “rent out our entire city park” had not come before the commission and raised concerns about charging residents to use a public park. Other commissioners and staff described the event as a long-running county-sponsored cultural event produced by Diva Arts Incorporated, which staff later confirmed is registered with the state as a Florida not-for-profit corporation and receives some county and state funding.
Town staff and the event’s organizers described the event as family-focused, with vendors, free activities for children (including foam trucks and other programming) and cultural performances; the organizer reportedly spends about $20,000 to stage the event and sought to control congestion and staging by limiting parking in certain areas and creating a VIP area for performers and costume changes. Staff said last year some attendees entered the event area without paying, which contributed to the organizer’s request for managed access.
The town attorney said there is no statutory prohibition on these types of events and noted that some other municipalities have code provisions prohibiting revenue-generating uses of public parks. Commissioners asked staff to make future similar permits come before the commission so elected officials can review terms such as whether the public can still use the park during an event, parking impacts, and how any fees are used.
No formal vote to rescind or block the event was recorded; staff said the event has a permit and that organizers have used county tourism funding in prior years. Commissioners asked the manager to review the permitting process and to bring similar requests forward in advance.
