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Corn Palace board readies festival, seeks volunteers and launches public-art project
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Summary
At a Crown Palace Entertainment Board meeting, staff reported final festival preparations — volunteer staffing, a busy farmers market, mural contractor bids and an 'Inside Out' public-art installation with Invest in Our Lands — and the board voted to approve the agenda and minutes and to enter executive session.
The Crown Palace Entertainment Board on an evening meeting in Mitchell approved its agenda and minutes and heard a director's report laying out final preparations for the upcoming Corn Palace festival, including volunteer assignments, farmers market updates, mural contract bids and a temporary public-art installation by Invest in Our Lands.
The report from the Director emphasized timing and staffing needs as the city moves into “the fast times of festival.” The Director said, “We're in the fast times of festival, so we're, all all cylinders pointing to that direction,” and described recent events, vendor counts and contractor outreach for mural work at the Corn Palace.
Why it matters: the festival drives local attendance and vendor activity, requires significant volunteer staffing for ticketing and gate control, and involves temporary public-art installations applied to municipal property. The board's decisions and staff arrangements determine how the event operates and which community partners are visible during the festival.
Board and staff highlighted vendor and schedule details. The Director reported the prior Saturday’s farmers market had 12 vendors present, with two regular vendors absent; “had they been, we would have been at 14,” the Director said. The Director identified the last regular farmers market date as Sept. 27 and reiterated that market hours are typically 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Saturdays.
On facilities and equipment, staff said auditorium chairs will be removed following the festival and that the old seating is listed for sale on Purple Wave, with limited interest to date. A contractor named Rexwinkel is scheduled to remove chairs “currently through the nineteenth,” the Director said, and chair replacement work is planned to begin the Monday after the festival.
Staff reported outreach to mural contractors: four local firms met with staff and a request for quote was issued; interested firms were asked to return bids by Friday. The Director said the meetings involved staffers Jeff and Joe Schroeder to “better understand what it would take to go on the building.”
Volunteer needs were emphasized for concert nights. The Director said the board needs ticket taker scanners, ID bracelet attendants, and gate or door monitors for each concert night and provided sign-up instructions for board members, staff and community volunteers. Doors for performances will open to the public between about 6:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; on most nights staff expect to begin seating and ticket checking around 6:15–6:30 p.m. and to be staffed through roughly 7:30 p.m.
The board also approved a temporary public-art project produced by Invest in Our Lands and an Outside-In/Inside Out project team: staff described 24-by-36-inch rice-paste headshots of farmers that will be pasted on the brick facade at ground level and near the bandstand for the festival and remain through Labor Day; the pictures will wash off in heavy rain and staff said they will remove the paste after the display ends. The Director said the group previously ran similar installations at other festivals and will do an on-site kickoff with invited farmers and the mayor before the late show on Friday.
Staff said the project team has contacted current and past corn growers and invited early photos for inclusion; 401-create (referred to in the meeting as LifeQuest) and local nonprofit partners were mentioned as potential helpers with community outreach and installation.
Votes at a glance - Approval of the meeting agenda — motion and second recorded; outcome: approved (vote recorded as “aye”; no roll-call tally provided). - Approval of minutes from the previous meeting — motion and second recorded; outcome: approved (vote recorded as “aye”; no roll-call tally provided). - Motion to enter executive session — motion and second recorded; outcome: approved (members named on the record as saying “aye” included Geo, Jim and Tim).
The meeting then moved into executive session; no substantive details of the executive session were discussed on the public record.
Less critical details: staff noted a small number of trophies to pick up for a children's pedal-pull event and that Performance Pet (a sponsor) and other local businesses had been asked to consider providing volunteer shifts. The Director said tickets can be printed for board volunteers who wish to remain near the perimeter while on duty.
