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Heritage & Freedom Fest staff detail revenues, deposits and cost-saving partnerships
Summary
Staff summarized Heritage & Freedom Fest revenue and expense breakdowns, clarified a prior typo that affected reported outstanding amounts, explained the division of costs across production and fireworks accounts, and detailed a deposit strategy to secure headline artists for 2026.
OCVB staff presented a detailed accounting of Heritage & Freedom Fest finances on Oct. 22, clarifying earlier figures and explaining the mechanics of deposits and account usage to secure artists and production services.
Jennifer said the festival works across two accounts: account 260 (production/entertainment) and account 110 (fireworks and production support). She acknowledged a previous typographical error in a reported outstanding amount and said corrected figures were provided. The presentation outlined usual expense categories — artist contracts, sound and lighting, generators, fencing and logistics — and noted that staff sometimes place deposit funds in advance to increase the likelihood of securing preferred artists. "So 50,000 of it, was a 2024 deposit for '25 and then the final payment for the 2025 artists," Jennifer explained.
She said the festival realized savings this year through a partnership with Apache Village that reduced costs by approximately $6,000. Board members asked for continued transparency on line-item spend and for follow-up documentation; staff agreed to provide corrected statements and to bring any midyear budget amendment requests back to the board.
Next steps: staff to supply corrected financial statements, identify any required midyear adjustments and return with recommendations if additional funding or reallocation is needed.
