Wildflower festival briefing: council hears survey results, budget pressures and changes for 2026

City staff presented a detailed update on the Wildflower Arts & Music Festival on March 23, sharing survey results, programming changes for 2026 and an overview of budget pressures that have widened the festival’s subsidy gap.

Yvonne (Parks & Recreation) and Diana Lawrence (Superintendent of Community Events) said staff launched a citywide survey in January that produced 1,885 responses and confirmed that live music, the marketplace and food experiences drive attendance. Staff proposed several 2026 changes: refocusing the children’s area as a family space called "The Grove," adding a silent disco and retro arcade, adjusting headliner start times to increase flow between stages, moving certain performances to different days, and making Sunday general admission free to boost attendance.

Staff also outlined attendance and revenue dynamics: ticket sales, tickets scanned and total attendance are tracked separately; weather and scanning practices affect the numbers. Diana said the city’s entertainment budget for 2026 is approximately $778,000 and that entertainment is the largest driver of increased costs. She warned that attracting larger crowds through higher-profile acts typically requires heavier spending and that radius clauses and competition from regional venues and casinos limit booking options.

Council members pressed for more granular day-by-day revenue/cost estimates, asked whether shifting to two-day or cover-band programming might reduce the subsidy, and discussed marketing strategies to grow paid attendance. Staff said there is capacity to grow ticket sales up to about 15,000 per day but noted that increasing attendance enough to close the subsidy gap would likely require increased entertainment investment or cuts to program elements. Staff will return with post-festival financials and recommendations in June.