Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Festivals Events topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Speaker urges Ennis to invest in festivals, praises longtime organizer Becky McCarty
Summary
Jeff Krebs told the Ennis City Commission that large, successful regional festivals require substantial budgets and staff, citing Lewisville and Fort Worth figures and praising Becky McCarty for producing many Ennis events on a modest budget.
Ennis — At the Oct. 1 meeting of the Ennis City Commission, local resident Jeff Krebs urged the city to learn from larger municipalities about funding and staffing for festivals and to support longtime event organizer Becky McCarty.
Krebs, of 1103 Mount Vernon Street, told commissioners that large regional events can require significant investment: he said Lewisville’s two-day Western Days that draws about 30,000 people spends roughly $900,000, Wildflower spends about $2,000,000, and Fort Worth Main Street spends nearly $1,500,000 on its programming. By contrast, he said, Ennis has managed many events on a smaller budget and that McCarty has been the city’s "unicorn" organizer who has rallied sponsors and a volunteer team to produce multiple annual events on about $100,000.
"She's rallied a team of supporters. She's rallied a team of sponsors. She's led a creative effort," Krebs said, and added, "I'm disappointed in how you guys have treated Becky McCarty." He urged commissioners to consider the human and financial resources required to produce larger events.
Mayor Rayburn acknowledged the comment but reminded the public that the commission cannot answer questions raised during the public comment period and directed staff to follow up outside the meeting.
What’s next: Krebs said he hoped the commission’s recent outreach (including a visit to Lewisville) would inform local planning for larger festivals; the commission did not take formal action during the meeting.
