City approves Great Wakes Festival

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Porter

April 3, 2012

City approves Great Wakes Festival

BY BRIAN McGILLIVARY bmcgillivary@record-eagle.com The Record Eagle Tue Apr 03, 2012, 07:18 AM EDT

TRAVERSE CITY — The city commission approved the Great Wakes Festival to kick off Traverse City's summer festival season despite worries the city now faces a tidal wave of weekend festival requests.

The commission voted 6 to 1 to approve the joint application from Porterhouse Productions and Bay Area Recycling for Charities to hold a water-themed festival at Traverse City's bayfront Open Space June 1-2.

Several commissioners criticized the festival as a commercial venture and alleged there were misleading statements on the original application from Porterhouse Productions. But commissioners still voted for it because the application met the city policy.

"We can't make this group a victim of our wishes to have a different policy," said Commissioner Mary Ann Moore.

Commissioner Michael Gillman cast the lone no vote, citing concerns about use of public space for a commercial venture.

The festival would feature music, a beer and wine tent, art, a boat show, family activities, educational programs, and a wakeboarding pool jump system as possible event components. Professional wakeboard riders would showcase skills and tricks in an above-ground pool set up for the event.

"We're happy, we're going to work our tails off," said Sam Porter of Porterhouse Productions. "We'll just do a good job and host a simple event."

The city requires a festival to partner with a nonprofit to use public park land, but commissioners weren't appeased by the partnership.

"This organization is purely here for profit hiding between non-profits to take advantage of rules in our policies," said Mayor Michael Estes.

Porter called the festival a Bay Area Recycling for Charities event and said his firm was hired to manage the festival. Porterhouse's past partnerships have had "extremely generous" financial arrangements for the nonprofits, he said.

Attaching a nonprofit to an event does not make it a nonprofit event, said city resident Rick Shimel, a principal in Meridian Entertainment Group, one of the state's largest festival promoters.

"At the end of the day this is a concert and beer operation surrounded by props and activities to make it look more palatable to the city," Shimel wrote in an email to city commissioners. "Most events fall into this category."

Shimel asked the city to reserve the remaining open weekends of June, July, and August for Meridian Entertainment to hold a series of two-day festivals.

"Of course all will surround a concert and beer operation and all will be educational ... and all will have a nonprofit attached," Shimel said.

Neither Shimel nor Meridian Entertainment were immediately available for comment.

Ben Bifoss, city manager, said he believes Shimel's request is serious.

Several of Porter's supporters embraced the idea of weekly festivals.

"Every weekend every day would be just a wonderful thing," said downtown developer Thomas Darga.

City Commissioner Jim Carruthers said festivals that celebrate the local beer and wine industry are part of the economic success of Traverse City.

"Michigan's economy is in the toilet but Traverse City is a shining star," Carruthers said. "We are creating an economy around booze, and we are benefiting from it.

"We are drinking our way to success," he said.