Festival hits right note

By DAVID GUNTER

Feature correspondent

SANDPOINT – The last notes of a memorable concert series have drifted away over Lake Pend Oreille, marking the end of the Festival at Sandpoint 2016 season.

By any measure, the two-week slate of shows more than cleared the bar this year, striking a balance between ticket sales and merchandise, sponsorships and donations, and the “profit centers” such as bar sales and chair rentals that, taken together, keep this cultural boat afloat.

“Thumbs way up,” said executive director Dyno Wahl, when asked for a post-season review. “We had three shows that exceeded our expectations – Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ben Harper and Emmy Lou Harris – and only two shows that didn’t perform as well as we wanted to as far as ticket sales, which were Railroad Earth and Angelique Kidjo.

“But that fact was overridden by the artistic success of those same two shows,” she added. “That, to me, brings people back, because it enforces that every night is going to be great.”

The event was further buoyed by a surprisingly strong turnout on opening night for Bruce Hornsby and solid attendance for the pair of Sunday classical music performances, she listed.

The Festival’s non-profit status and the nature of its business model means that multiple moving pieces must be considered every year the event is mounted at Memorial Field. That interaction became glaringly obvious during the recent recession, when the emphasis shifted to ticket sales after corporate sponsorships and large donations dropped precipitously for several years running.

But depending too heavily on any one slice of this business pie makes for a rocky ride. Fortunately, audiences continued to support the series through the down times and this year, their continued attendance helped to strike a balance that resulted in smooth sailing.

In combination with the gate, the Festival came in under budget for artist fees and attracted a longer than average list of 70 sponsors and 60 patrons, according to Wahl.

“It was a record year for sponsorships,” she said. “People have been very generous.

“That support keeps the Festival the special event that it is,” she went on. “We could jack up our ticket prices, but our mission is to keep it affordable. We price tickets at a break-even level and the support we get makes it possible for us to do that.”

A 2012 University of Idaho College of Business economic impact study pointed to a nice spike in dollars flowing through the community during The Festival at Sandpoint’s August run – close to $2 million in direct impact for those two weeks, plus another half-million dollars in accommodations each year. Additionally, the study found that 25 jobs exist throughout the region because of the Festival and calculated that the average visitor who comes here for the event spends about $65 on dining and another $50 on shopping per day.

“Part of the support that we get is in acknowledgment of that (economic impact),” the executive director said. “A rising tide floats all boats – and the boats are floatin’ when the Festival is on.”

This year marked an interesting convergence of activities, with the two-week window also populated by other large, local events. In total, the busy chunk of summer likely took the economic impact up another notch or two.

“You had the POAC Arts & Crafts Fair, the Long Bridge Swim, the Bonner County Fair – town was really sizzling,” said Wahl.

The director views the full menu of local events as being complementary, given their distinct offerings and mostly non-conflicting schedules. Competition has, however, cropped up on another front – that of concert venues around the region that vie for music lovers’ discretionary spending.

“We had been the only show in town, as far as live, outdoor music,” Wahl said. “Now there are concerts coming to the casinos and more shows in places like Missoula and Spokane. We spend more money on advertising than we used to, because people have to think about how they spend those entertainment dollars. It’s harder than it used to be.”

Even so, the Festival has an edge when held up against the regional competition. For example, sitting in rows of folding chairs on a concrete slab doesn’t quite cut it after you’ve experienced the comfort of your own blanket on the grass by the lake. Beyond that, the Festival’s policy of allowing personal food and beverage to be brought in and its host of culinary choices along Festival Street place it in stark contrast with other concert venues.

“I’ve been to a lot of outdoor concerts where they don’t let you bring anything in and there’s one food vendor that sells ‘fair food,’” said Wahl. “At the Festival, you can bring your own food and wine or buy a different gourmet dinner every night.”

Although the concert series has some history behind it – 2016 marked the 34th season – annual evolution seems to be part of the process. This summer, the event incorporated input from a group of “neighborhood consultants” who live nearby, coming up with the one-way traffic plan in front of the venue, a revised line location that abated noise from people waiting overnight for the next day’s show and a decision to embrace the fact that, even though Lakeview Park doesn’t officially fall under the Festival footprint, folks do gather there to listen to the music from outside the gates and they do leave stuff behind.

“So this year, we sent our Green Team out to the park and the periphery of the neighborhood to pick up trash after each show,” said Wahl, adding that the idea came from a concerned neighbor who suggested the solution. “We’re very open to constructive criticism and things people feel would make the Festival better, including bands we should have on stage. If we’re able to act on it, we will.”

Wahl is always ready for a shout-out to the team that makes the event tick, naming her office staff of Carol Winget and Toni Fournier Lund, as well as Dave Nygren and Paul Gunter, who run things on the field. She becomes even more vocal in her support of the volunteers who cover everything from running the two bars to renting chairs, taking tickets, providing backstage hospitality and making sure things run smoothly when a couple thousand or more people arrive for the shows.

“As we draw larger crowds from a wider area, the volunteers’ work becomes more challenging,” the executive director said. “They’re doing a job that would be a paid position at most events.”

With its brief but high profile each year, the Festival just might be the region’s best-known magnet for Sandpoint. But what sticks with visitors, according to Wahl, is the area itself.

“It’s not just The Festival at Sandpoint that’s magic, it’s the lake, the mountains, the shops and restaurants,” she said. “It’s Sandpoint – the Festival is just part of that magic.

“People want to come here because there’s nothing like it,” she added. “And they feel like The Festival at Sandpoint is a little secret garden they’ve discovered.”

To learn more about The Festival at Sandpoint’s history and year-round community involvement, visit online at festivalatsandpoint.com.