[Dixielandjazz] Victoria Jazz Festival

[Len Nielsen]

It was gratifying to hear from so many people who have been to Victoria 
and who not only enjoyed the festival but have good memories from it. 
Also, to hear from others who are concerned about OKOM in general and 
therefore regret Victoria's misfortune.

Kurt...I can only kind of half answer your question because I don't have 
access to the thinking of the local business community. The President 
and driving force behind the original concept for Victoria and also the 
  year to year production is Lorne White. As a young man he served as 
Pres. of the Junior Chamber of Commerce and some years following this he 
became the Pres. of the Senior body. He has always been exceptionally 
capable and subsequently was hired as the business manager for the 
Chamber. It was in this capacity that he sold the community on the 
festival as a way of bringing in new business at a time of year not 
regularly considered tourist season. He has the confidence of the 
community and in the past has been able to convince them of the benefits 
of the festival. I should hope they can see those benefits for 
themselves. So what happens now?? Does the community need a year off to 
actually count their loss of business revenue from this failure?? I hope 
that the answer will be a new start in 2005.

I would estimate from their reported revenue loss of $70,000.00 that 
this represents about a 700 person drop in attendance. The average 
attendance was probably around 3000 annually making it a 25%  approx. 
decrease in one year. It may be that 21 years of effort have taken their 
toll and that the events of 2003 have brought them to the breaking 
point. I sincerely hope not.

Len Nielsen






Kurt wrote;
I'd be interested in knowing what the reaction from the Victoria business
community / Chamber of Commerce is to the festival cancellation.  Are they
stepping up with solutions to the reason(s) for the cancellation, or do they
even care?  Do they see the cancellation of the festival as a hit on the
local economy (unbooked hotel rooms, empty restaurants, etc.)?