[Dixielandjazz] New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

[TCASHWIGG at aol.com]

Sure Glad I went to French Quarter Festival the week before.

Cheers,

Tom Wiggins


NEW ORLEANS (AP) -— The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival took in far 
less money than expected this year, so the foundation which oversees it has laid 
off half its small staff and may have to cut back on charity giving. 

Final reports aren't in. But the festival took in about $600,000 to $900,000 
less than expected, according to a preliminary report from Festival 
Productions Inc. 

"It's the first time since the '70s that revenues have not exceeded 
expenditures," Jazz Fest associate producer Louis Edwards said. He said the festival 
spent about $10 million this year. 

The nonprofit Jazz and Heritage Foundation, which oversees the festival, has 
laid off four staffers and cut salaries for the remaining four employees, said 
Byron Hughey, foundation treasurer. 

Festival Productions, which the foundation hires to roll out Jazzfest each 
year, also has been asked to reduce costs. It is expected to cut a week or more 
from the normal 10-month work schedule of some of the more than 90 seasonal 
employees whose salaries it pays. 

To keep its status as a nonprofit foundation, the foundation gives more than 
$1 million a year to other groups and activities. They include jazz workshops 
in public schools, radio station WWOZ, jazz funerals for musicians and the Don 
Jamison Heritage School of Music, which provides music instruction to middle 
and junior high school students. 

No decisions have been made regarding specific cuts, Hughey said. 

David Oestreicher II, first vice president of the foundation's governing 
board, said the foundation has not yet received a report detailing the precise 
shortfall from Jazzfest, one of the foundation's three revenue sources, but the 
$600,000-plus estimate is in the ballpark. It has a number of causes, including 
storms or gloomy weather on four of the festival's seven days. The Sept. 11, 
2001, terrorist attacks still limit the number of international visitors who 
attend, he said. Edwards said the Iraq war buildup also has discouraged travel. 


Festival proceeds are the chief source of revenue for the foundation, 
followed by the foundation's annual gala and by grants. 

The amount of money for "special programs" could be cut substantially based 
on what the final figures show, Hughey said. Such programs include hiring a 
police escort for neighborhood second-line parades, contributing money to 
neighborhood music festivals and paying for jazz funerals. 

Cuts to "budgeted programs" — activities principally financed by the 
foundation, such as the school jazz workshops and radio station WWOZ — will not be as 
substantial. 

The foundation is also looking for other ways to increase revenue, 
Oestreicher said. Those could include a second major fund-raiser, new grants, a 
fund-raising organization like Fans of the Foundation and corporate sponsors for the 
entire festival, as well as those for individual stages.