Cotati's Accordion Festival use to be free to the public, but not anymore.   The complaints I constantly here from people around the county is that the festival now resembles more of a prison camp, than a fun community event. I have expressed my concerns to the city council many times about what we can do to make the event more inviting, but the problem has only gotten worse over time. Attendance is down and volunteers are getting harder to find as the event tries to find its identity and real purpose.

Many say the event has simply outgrown it's location next to a very busy street and is left where it is to accommodate local business people who enjoy the overflow business the festival brings to town.

But more and more the locals simply stay away from the event.  Many Cotati residents simply boycott the event as being a bit over the top and no longer in the spirit of small town Cotati where people walk around freely to enjoy the music. In an attempt to hold onto one of our cherished festivals, something has gone very wrong.  The city pumps more money into these festivals than they receive back in scholarship money that the event claims it produces for the city.

To subsidize festivals that no private event producer would touch with a ten foot pole says that something is wrong and needs to be addressed. We should take a hard look at these events and find out if they are doing more harm than good to our city image.  I have heard citizens comment that if we can't do the festivals right, we shouldn't do them at all, something to consider.  

The problem seems to be that there is no public outreach to bring in an event promoter with the skills and experience necessary to save these events from going downhill, especially in a weak economy. The city has attempted to stay in the special event / festival business with questionable results. Thank goodness for all the volunteers because the event cannot afford to pay for much hired help.

We must take a hard look on what we can do to save these festivals from self destructing in the years ahead. I am hoping to capitalize on all the resources in town to bring the best minds together to save our festivals and to regain Cotati's greatness as the place to be, and be seen, for world class fun.   Believe it or not, we have a lot of people in town who know how to make a buck and can turn these events around for the better.

GB