By Mark Scheer
The organizers of the 2010 Niagara Falls Blues Festival are ready to roll.
After several weeks of delays, members of the Niagara Falls City Council this week agreed to support the downtown blues fest with $30,000 in casino and tourism funds. The money will be used by organizers to pay performers and cover costs for sound production, staging and lighting.
Last year’s event, a two-day affair held on the West Pedestrian Mall, drew more than 7,000 people downtown.
Organizers are now working on the lineup for this year’s festival, which is tentatively scheduled to include an appearance by members of the band that backed legendary musician Muddy Waters.
“We’re thrilled to have that support to help us bring the festival here,” said Daria Sterner, event coordinator for Niagara Festival & Entertainment Group, Inc., the organization in charge of the blues fest. “We are in full swing now.”
The 2010 Blues Festival is slated for Sept. 10 and Sept. 11 although Sterner said organizers are planning to kick off the festivities with a classic car show and concert on Sept. 9. Sterner said they are also working with the owners of several local bars in an effort to book blues acts at local venues throughout the entire festival week.
Sterner said Muddy Waters’ band is tentatively scheduled to serve as the main attraction on the final night of the festival and the visit would be one of only five stops the band is making as part of a mini-tour this year. Sterner said the visit offers a good opportunity to promote the Falls as the band will be accompanied by a film crew that is producing a documentary.
“The better show we can put on here, the better air time we can have in the documentary,” Sterner said.
Festival organizers are working to book several local and national acts for this year’s event. The national act, The Nighthawks, is tentatively scheduled to serve as the main attraction on Sept. 10. Sterner said Matt “Guitar” Murphy, best known for his work in the Blues Brothers band, is tentatively scheduled to make an appearance at some point as well. She said efforts are also being made for other members of the Blues Brothers band to take part in the festival.
“We are expecting a lot of people to come to the festival from outside of the area,” Sterner said. “These are people who are going to be staying at least one or two nights.”
Sterner said festival organizers will seek help from sponsors to make up the difference in the amount requested and the amount received from the city.
The request for financial support has been under consideration by the council since January. Lawmakers held off on authorizing the dollars, insisting that festival organizers needed to provide more specifics on how they planned to spend the money. The $30,000 contribution authorized by the council on Monday represents a $10,000 reduction from the group’s original $40,000 request. The city will draw $20,000 from its 2007 casino cash account and the remaining $10,000 from the 2010 tourism fund.
“In my mind it’s always about accountability,” said Council Chairman Sam Fruscione.
Organizers submitted along with their request a spending plan that listed total costs of $65,150. The list included expenses for advertising, T-shirts, supplies, payment of performers, sound, lights and staging. The budget listed revenues of $40,000 from the city, $9,000 in surplus from the 2009 festival and $16,150 in sponsor contributions, raffle proceeds and T-shirt sales.
The contribution is contingent upon festival organizers following their budget and using city funds for performers, sound production, staging and lighting. Lawmakers also are requiring the organizers to substantiate requests for reimbursement with receipts and requests for payment of expenses must be made in a form acceptable to the city controller and corporation counsel. Organizers also must bring in at least three “nationally” known performers for the event.
