Six Concurrent 'Fests' Killed by L.B. City Council

It was to have been twice as big as the Long Beach Grand Prix, with half a million visitors' showing up, for a three-day bash, next weekend. One of the 'fests,' AirFest, was to have featured the Blue Angels, and the Snowbirds, among others. The Long Beach City Council, citing concerns over emergency response, parking, and "community outreach," killed ShoreFest, with less than two weeks to go.

Though ShoreSales (the promoters) claim they addressed all the Council's concerns, the City Manager, Jerry Miller, said the Council's list of ten demands (delivered to ShoreFest on Monday, according to a local report) weren't met to his satisfaction. "The absence of these assurances compromise the safety and convenience of the citizens of this city," he explained.

The event was to have been free, and was to have featured a 'Fest' for everybody: AirFest, Water-, Kids-, Harbor-, Music- and TasteFests, however, were all canceled.

There may be a lawsuit or two; and there certainly are hard feelings all around.

The City says it had borne the brunt of the planning expenses, and was worried that it would have to provide police and other protections to so many people; the -Fest folks countered that they had addressed the City's concerns, and must have felt that, as a non-profit, free event, the City owed the people whatever police protection the City deemed important. Promoters also said they had arranged the required airlift emergency services, etc., but that the contracts, which the City demanded, hadn't been signed yet. Neighboring-suburb NIMBY groups also claimed they hadn't gotten enough notice, to organize their protests.

The City Council was unanimous behind the Manager's decision.

FMI: AirFest