LTC 241-2012 Proposed Revival of Festival of the Arts . _ MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO. LTC # 241 -20112 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Mayor Matti Herrera Bower and Members of the City Commission
FROM: Kathie G. Brooks, Interim City Manager
DATE: September 24, 2012
SUBJECT: Proposed Revival of the Festival of the Arts
The purpose of this LTC is to provide you with correspondence received from the Fine
Arts Board regarding the above subject.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
KGB /MAS /gf
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Dear Mayor and Honorable City Commission,
The Fine Arts Board met on September 13, 2012 and passed the motion below regarding the revival
of the Miami Beach Festival of the Arts.
The Fine Arts Board (FAB) supports the City's interest in promoting North Beach as a cultural
destination and recognizes the City's vision to include North Beach in Miami Beach's renaissance.
Therefore, the FAB passed a motion asking that the Commission not issue an RFP for the Miami
Beach Festival of the Arts for the following reasons:
• The Festival has had very poor attendance in recent years
• There is a saturation of like festivals with which the Miami Beach Festival of the Arts cannot
compete
• The quality of the Festival regardless of its producer has been poor
• Artists/Vendors have expressed dissatisfaction with the Festival and stated they would not
return
• The Board believes that the City funding being considered ($55,000) would better serve the
North Beach community if used to support a series of events rather than a single weekend
festival
Other issues have included: scheduling and timing conflicts with other events in the area, such as,
the International Boat Show, Super Bowl Weekend, Art Deco Weekend and the Coconut Grove Arts
Festival, a lack of adequate funding and sponsorship, as well as, a general lack of citizen interest.
Please be reminded that a recommendation to discontinue the Miami Beach Festival of the Arts was
approved last year for all of the above reasons and the FAB feels that reviving the Festival is a step
backwards for our city.
As an advisory Board, we sincerely ask that consideration be given to the above motion and the
prior recommendation.
SincereW d
Melissa - Br oad, Chair
and
The Fine Arts Board