How Would You Change Rochesterfest?

I'm back from vacation and have been catching up on all my favorite blogs. A special thanks to James and Cori of the KROC Early Morning show for stimulating some interesting conversation while I was away.

Jeff Kiger's post on "Why Rochester Sucks" caught my eye this morning. Not so much for the original post, but for many of the comments that followed. It was shocking to see how so many could join in on the bashing without offering real solutions. Sure, it's easy to say "we need this" or "we need that". In reality, if there was a need for your great idea some entrepreneur would probably already be doing it. The truth is, it's probably already been tried and the business closed because it couldn't make ends meet. If it was something else (like poor management), then I encourage you to start that business and you'll be rewarded handsomely (in theory).

I'm currently the Vice President of the Rochesterfest Board and will takeover as President in November of 2007. It's one of the many ways that I try to "give back" to my community. Each month, the Board has an official meeting where we discuss Rochesterfest and how to make it better and still provide something for everyone.

First, did you know that Rochesterfest is not "managed" by the city? Rochesterfest is a separate non-profit organization that has a Board of Directors, an Executive Director and an annual budget that provides constraints. There are only a few "Rochesterfest Owned" events (events that are run by Rochesterfest), and the vast majority of events are organized and managed by local volunteers like you. As a citizen, you have the opportunity to organize a new event and add it to the list of events happening that week.

So, what events are Rochesterfest "owned"? The parade, Lumberjack, Country Night (Thurs), Friday Night Band, and the Saturday Night Street Dance. There might be a few more, but you get the drift. All of the other events are not organized and managed by the Rochesterfest Board.

When considering new events, you have to consider the following things:

1) Can the event sustain itself financially?
2) Does the event appeal to a large portion of our community?
3) Can we get the necessary volunteers for this event?

As a non-profit with limited resources, these three things are very important when we consider what events to "bring back" each year and what could be added as a new event. Keeping these three things in mind, I ask you.... What would you like to see at Rochesterfest?