Pittsburg – For four decades, the city attracted visitors to its seafood and music festival. But without its traditional support, it will no longer be.
The CEO of the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce, Wolfgang Croskey, historically said that the City and the Chamber have teamed up to organize the event.
However, after the Pandemic COVID-19, Croskey said that the city had no longer provided subsidized support or services, which caused financial burden and fundraising efforts to fall into the chamber.
“I cannot explain why they made this decision, and I can only speak for the years that I have been involved. I would say that since we came back from Covid, it is when they started to facilitate us,” said Croskey in an interview with this press organization.
Croskey said the room should collect about $ 250,000 for the festival and pay the city for its services. Last year, the room was billed around $ 123,000 per city for the festival and around $ 90,000 in 2023.
Most of the cost to produce the festival was devoted to critical services – such as insurance, event permits and police staff.
“Without a solid partnership with the City, the cost of the required services alone makes it impossible to produce a festival that meets the standards that our community awaits and deserves,” said Croskey. “Over the past two years, the festival has lost money, and that is why doing it a third time, it is simply not a good commercial decision.”
The room also explored various options to continue the festival in its current format, but could not fill the financial gap to maintain its quality and its scale.
The festival, generally held in September, has been part of the city since 1984. It was created to highlight the old city of the city, support local businesses and put Pittsburg on the map as a destination for visitors.
Despite the decision to put an end to the festival, Croskey said that the room was busy working on another event to achieve similar goals.
“I cannot share all the details on this subject, but it is certainly not a festival because the festivals are overwhelmed in the bay region. Everyone has a festival for that and that, they are everywhere,” said Croskey. “But we are considering other ways of bringing people using entertainment.”
Many residents and sellers contacted Croskey after learning the end of the festival. For the sellers, the festival was one of the income on which it depended, he said.
“Although it is sad and disappointing, I think it is an opportunity to create something new,” said Croskey. “Although 40 years is quite an inheritance and there are many memories, these memories do not die, they become woven in what makes Pittsburg such a wonderful city.”
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