The North Shore was the place to be in September with the WTIP Radio Waves Music Festival, a visit of West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage, and the North House Folk School Unplugged X. By all accounts the concerts were enjoyed by attendees and performers. By most accounts the community benefited from the surge of visitors to attend the music events. But what was gained regarding national publicity? Was all the hard work worth it? That was a topic of discussion at North House Folk School on Wednesday, October 12, at least regarding the events it hosted, Mountain Stage and Unplugged.
The Folk School invited an assortment of community members for a review of the event, asking for comments on what went well, what did not, and were the events beneficial to the community?
North House Director Greg Wright shared some very interesting statistics about the event, such as the fact that 1,967 tickets were sold to the Unplugged/Mountain Stage shows. Volunteers numbered 52 and they logged 452.5 hours in six days. “That’s gargantuan,” said Wright.
The three shows brought in a total of $136,645, including a $39,500 grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and a $10,000 grant from the Iron Range Resources Board. However, on the flip side, said Wright, were expenses totaling $129,578. Expenses ranged from $31,800 to Mountain Stage (covered primarily by the grant from the MN State Arts Board), $18,000 for lodging of performers, and tent, stage and chair rentals at $15,100 to smaller expenses such as gift bags at $1,500, regional marketing at $6,000, and event coordinator at $2,500.
After expenses, according to Wright, North House had net proceeds of $7,067.
Breaking the revenue and expenses down further, Wright showed the Mountain Stage expenses exceeded revenue, costing the Folk School $1,440. The Unplugged show netted $8,507.
And, Wright said, the expenses did not include all of the staff time that was spent leading up to the three shows.
Was it worth it? Wright asked the assembled community members.
Someone pointed out that North House did see a huge benefit to its endowment fund through the Northern Hospitality & Folk Artisan Auction, which received 128 donated items and raised $20,233, which is separate from the Mountain Stage and Unplugged revenue. The auction received an incredible boost this year when artists Jon Vezner and Michael Johnson added a last-minute auction item—a house concert! When the bidding reached $2,500, Vezner asked if all three of the auction bidders wanted to buy a show at their home for that amount. All three said yes and Vezner said they’d give the deal to all three people, bringing in a phenomenal $7,500 for the endowment.
Would that have happened without the addition of attendees for Mountain Stage? No one could say for sure, but Wright said in the past the auction had raised up to $10,000. “We’ve never reached $20,000 before. So I think it’s safe to say that Mountain Stage was a wonderful complement to the auction. The more enthusiastic music lovers on hand to bid, the better.”
Wright justified the separation of the auction revenue from the concert by explaining that the people who donated the 128 auction items were contributing to the Folk School endowment, not funding the Mountain Stage visit.
Former North House Board Member and Development Committee Member Judi Johnson noted that North House—and the community—learned a lot from this first big three-day event. “I think there are ways to make this happen and make it profitable,” said Johnson.
Mary Lear of The Pie Place restaurant said, “You’re building the energy. You didn’t start teaching classes and have 50 people right away. It took time.”
Debbie Benedict of WTIP Community Radio said the volunteers involved with the North Shore Dragon Boat Festival wonder the same thing. “If you count in the number of hours of staff time, we walk away with nothing. The businesses in town tell us they love it. It’s one of the best and busiest weekends of the year. But at the end of the weekend, we’re so tired we’re the ‘walking wounded,’” she said.
Johnson agreed and added, “The community needs to take more ownership. You can’t say this is was of value only to North House. Grand Marais was busy! What is the value of this to the community?”
Wright said North House needs to decide if it should host Mountain Stage again—they have expressed interest in coming back. “Should we do this again? Is it part of the North House mission to host concerts?” he asked.
Another attendee suggested waiting to see what sort of benefit the Folk School and the community receive from the airing of the Mountain Stage program. It is unknown how much the two two-hour shows will be edited, but it is certain that North House, Grand Marais and the entire county will be mentioned numerous times on the nationally syndicated program. But that’s a benefit that will be hard to measure.
Fortunately, North House does not have to decide immediately. Wright said organizers have until probably January 2012 before having to make a commitment whether or not to have Mountain Stage back. And, he said if the commitment is made, grant funding (from sources other than the Minnesota State Arts Board, which does not grant funding in consecutive years) would be sought.
While the decision is pondered, be sure to tune in to WTIP Community Radio to hear the Mountain Stage recorded live at North House Folk School on the waterfront in Grand Marais!
Mountain Stage
with Larry Groce
in Grand Marais
To be broadcast on WTIP:
Saturday, Oct. 29 – Noon
Show No. 1 featuring
John Gorka
Cheryl Wheeler
Michael Johnson
Lindsay Mac
Pat Donohue
Mary Flower
Saturday, Nov. 5 – Noon
Show No. 2 featuring
Kathy Mattea
Tim O’Brien
Jon Vezner
Sally Barris
Cathie Ryan
Great Lake Swimmers
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