After last week’s announcement that the Freedom Festival advisory board was dissolving, the future of the summer festival is up in the air. The city has found a new organizer in GAGE, but there are lingering questions on whether they will be putting on the same festival we’ve come to known and love.

With lower than expected attendance, this year’s festival is left with a $90,000 debt. It’s not GAGE’s problem, but they should use that as a signal that the festival is in need of a reboot.

Rather than focusing the festival around an air show and a hydroplane race, focus on what makes Evansville the community it is.

• Taste of Evansville: The Fall Festival has a foothold on the church and fraternity-run food booths, which has left the Freedom Festival to mainly rely on carnival foods. How unoriginal. Rather than inviting these corndog pushers back for another year, turn the riverfront into a sampler platter of all the restaurants that call Evansville home. Not only will it give the festival a local feel, but it will introduce these local businesses to a whole new audience.
• More Local Music: Every year, the Freedom Festival tries to pull in a semi-major name act to headline their music lineup. Headliners are expensive and unnecessary in a musically rich town like Evansville. I’m sure there are dozens of great, local bands that would jump at the opportunity to play in front of thousands of people on a big stage.
• Art: In addition to music, use the 2009 Freedom Festival as a way to showcase local artists. There is a rich art community downtown and around the area. Allow local artists to purchase tents at an affordable price to showcase, and possibly sell, their work. You want to make the festival a showcase of Evansville’s rich culture and community.
• No more buttons: One of the most annoying aspects of the Freedom Festival is the constant pimping of buttons for entry to the festival. Rather than having to run around to a gas station or local business to find the tacky button, distribute food tickets. Each vendor can then charge x number of tickets for their meals rather than cash. The ticket sales can go through GAGE who can then distribute the revenue to each individual vendor based on their ticket count.
• Eliminate the trash: There’s a reason I do Freedom Festival Bingo: it’s too easy. We’ve all seen the shirtless creatures walking the riverfront and it’s unsightly and a poor reflection on our town. By shifting the focus of the festival to be more cultural you are probably going to eliminate some of these types, but the rest need a dress code. Shirts are a must. You don’t walk into a restaurant without a shirt on or some ratty tank top.
• A new name: Rather than just passing the burden of the festivals of the past to a new group, hopefully GAGE and the city of Evansville can use this as an opportunity to implement some much needed upgrades to our summer street festival. To drive home the point that this is a whole new Freedom Festival, give it a new name.

We’re still early in GAGE’s tenure as festival organizer, but I hope someone around there thinks along the same lines as me. Either that, or they forward this post their way. The Freedom Festival can be a great way to showcase our city and step outside the shell of your typical summer carnival.

photo courtesy of Lori Spindler

As of 11AM this morning, the food booths are open and the Freedom Festival has begun. Alcoholics everywhere rejoice! Tonight’s big event is the bierstube from 7PM until 2AM. I’m certain that our roving bar and drink reporter will be on the scene.

So grab your bingo cards and some sunscreen and go double fist some corndogs.

photo courtesy of Brooks Elliott