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SummerFest May Have New Face In 2007
By Catherine Snipe
It won't be the SummerFest you once knew.
Township council members voted on a vendor that could give the concert series a very different spin than the 1950s and 1960s music lineups of past years.
The council also discussed what was once out of the question - charging concertgoers for the bus or for parking spots, or ticketing those from out of town.
The massive events draw an audience from across the county and beyond; spanning five summer concerts at Windward Beach, that adds up to thousands of vistors. In previous years, the series has hosted performers such as The Coasters, The Drifters and Jay Black & the Americans.
This year, things may be changing.
Councilwoman Ruthanne Scaturro said the new vendor chosen for the series may mean an expansion of genres not previously seen at the events. Jazz groups, children's favorites and even local bands as opening acts become more of a possibility, she said.
"It's been 10 years with the same organization," she said. "The shows, although good, did not offer variety to all residents."
The township asked firms to make a bid to provide SummerFest services, and decided on Global Producers Services, of New Egypt, as the festival events coordinator for Summerfest 2007. The 12- month contract is for $68,500.
Scaturro said it was an assumption that the Summerfest coordinator would be the same as the previous year. However, township attorney Jean Cipriani discovered it was a contract that could be put out for an opening bidding process. Council members preferred doing exactly that.
"We should have been going out to bid all along, and as our attorney discovered, you can't just award a contract," Council President Stephen Acropolis said.
They chose the vendor that also is the coordinator for large-scale events such as a wine festival in Flemington, Balloon Fest and the Red Bank Jazz and Blues Festival.
"We needed to mix it up a bit," Scaturro said. "We were just getting the same folks, and leaving other people out."
Acropolis said the shows could open earlier, with performances from local bands before leading into more recognized acts. Those acts and other volunteer activities are now possible.
The township is also looking at whether it can create a charge for busing or parking to Summerfest.
"We are still investigating that, and the legalities since it is a Green Acres park," Acropolis said.
A rough estimate shows 60 percent of the Summerfest attendees are not from Brick Township, Acropolis said. He said he's disheartened to hear when raffles winners' towns are called out, and they are from as far away as East Brunswick.
"We have a situation where residents won't go, it's too crowded," Acropolis said.
By creating different parking or busing rules, it may make it easier for the residents to get there, he said.
However, Councilwoman Kathy Russell said it's those out-of-towners that are spending their dollars with Brick businesses, whether filling up at the gas station or eating at a Brick restaurant. That, she said, is valuable to the township as well.
Some residents said a fee charged to bus them to the concert wasn't fair.
"We are paying for the concert with our taxes, I don't want to be charged again to get there," resident Melanie Briggs said.
Acropolis said whatever is worked out, a change looks possible for this summer's concerts.
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