PITTSBURG – For 4 many years, town has attracted guests to its Seafood and Music Pageant. However with out its conventional help, it would now be no extra.
Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce CEO Wolfgang Croskey stated traditionally, town and the chamber partnered to arrange the occasion.
Nonetheless, after the COVID-19 pandemic, Croskey stated town not offered help or backed companies, inflicting the complete monetary burden and fundraising efforts to fall on the chamber.
Croskey stated the chamber would wish to lift round $250,000 for the competition and pay town for its companies. Final yr, the chamber was billed round $123,000 by town for the competition, and about $90,000 in 2023.
The majority of the fee to supply the competition went towards essential companies – corresponding to insurance coverage, occasion permits, and police staffing.
“Without a strong partnership with the city, the cost of city-required services alone makes it impossible to produce a festival that meets the standards our community expects and deserves,” stated Croskey. “The last two years, the festival lost money, and so that’s why doing it a third time, it’s just not a good business decision.”
The chamber additionally explored varied choices to proceed the competition in its present format, however was unable to shut the monetary hole to take care of its high quality and scale.
The competition, sometimes held in September, has been a part of town since 1984. It was created to highlight town’s Outdated City, help native companies, and put Pittsburg on the map as a vacation spot for guests.
Regardless of the choice to finish the competition, Croskey stated the chamber is busy engaged on one other occasion to attain comparable objectives.
“I can’t share all the details on that, but it’s definitely not a festival because festivals are oversaturated in the Bay Area. Everybody’s got a festival for this and that, they are everywhere,” stated Croskey. “But we’re looking at other ways to bring people using entertainment.”
Many residents and distributors have contacted Croskey after studying of the competition’s finish. For distributors, the competition was a part of the income they trusted, he stated.
“Although it’s sad and disappointing, I think it’s an opportunity to create something new,” stated Croskey. “Although 40 years is quite a legacy and there are lots of memories, those memories don’t die, they get to be woven into what makes Pittsburg such a wonderful city.”
