5.21.13 Council broadens ‘Kickstart’ Downtown event funding

Let the shows continue!

The City of El Paso is broadening a program to continue “kickstarting” big events in El Paso. By a 5-0 vote Tuesday, City Council eliminated a guideline in the Kickstart Downtown Event Funding program that stated events would be ineligible for funding after three years.

Now, all events will be able to re-apply for funding every three years.

Last year more than 20 major events were held in downtown, which is the most ever. Those events included the Neon Desert Music Fest, the Plaza Classic Film Festival and Downtown Street Fest. City officials say those events generated up $1.5 million in ticket sales.

“If you count all of our events together, we’re talking nearly a million dollars in hotel revenue and $3 million in restaurant and bar revenue,” said Sean McGlynn, director of the City’s Museum and Cultural Affairs department.

Until now, McGlynn did not have the freedom to extend funding of up to $20,000 dollars a year to Downtown events beyond three years as part of the city’s Kickstart program.

“If those groups are able to come in and demonstrate to us they’ve had a significant impact on tourism, that they had a significant impact on community perception, press from inside the region as well as outside the region, they can continue to compete for funding,” McGlynn said.

“This funding is helping us progress our vision,” said Gina Martinez, Executive Producer of the Neon Desert Music Fest. “With additional funds hopefully we can go to a two day festival and then maybe in the future go even to a three day festival.”

“This is our third and final year for the initial grant funding,” said Charles Horak, Artistic Director for the 6-year-old Plaza Classic Film Festival. “at some point, hopefully we’re at a place where we don’t need those kinds of grants. But I think, in the next few years, it’s still critical to our mission.”

According to the National Endowment for the Arts, a full decade of support from local government is crucial for securing long-term success and sustainability for community festivals. Among other Downtown events kickstarted by City funding are the El Paso Marathon, Kidspalooza and the Taste of El Paso.