Comments on: changes for the Richmond Folk Festival

By: Paul H

Paul H — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:18:01 +0000

The headline and story I read was “the event taking place October 9-11 will still be free and full of activity”

I thought that was the issue, not CenterStage. THAT is worth celebrating and no reason to hijack the conversation. Jump in, volunteer and stop complaining.

Fat chance.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Thu, 07 May 2009 17:40:59 +0000

Yes Paul, I love the Folk Festival too and I’ve enjoyed it every year since they started it. The issue isn’t whether or not the festival is great.

The issue is why we need to raise a tax to pay off a shadowy cabal so they can build their brand image off the success of other, unrelated events. The CenterStage “arts” racket is an extremely corrupt use of public money. I put “arts” in quotes because CenterStage has done NOTHING for the arts in this town. Despite its purported reason to exist, it is a real estate scam and nothing more.

By: Scott Burger

Scott Burger — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:13:20 +0000

This has absolutely nothing to do with those 175,000 people at the Folk Festival. This has to do with how Center Stage is wasting City taxpayer money, which should be a concern of real conservatives everywhere.

There needs to be a full investigation of Center Stage.

By: Paul_h

Paul_h — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:25:51 +0000

You guys need to get a life. The Richmond Folk Festival is cool, awesome, fantastic and otherwise great. Get off your GD Centerstage rant and get on board with VR and put on the best festival every. This event is as good as you make it. 175,000 came last year proving people will come downtown if you give them a reason.

By: Scott Burger

Scott Burger — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:46:36 +0000

I like the free Folk Festival but I am appalled by Center Stage. Why don’t we get rid of the middleman and just give the portion of the insanely high meals tax directly to Folk Festival instead of Center Stage?

By: Jeff E.

Jeff E. — Mon, 04 May 2009 23:50:57 +0000

Bummer to hear this. Of all the stages to be removed, I hope they take out the large one that is usually set up near the top of the hill, close to the Virginia War Memorial. Of all the stages that one is the most impersonal. I enjoy the smaller stages much more.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:57:46 +0000

Neither FOIA nor RT-D can get CenterStage to tell us how they spend our tax money.

By: Stuart

Stuart — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:54:17 +0000

“The Richmond Folk Festival does have a new sponsor in CenterStage, which will open its doors downtown about a month before the folk festival.

Sue Fitz-Hugh, head of the development committee for the CenterStage Foundation, chose not to disclose the amount that the organization is providing.

But CenterStage will have a sponsored stage, which requires at least a $50,000 donation.

“The festival offers free first-class folk music — we’re helping to support free performing arts in Richmond,” she said.