Visual metaphor for some opportunities
A multi-million dollar festival was dropped into the city grid in Royal Oak, Michigan on Labor Day weekend.
The Ford Arts, Beats & Eats Festival (ABEF) had been hosted by the city of Pontiac for over a decade until the city had a falling out with the festival organizers.
Royal Oak accepted the challenge and hosted this year’s festival.
The event didn’t seem to be convenient for anyone. Attendees, which showed up in record numbers, had to park a mile from the city and ride a shuttle bus into the grid. The City of Royal Oak did back flips to host the event. Jonathan Witz and his crack ABEF team had to deal the logistical nightmare of relocating the even and accommodating an average of 100,000 people per day.
Plenty of revenue was generated, including ticket receipts and sponsorships from major corporations such as Ford Motor Company and Citizens Bank. Thousands of dollars were contributed to charity. Over 200 acts performed. People had a great time.
And many Royal Oakers complained about how the festival was “inconvenient.”
I wonder . . . just how often we should expect opportunity to be convenient? What do you think? Please comment below.
Tags: arts beats eats, citizens, festival, ford, jonathan witz, pontiac, royal oak
Michael,
It’s a lot like the old saying, ‘one person’s junk is another’s treasure’. I’m sure that those who endured the shuttle ride had a great time at the festival, otherwise there would be many complaints instead of just a few. Which my guess is what happened. It probably also on the surface caused a great expense on the local government. But I’m sure the local economy was enhanced.
Convenient is rated by those it affects. And the big picture should be examined and not the small.
Those who enjoyed the event or was able to generate some revenue, I’m sure felt that it was very convenient.