Executive director says MSE will need community, corporate help to survive
The recent announcement about the cancellation of MusicFest 2020 has left Main Street El Dorado in a financial conundrum.
MSE officials and board members had been waiting to see if the 3-year-old festival would go on as planned, its fate having been left up in the air because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
MSE began the event in 1988 as a way to draw people to downtown El Dorado, which, at the time, was undergoing a major revitalization effort that was launched by commercial developers and downtown business/property owners Richard and Vertis Mason.
MusicFest grew into the city’s largest annual outdoor event and the largest music festival in south Arkansas, drawing thousands of people downtown each year with dozens of live music performers, other forms of entertainment and attractions and a variety of food and craft vendors.
The festival became Main Street’s flagship fundraiser and has been named Festival of the Year multiple times by the Arkansas Festival and Events Association.
With the opening of the Murphy Arts District in 2017, MSE agreed to step back and allow MAD to take the lead in bringing entertainment to El Dorado.
MSE restructured its program to focus less on entertainment/promotions and more on economic vitality, design and organization — all of which make up Main Street America’s Four Point Approach to downtown revitalization and transformation.
As part of the effort, MSE elected to partner with MAD to present MusicFest XXX. The event
coincided with MAD’s fiveday grand opening celebration.
MAD focused on the music by booking concerts in its entertainment venues, while Main Street concentrated on the festival component of the event by planning the attractions, vendors and live music on side stages in the Union County Courthouse Square.
In wrap-up discussions following MusicFest 2017, MSE board members immediately noticed they didn’t raise as much money to fund the nonprofit program as they had in previous years, noting that MAD had handled the ticketed shows for MusicFest.
The group had just emerged from financial woes that began in 2015 and continued through the better part of 2016.
MSE sustained losses on a few events and one of its primary entertainment venues, the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium, had been closed for nearly two years due to a renovation project.
For several years, MSE had presented a string of concerts in the auditorium to help fund its program.
Shows featuring Willie Nelson, Kenny Rogers, Point of Grace and Selah regularly attracted soldout crowds.
The first show MSE presented upon the reopening of the auditorium in July of 2016 was headlined by Richard Marx.
MSE officials would later report they did not make much of a profit with MusicFest 2016, which included headliners Sugar Ray with Mark McGrath and Lee Ann Womack.
In 2017, Beth Brumley, who had previously served on the MSE board of directors, was hired as the new executive director, following the resignation of her predecessor.
An anonymous benefactor helped pull MSE out of a financial hole and the El Dorado City Council later voted to offer a contract for services in the amount of $35,000 to help fund the executive director’s salary, which provided a boost for MSE in its job search for a new executive director.
MSE kicks in $20,000 to help cover job benefits and payroll taxes for the executive director’s job.
New strategy
Fast forward to 2020. MSE is facing financial woes once again due to a public health crisis.
The group has had to cancel several events so far this year and Brumley said MSE has not been able to host a fundraising event since the Harlem Globetrotters’ exhibition show that was held in February in the Wildcat Arena on the campus of El Dorado High School.
“In the interest of full transparency, the program operating off of money that was made in February and with the city’s contribution, we have enough money right now to probably make until February 2021 if we don’t have another income-driven event,” Brumley said during a regular MSE board meeting Aug. 11.
Holly McDonald, MSE administrative assistant, added that MSE had about $42,000 in the bank.
“If we don’t have any special events … About $8,500 a month is what our bills work out to be with payroll taxes, Wi-Fi (service that is provided for the downtown area) and other things we do on a monthly basis,” Brumley explained.
At the time, she said MSE was looking toward its flagship fundraiser, MusicFest, but because of COVID-19, there were questions about if the festival would be held this year. Those questions were answered last week when MSE and MAD announced they had pulled the plug on MusicFest 2020 and had rescheduled the event for October 2021.
Brumley later said MSE is working with a consultant that was recommended by Main Street Arkansas, its parent organization, to develop a strategic plan that includes fundraising ideas.
“It would be something that would help us now and something we can carry out in the future if needed,” she said.
“Some (Main Street) programs around the state have those types of fundraising drives but that’s something we’ve never had to do but obviously, it’s something we’re going to have to do now,” Brumley continued.
MSE relies heavily community support, including corporate sponsors, individual donors and the city of El Dorado, which offers financial support and services.
She said MSE is working on a plan that will help to educate the public about the program, noting that people often think the program is event-driven only.
“There are some people who just see us as doing MusicFest or concerts and we don’t even do as many shows in the auditorium anymore because of MAD but we do more for downtown,” Brumley said.
With a goal of driving customer traffic to downtown shops and restaurants, Brumley said MSE presents and assists with a number of programs to promote economic growth and vitality in the city’s Central Business District.
The Wi-Fi service is an example of MSE’s efforts.
Others include beautification and other projects, such as benches, cigarette urns/ashtrays, banners, public art projects and working with new and existing businesses to maintain a business occupancy rate that hovers on the upper end of the 90th percentile.
“So that’s why we got the consultant. We will work through a local ad agency — we’re not sure which one yet — and the consultant will help with the strategic plan and make sure we’re telling our whole story,” she said. “They’re more familiar with the entire Main Street program and specifically, the economic impact it has.”
MSE will likely roll out its strategic plan in October.
“We’ll be asking the community and corporations for support to help us keep doing something that’s beneficial to our community and helps our downtown businesses and El Dorado thrive,” Brumley said.