FLEEING FEST
Mercer Italian Festival moving to Burlington County >>
The Mercer County ItalianAmerican Festival will be held in Columbus this September, which, as you probably realize, is not in Mercer County.
It’s in Burlington County.
So yes. The Mercer County ItalianAmerican Festival will be in Burlington County. Almost certainly. Well, probably. Almost definitely. What gives? “I’m 79 years old and a street guy,” said John Scarpati, the president of the ItalianAmerican Festival Association. “I know wiseguys and how they try and get away with stuff.”
The “wiseguys” in this case are the Mercer County Parks Commission Executive Director Aaron Watson and assorted other county bigwigs, going all the way up to County Executive Brian Hughes.
Short story, according to Scarpati? Prices to use Mercer County Park as the staging ground for the festival — where it’s been since its 1999 inception, in the wake of The Feast of Lights in Chambersburg — have skyrocketed over the years.
Longer story? The county, under the watch of Watson, has changed the way they do business in regards to the festival.
Used to be the Festival Association was in charge of cleanup, in charge of the bathrooms, in charge of parking. But when Watson came aboard in the wake of the Kevin Bannon scandal, things changed. The county would be providing the aforementioned services, at a cost. They would also charge festival-goers $5 to park.
“If we’re doing it and it’s not costing you nothing, why are you getting in there?” Scarpati said he asked Watson during a meeting last year. “He told me there were changes in administration. He was singing a song, going nowhere.”
All this happened last April, about five months from the 2017 festival but after most of the bookings were made. Scarpati grit his teeth and accepted the deal.
The result? Droves of people — including yours truly — stayed away, balking at the $5 parking fee.
“I told them they were going to ruin the whole thing,” he said. “And they did.”
This year, Scarpati and Co. shopped around.
“I went to Burlington County and they accepted us with open arms,” Scarpati said. “Whatever you need. And it’s a quarter of the price.”
And that’s why the Mercer County Italian-American Festival is moving to the Columbus Fairgrounds.
Well, probably. Almost certainly. Just about definitely.
“I called Burlington officials and I’m trying to put this genie back in the bottle,” said longtime County Executive Brian Hughes. “I’ve reached out to John (Scarpati) and offered the sun, the moon and the stars. It’s in my personal interest that the Mercer County Italian-American Festival stays in Mercer County. And I have gotten John to commit to think it over.” Meaning?
Meaning the board of the ItalianAmerican association will be meeting Monday night. But Scarpati isn’t confident they will act.
“I don’t think the board of directors will change their mind,” Scarpati said. “The horse is out of the barn. Now it’s a showdown. Brian is real upset, but I told him it’s too late. We already gave the deposit. I called Brian three months ago. I called all the freeholders. I called the legislators. I called Aaron and told him it was about money. No one listened. Maybe we can sit down in the winter and make amends and come back stronger. I don’t know.”
Hughes, though, is adamant it ain’t over.
“We’re not dead yet,” he said. From where I’m sitting, this is no good for anyone. It’s no good for Mercer County residents, no good for the administration, and probably no good for the festival — after all, are you going to hike to Columbus for this?
Not to mention the fine print on the festival’s website: While there is no charge to enter the festival this year, each carload of people will be charged $10.
Here’s hoping cooler heads prevail, here’s hoping the county makes good on a few concessions, here’s hoping we can get into the festival for less than $10. Seems like it should be easy, right?
Come on fellas. Let’s get this done. Let’s bring the ItalianAmerican Festival back to Mercer County before it even leaves.