Mill Valley Music Festival should be sponsored, free

As a former resident of Mill Valley and charter member of the city's arts commission in the 1970s, I am saddened at how elitist it has become. Before putting more moderately priced single-day tickets on sale, the Mill Valley Music Festival released its two-day tickets at $219 for general admission, all the way up to $499 for a two-day VIP ticket. Those prices are outrageous.

It is true that community sponsorships will provide hundreds of free tickets for artists and young people in the community, but I would like to think that the version of Mill Valley I loved would have organized a free public festival sponsored by the city and/ or one (or more) of its wealthy residents. After all, the city's population still includes a plethora of recording artists and executives in the music business.

Rather than charging for tickets and only using some of the profits to support nonprofit organizations, festival officials could have asked attendees for donations before and during the free festival to benefit selected local causes. I am disappointed that the Mill Valley Music Festival is presented like a privately run Ticketmaster-type event for profit. The city may be a co-sponsor, but I don't think anyone should truly call this a Mill Valley public event.

Though the cost of putting on a large outdoor music festival can be high, we should remember that there are billionaires in our vicinity. Some are titans in the music business who can easily absorb the cost of putting on a large music festival.

— Stephen Redner, San Rafael