The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Board decision on future to come at end of the week
[ By Mark Reaman ]
While no decision has been made by the board of directors on whether to continue the Crested Butte Music Festival into the future, executive director Erica Vernon said on Tuesday the outpouring of community support over the last week bodes well for the 26-year-old festival. The board will now meet at the end of the week to determine the future of the CBMF.
“To date, we have raised $85,000 of the $100,000 we were looking for in the past week,” Vernon explained. “That is incredible and a sign that the community values the Crested Butte Music Fest. Our Board won’t meet until this Friday since they could not establish a quorum until November 4.”
Vernon had put out a call for help on social media a week ago explaining that unless $100,000 was raised before the end of October, the music festival was likely to be dissolved by the board given financial constraints. COVID put a major crimp in the festival’s budget and major contributions had fallen off along with revenues from its annual music camp. Within days, tens of thousands of dollars were pledged to the festival and as of Tuesday, November 1, more than $85K was pledged.
“We are close to our goal,” Vernon explained. “I can’t say for sure, but I believe the Board will vote to move forward and not dissolve the festival. It will probably have to make some changes, but the community has sent a message it wants the CB Music Fest to continue next summer. Another positive is that new prospective board members have come forward and indicated they want to help the festival fully recover from the pandemic and continue to evolve. We still need that last $15,000 and people can contribute on our GoFundMe page (https://bit.ly/3DHFqyl) or by emailing me with questions at [email protected].”
