County Grind's assessment of Saturday's Lake Worth-It 2010 festival in Lake Worth's Bryant Park summed up the hot, occasionally rainy day celebrating the local scene as a solid first draft for what we hope can be a yearly event. Given that Of Montreal's Kevin Barnes pulled out as the headliner as the day neared, and concerns about ticket prices reverberated on our comments pages, the stability of future Lake Worth-It undertakings is a big question mark.
To answer these questions and drop attendance figures for the day is organizer Cecil Lunsford. He is also the driving force behind Shaman Stick Productions and member of Black Weather Shaman (check out the band's brand-new EP, Concentric Circles of Badassery: Vol. 1, here), and was dressed like a hillbilly ballerina on Saturday.
New Times: Based upon the finances of this one, will there be another Lake Worth-It?
Cecil Lunsford: We lost quite a bit of money this year... but let's just consider that an investment into our education as festival planners and this amazing scene here in Lake Worth. Provided that I am still breathing, Shaman Stick will throw the Second Annual Lake Worth-It Fest next year! We organized this year's festival in two months. Imagine what we can do with a full year, and the benefit of this year's experience.
What were the biggest challenges of this festival?
Convincing people that it was possible for a "local" scene to throw a legitimate festival has to top the list of challenges. But after last Saturday, I don't think you'll hear any of the people who came out using the term "local" as an insult ever again. Some of the after parties did not run as smoothly as I would have liked. Getting the money together to rent the park, provide security and set up audio wasn't exactly easy either.
Based upon the feedback you've received, what were the successes?
The music was amazing! All of the bands were on top of their performances, Kaufman-Daenzer, John Harris, and Justin Thompson did a bang up job running the audio gear and it really set the mood for the day. Even more amazingly, we got over 2,000 people together (based upon wristband distribution throughout the day) in the park on one of the hottest days of the year without a single fight or injury. And that is nothing short of miraculous! Our vendors got to show off their wares to one of the decent group of people and made some serious impressions on festival goers. In short our biggest success was fostering a sense of community and solidarity amongst an immensely diverse group of people and heralding the start of an epic scene in Lake Worth.
What role will sponsorship play in the future?
Its hard to say now exactly what role sponsors will play next year. But we would like to see more local and national support next year for several reasons. Not the least of which is drawing attention to what is happening here in the Lake Worth music and art scene.
How will the layout of the festival differ in the future? More stages, vendors, bike racks, etc. perhaps?
Next year the fest will be laid out much in the same way as this year's, but with some turnkey additions. We will definitely have a larger variety of food and beverage vendors. We hope to have more indie craft vendors as well. We want to do two or three stages and while I hadn't thought of bike racks it sounds like a great idea. We really just want to use every inch of the fantastic resource we have in Bryant Park!
Do you still plan to involve national artists in the future?
Without a doubt! However, any artist that we bring in will have to embody the DIY spirit of the Fest.
Final burning question: did the police take you seriously while you were in a tutu?
Did Spider-Man take Kraven the Hunter seriously in his delightful pink tutu? I believe so, my friend. I believe so. In many ways, I actually think that my attire made me more approachable to the boys in blue (green in this case). I mean if you're gonna show up to the office, dress appropriately right?
