Festival Blues
By Bobbie Smith
I have been a faithful defender of the Ottawa Cisco Systems Bluesfest over the years and with good reason. It's allegedly the second largest blues festival in North America after Chicago. It has won numerous awards for its media campaigns, creativity, artistic excellence, increasing community involvement and the Blues in the Schools program.
I admit that it is getting harder and harder to defend Bluesfest's musical direction towards the high-profile/non-blues acts like New York Dolls, Black-Eyed Peas, Simple Plan, Bryan Adams, etc.., ever since the phenomenal but markedly non-blues performance of Sting at the event a few years ago, but that's not why I have the festival blues.
As a volunteer at one of the beer tents, I have been telling Bluesfest patrons for three years in a row 'no, we don't get the tips; the money goes to Dinners Unlimited.' I worked hard to encourage customers to 'give generously,' and so on. Dinners Unlimited is a non-profit organization that coordinates dignified and wholesome meals for those who most need it. Well, we do get those tips because I learned on the last day of Bluesfest this year that the tips are usually split between funding Dinners and the Volunteer Appreciation Party. And you can imagine my dismay and discomfort when the Volunteer Coordinator and a board member for Dinners, Dave Tremblay informs me that this year all the tip money goes to the party.
“Last year the tips were split between the party and Dinners. This year all the tips went to the party. In fact, we had three wooden boxes [for donations] that we moved around to high traffic areas as a way of collecting money for Dinners. I was adamant at the area leaders’ meetings [that the tips do not go to Dinners] so there would be no confusion. I'm sure it's even in the minutes," says Tremblay.
I have an apology to make to all those patrons who dropped money in those cups thinking they were feeding the homeless when they might have been buying me a beer. I feel awful about this misunderstanding, but I'm also pretty angry that the communications with volunteers was not high-profile. Each year as a volunteer, I was newly impressed at the class Mark Monahan displayed by going the extra mile to thank his sometimes 2,000 or more volunteers. Though not a great public speaker, it was always a nice gesture that he would show up and say a few words of gratitude to his unpaid staff. And I thought it was great that the parties were paid for since this event could not happen without the volunteers, but that part doesn't seem so great to me right now.
According to the festival's Director of Communications, Andre Sauve, the cost of the party is substantial and would soak up funds that would otherwise go to their blues education program, Blues in the Schools, which is definitely a stellar cause.
"In order for all volunteers in all areas to benefit from tips raised in the beverage areas, the money would go to the volunteer party and Bluesfest would provide other means to raise money for 'Dinners' (donation boxes in various high-traffic areas on site and bead sales)," says Sauve. "By offsetting the cost of the appreciation party, which is substantial, more money can be earmarked for Blues in the Schools, a program that we feel is extremely important." Executive Director Mark Monahan was on vacation and unavailable for comment.
Sauve is right about Bluesfest providing other means to raise money for Dinners. Tremblay can't say enough about that. "Bluesfest
has been extremely generous to us," he says. "They gave us our full annual budget last year.”
I personally don't believe for a single moment that the bluesfest administration intended to mislead customers. Instead, it many have been a miscommunication between the administration and the volunteers. Bluesfest did provide the means to raise $2,000 this year for Dinners through donation boxes in various high-traffic areas onsite and through bead sales ($375 in Gold Circle alone).
I guess I just have the blues thinking of all those people who could have benefitted from that tip money. I am going to make amends, though. I will be offering my volunteer services to Dinners Unlimited, with pleasure and go into the next Bluesfest with eyes and mind wide open.
Blues in the Schools is an educational program that was created to promote, preserve and perpetuate the art, culture and heritage of blues music. Cisco Systems Bluesfest brings blues artists/educators to Ottawa to a two-week residency in local primary, middle and secondary schools. To find out more visit: http://ottawa-bluesfest.ca/bits/index-en.html
