By Justin Leighty, Truth Staff
jleighty@etruth.com
GOSHEN -- Tens of thousands of people will have to find something else to do around the Fourth of July with the annual Freedom Fest nixed this year because of the economy.
"We're canceling it, or rather suspending it, for 2009," Randy Sharkey, festival president, announced Wednesday morning. It would've been the ninth year for the popular event at the Goshen Municipal Airport.
The nonprofit event relies mainly on funding from corporate sponsorships, and this is a tough time to try to raise money, according to Diane Kritzman, executive director of the show. "Business sponsors would use discretionary monies to help fund our show; it's just a case where those monies are not available this year," Kritzman said in a written announcement.
It's the latest in a string of summer events that aren't happening due to the economy: The Great Race won't happen Memorial Day weekend; the June rodeo at the fairgrounds (though the fair rodeo is still planned in July) won't happen this year, and now the Freedom Fest.
"I don't think a lot of people are aware that a show of that magnitude they showed last year was a quarter of a million dollars to put on," Sharkey said.
While 23,000 people paid to watch the show (and an estimated 12,000 enjoyed it from outside the airport), jet fuel ate up the funds. "We had the largest revenues ever in '08, but our expenses were also the largest ever. Great shows, great expenses," Sharkey said.
The three F-104s that flew military routines went through $17,000 in fuel last summer, Sharkey said. "We didn't expect anywhere near that."
Gate receipts fund only about 30 percent of the costs of the show. "Unfortunately, major air shows are not self-sufficient. That's the nature of the business," Sharkey said. Most shows have an anchor sponsor, but Freedom Fest never has. "We have to rely on a number of smaller-type sponsors to fund the show, and when you're in an economy like this one locally, it is very difficult to go into a business and ask for money when they've just had to lay people off."
While some sponsors are committed for this year, there's not nearly enough to put on the show, and now's the deadline to contract with performers, Sharkey said.
The fireworks show could still happen, if sponsors want it, since there's plenty of time to line up someone to run a fireworks show, but "sadly, there will not be an air show at the Goshen airport," Sharkey said.
He wants future options open for an economic recovery, but, "Historically it's very difficult for air shows to make a comeback or to skip a year. I'm not going to rule it out here at all. If the business community wants to see an air show at the airport in 2010, I believe that the committee would be here to produce it and the airport would certainly host it," Sharkey said.