L.A.’s Sunset Junction Street Festival cancelled
LOS ANGELES, CA (BDCi)—Los Angeles residents will have to plan for something else to do now that the Los Angeles Board of Public Works has voted on Wednesday to deny permits to the Sunset Junction Street Festival.
A five-member panel made the final decision to cancel the three-decade-old event set to kick off this weekend after the non-profit group sponsoring the festival failed to hand over a check for $141,000 to cover the costs for this year.
However the Sunset Junction Neighborhood Alliance demonstrated a fax from Chase Bank that revealed it had just received $100,000 deposit from a concert Live Nation promoter.
“This is not an indication to me…that any funds will be available for assurance of a check to support the special event’s permit, “board president Andrea Alarcon said.
“I do see a deposit of $100,000, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot.”
However, event planners have drawn IRE from city officials, who say they still owe the city $260,000 for last year’s festival. But officials confirmed that they are in a budget crisis and need the funds. However the panel still remained firm with the decision to cancel the event.
“Fail me once, shame on you. Fail me twice, shame on me, “Alarcon said.
“Last year, one week prior to the 2010 Sunset Junction Fair, organizers were presented with a bill for $ 267,000 from the city,” Sunset Junction said in a statement Wednesday.
“In prior years, these fees did not exist for non-profit organization, which utilizes Sunset Junction as a fundraiser to help at risk youth embraces a better life choice. Sunset junction repeatedly asked for an itemization of city fees and once they were received, found that the fees were inflated more than 10 times that of comparable LA festivals.”
Event organizers expressed their gratitude towards Live Nation for their load, saying, “Live Nation deeply understands the importance, the legacy and the great impact the fair has on the majority of the community, along with the artistic community.”
This festival has expanded over 30 years to a potential event that shuts down parts of Sunset Boulevard. More than 75 acts scheduled to play at the festival are reportedly in the works of possibly playing with local night clubs and book other performances.
By: Shayla Selva Edited by: Don Weinstein Source:KTLA August 26, 2011
11:50 a.m. PDT