The High Price of Sweet Pea Festival

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I remember when a Sweet Pea button was $5. Over the years I have seen the price of the addmitance to sweet pea skyrocket. For a family of four it can now cost you almost half a benjamin just to get it! There are a lot of families who can't and won't pay that much to eat a tater pig and watch an unknown band. Why is the Sweet Pea board so hell bent on keeping corporate money out of their precious little festival? There are numerous businesses that would love to sponsor the event therefore lowering the price of addmitance for everyone.

I recently went to a festival in the south that was similar to Sweet Peas and the admittance was FREE! There were so many people there and the vendors were selling merchandise left and right. People had more money to spend on food and art/crafts because it was free to get and everyone could attend. There were sponsor banners at the base of multiple stages but not enough to take away from the quality of the festival.

So tell us Sweet Pea board...why has your cost gone up...quaity stayed the same...and why do you not want corporate money? Is a button going to be $25 per person a few years from now? How about a cool hundred for a family of four to get into your festival?

Remember when the fourth of July fireworks used to cost money to get it? And remember how admittance was slumping year after year. The first year (last year) that the fireworks show had free admittance they had a record number of people attend and had a huge support of local corporate sponsors which made it a huge success.
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posted on Mon, May 12, 2008 11:51 AM
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Sweet Pea Costs byArt2 months ago (1 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
What I have heard from Sweet Pea folks is that comparitively, the admission is still a great deal. And that is probably true. But I also remember reading at the conclusion of the festival last year, that the head person who runs it takes a salary of something like 40 thousand dollars a year which breaks down to about 20 bucks an hour if it were full time work, 52 weeks a year.
I'm not saying the festival could operate without this person, but it isn't all staffed by volunteers either.
Pay the fee... byBozemaniteNo314232 months ago (1 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
it keeps the riff raff out, and we've got to pay the police for security and traffic direction. Without the funds- - - there would be NO Sweet Pea.
RE: Pay the fee... byTahoe192 months ago (1 votes) (report abuse)
How do you figure it keeps the riff raff out?? If Sweet Pea is your thing, whether you are "riff raff" or not you are going to go. Anyone can come up with money for something they want. As far as funding goes, why not have some sponsors? Sweet Pea is an amazing community event that businesses would be proud to support. By increasing the price, while you think it is only the riff raff being excluded, you have to keep in mind that the well deserving family that can barely scrape by, also is excluded and their children miss out on a fantastic event.
RE: Pay the fee... bysouthward2 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse)
Agree with Tahoe. Probably a lot of families that have to scrape to take the kids out to an event like that, and just as many that can't scrape it. Not saying you are wrong about the funding, but the riff-raff comment was misdirected.
RE: Pay the fee... bybozeman2 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse)
Using this line of logic, "we should raise the fee up to $1000.00 per person and really keep out the rift-raft out". I think having fees for an event like this exclusionary, if anything it should be donation based.
Sweet Pea byelsbeth382 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
It's like everything else in Montana,the State,City&County Gov. want only the very wealthy to live here,so it can become another Aspin.
RE: Sweet Pea byskew2 months ago (1 votes) (report abuse)
So it's true that they're going hold Sweet Pea inside the Yellowstone Club in 2008?
Sweet Pea Conspiracy! byHockeyMom2 months ago (1 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
So, it's the GOVERNMENT that's behind the high ticket price! Ah Ha!

I don't agree. I think Aliens landed in Lindley Park a few years ago, are living in tater-pig holes, and thrive on rich snobbish attitude (and dog poop)!
RE: Sweet Pea Conspiracy! byDetector Man2 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse)
Obviously HockeyMom is one of the elitist, Willson street living, SUV driving, Non-working mom's that I suspected.

I'm simply saying don't charge anything for the Sweet Pea Festival like so many other festivals around the country and let corporate money fund the event.
Expensive Music bybcmontana2 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
Why do we have to hire bands from far-flung places and other states? A lot of the pricey bands I've heard at past Sweet Pea festivals have been no better than a lot of our local bands, but WAY more expensive. Why don't we hire more local talent?

I don't know what percentage of the budget the music acts consume, but all the vendors and artists pay to be there, so what other costs are there beyond security?

Still, there seem to be big crowds every year, and getting bigger, so it's hard to make the case that the tickets are too expensive. Wonder what this year will be like with a softer economy?
To Tahoe19 byBozemaniteNo314232 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
Usually, the riff raff I'm thinking about, would do anything to avoid a well Policed event. Making someone pay a fair price, for the safety and security of all who go is worth it, because there are some that will not pay it and they will probably cause trouble elsewhere or stay home!!! LOL
Re: Expensive Music byArt2 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
Bomontana: They have to import (expensive) music because it's a festival of the arts, so they need to bring in diverse music so that our horizons might be broadened. Which does not always translate into good music.
Now if it were a music festival, it might be different. Maybe that's what it should be because most of the folks I know, young and old go for the music.
It's a great festival but maybe they need to give up on the pretense of it being about the arts.
Police, fire, ambulance, insurance, power, porta-johns, organizers/coordinators, bands, etc. byBozemaniteNo314232 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
ALL COST $$$$$$$
Hoity Toity byMrs Claus2 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
Our family made the decision years ago to veto the Sweet Pea. It just kept getting more and more snobbish and uppity. The last straw was when they wouldn't let my mom and her friends have a craft booth because they were based outside of Bozeman (Belgrade) and would probably not make it through the jury process anyway. We don't need no more snobs.
Mrs. Claus byberrymountain2 months ago (1 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
There is a "jury" which allows or disallows people to participate as vendors, makes sense. I do agree the vendors, bands and all particpating should be from the Gallatin Valley. After all, isn't the festival about the Bozeman area?

I would sure like to know what criterea the Sweet Pea Organizers use to determine one's elibility. I also hope that once that standard is set, all who participate are held to that standard. (above posting said bands are "imported.") Why would we need to "import" anything?

Gallatin Valley certainly has the people and businesses to provide everything it needs. We have fabulous bands, orchestra's, theatre, etc.

That's the way I see it. Careful with "corporate sponsorship."
RE: Mrs. Claus byMrs Claus1 month ago (1 votes) (report abuse)
What they told my mom was that she had to live inside Bozeman city limits. I know that's changed now and I totally agree that the vendors should be primarily from Gallatin County.

Keep it real and keep it local!!
BOZEMAN "RIFF RAFF" (see comment above by Bozemanite314232" byberrymountain2 months ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
BozemaniteNo314232 wrote:

"it keeps the riff raff out, and we've got to pay the police for security and traffic direction. Without the funds- - - there would be NO Sweet Pea."


HOLY COW! Please define "the riff raff."

You also stated, "...we've got to pay..." WHY would you say "we've" if you are not directly involved with the Sweet Pea Festival? I would not know that the Sweet Pea Organization has to pay for law enforcment/security. I would assume the Bozeman Police Department provides that. Sounds like you are a bit too close to this organization/festival.

On another blog, you said you were going to report a blogger who claimed her parents were financially destitute, to the Missoula Police Department!

Here, you are spouting off about keeping the "riff raff" out of the Sweet Pea Festival. People like you should not be involved with decisions regarding the public.

If anyone knows, I'd sure like to know if the Sweet Pea Festival/Organization receives any public money derived from taxpayer dollars.



I would like to know who you are, and how you acquire your income.
Sweet Pea Costs byAlphaBeagle2 weeks ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
Costs usually go up in organizations like this because someone at the top is getting more money - they've given themselves a raise. Look at other "non-profits" - who is running them? What are they getting paid? Who decides what they get paid? The Chronicle should explore this with Sweet Pea.
Sweet Pea Festival bybozeman63052 weeks ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
I have always loved the Sweet Pea festival but over the last few years, it has veered away from being an "Arts" Festival. Instead of having the lovely local art and products from the Bozeman area, they have the same crafty junk as every other festival in the country and from the same vendors. And I agree, why pay musicians to come from elsewhere? We have plenty of good ones. They have lost their originality and local flavor in this area. It is really sad. Bigger is sure not better. I know they have turned down some of the better artists around here and accepted junk vendors. Ugh.

The farmer's market on Saturday mornings is full of the same junk now and barely a farmer in sight.

The only thing that has any personality is the parade. Other than that,I'm on strike.
Sweet Pea Admission bybozeman63052 weeks ago (0 votes) (report abuse) (reply)
I think 10 bucks for an adult and 5 for kids 12 to 16 would be fair. Under 12 should be free. I think everyone should be able to come and for those who can't afford it, I think they should let them pay what they can. I would be happy to donate for this but I would want it to go to the families, not the adminstrators. It's an expensive weekend for a lot of people.