Former City Councilwoman Barbara Livingston: “Don’t let us become Festival City.”

ABSTRACT: After City Administrator Rich Guillen’s report on his conversation with the President and Producer of the Sonoma Valley Film Festival in Sonoma, CA. detailing the requirements for a successful Film Festival, former City Councilwoman Barbara Livingston shared her thoughts with the public and City Council Members. She stressed the need for only the “best, the finest, absolutely the top-notch festivals” and advised the City Council to “be really, really careful about restricting yourself to a few, two or three, and maybe look into what we are doing now, maybe there are some we can drop, but don’t let us become Festival City. Don’t let us become Festival City.”

City Council Agenda
Regular Meeting
September 11, 2007

XI. Orders of Council

B. Review the City’s participation in a proposed Carmel-by-the-Sea Film Festival and provide policy direction.

City Administrator Rich Guillen reported on his trip to Sonoma with Jeff Burghardt, Anda/Burghardt Advertising, to meet Marc Lhormer, Presdient and Producer of the Sonoma Valley Film Festival. According to Marc Lhormer, a successful Film Festival requires approximately $1 million; $500,000 from corporate sponsors and $500,000 from donations. There are three stakeholders, including a Film Society with a Board of Directors comprised of a minimum of 15 Directors who would operate the Film Festival and donate at least $5,000/director towards the $500,000 in donations, a Production Company and City sponsorship of potentially $50,000 - $100,000 annually.

After City Administrator Rich Guillen’s Staff Report, former City Councilwoman Barbara Livingston addressed the public and City Council, as follows:

Barbara Livingston. I rather like the idea of the Film Festival. To me it has much more appeal for the City than the Car Festival, or whatever we call it because it frees up the entire downtown for people to shop. I really rather like it.

I have something rather interesting though to say. In 1998, I attended the League of California Cities Conference in San Jose and one afternoon, I took a seminar or class, or whatever, on culture and what culture does for a village or a city or a town. The two speakers were the head of the cultural affairs department for the State of California and the Executive Director of the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek, it’s a very esteemed center, as you know. And they said the benefits of bringing cultural activities to a town are wonderful. So I raised my hand and I said, “Is there a chance that a city, a town, a village or whatever, can bring in too many festivals, too many events?” And they said, “Where are you from?” And I said, “Monterey Peninsula, Carmel, specifically.” And they went, “You’re already overbooked.”

So what I’m asking you to do when you consider bringing festivals here, bring the best, the finest, absolutely the top-notch festivals, and be really, really careful about restricting yourself to a few, two or three, and maybe look into what we are doing now, maybe there are some we can drop, but don’t let us become Festival City. Don’t let us become Festival City.

In the last sentence of the paragraph on the cover sheet of the agenda packet item, Important Consideration, it says that the Film Festival will bring long-term impacts that could be beneficial to the City’s brand. Now I am totally mystified by what is meant by the City’s brand because since 1916 we’ve been known, our brand has been Carmel, a village in the forest by-the-sea. Are we changing our brand? I’m not aware of it. What is the brand? Can you tell me that?

Later, City Administrator Rich Guillen responded that the brand, Carmel, a village in the forest by-the-sea, had not changed; the City just wants to “highlight” it.