I think the Battle of the Bands was a great success. Lots of people there anyway. I have a problem that it was to raise money for the Chamber of Commerce. What is the Chamber doing that it needs more money? The Chamber is now its own fundraiser. Great.
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It was a fund raiser for the chamber? I don't understand that at all. That is almost as bad as letters going out to raise "advertising" dollars for the school and soliciting the public for money.
The chamber should merge with Princeton and Berlin. I believe Berlin has a part time director and twice as much commerce. Green Lake needs a complete purge from the top on down in the schools, city and chamber. Just like Washington they have done nothing but screw things up. I say throw the bums out.
Too many drunks and weirdos -- shame on the Chamber for bringing in this crowd to our town. Maybe the Chamber made money on this event, but everyone else suffered for it.
We stopped by for an hour or so, it was okay but not really our kind of thing. The event seemed a bit disorganized and the voting aspect did not seem very structured. Still we thought it might become a decent event for Green Lake, becoming better each year.
I didn't realize there were too many drunks and weirdos (or any, but we did not look for them), but we didn't stay till the end. Things might have escalated after we left.
I think a blues festival would be perfect for Green Lake. These are very successful in other communities. I think the mini-music-fest idea is a good one for Green Lake.
What about the "Battle of the Green Lake events"? The band/battle has potential, but they should not book this event the same day as the Art Walk. The annual Art Walk suffered as a result. A good thing to keep in mind for next year.
Were both of these events planned by the Chamber?
I see nothing wrong with the chamber attempting to raise some dollars with a public event. No one was forced to attend, people could support it or not. I've seen other chambers do all kinds of things....special events, raffles, contests, dinners,,,, this is nothing new. If they raised a little money and it will help the chamber do more or meet its efforts to promote businesses and tourism, then that's better for the community. Seems like they can't win.. People complain they are not doing enough. Now they are complaining that they had an event that raised some money. I stopped by the event for a little while. A nice band was playing, people were dancing to the music, having fun, relaxing, spending some money downtown. I'll bet the ice cream shop and gas station were happy this was going on. Most other Saturday nights, the stage and park are dark. Nice that some use could be made of that area. Thank you Ellen and Chamber for doing this event. Bring it back next year, and let it improve and become something special the community can enjoy each year.
I have heard that many people were upset that the best band did not win, because the local band (that did win) had a lot of ballot stuffers. If the chamber tried to do this event again, they need to get the voting structured into a fair and amicable process.
I personally would rather that Green Lake holds a small music fest and not a competition. This seems more fair and would draw just as many people. We didn't attend because it was a competition, we just wanted to listen to some live music.
I think the idea of a music fest, is a great one. Maybe they could even do a few different ones during the summer, with different styles of music featured at each one, A country theme, a jazz theme, a blues theme. That way, some different crowds would be attracted to Green Lake at different times of the summer. More visitors, better for the community.
A Music Fest with different kinds of music sounds wonderful! Not only a way to attract people who like one type of music, but also for us who enjoy listening and learning about different music.
I have heard that many people were upset that the best band did not win, because the local band (that did win) had a lot of ballot stuffers. If the chamber tried to do this event again, they need to get the voting structured into a fair and amicable process.
I personally would rather that Green Lake holds a small music fest and not a competition. This seems more fair and would draw just as many people. We didn't attend because it was a competition, we just wanted to listen to some live music.
Seriously? Anything else you would care to whine about?
The home team always has the advantage on their own turf. Maybe there was some ballot stuffing going on, maybe not. Were you there to help with the balloting? Oh yeah, you missed out on some live music because there was a little competition (mostly meaningless?) involved. It's not like it was mandatory for you to complete a ballot to listen to the music.
Chambers do fund raising activities all the time. They need cashola to fund their activities just like everyone else. Would you really prefer they have no funds and go out of existence?
A "battle of the bands" is probably a pretty good idea. Goes hand in hand with the concert at the park idea that has gone over exceedingly well for quite a few years. Stuff like this along with harvest fest, the fair, and the street dance are about all GL has going for it right now. It certainly isn't the hopping downtown full of realtors and empty spaces that's bringing people in.
There is nothing wrong with the chamber raising money at public event. I find it offense when they ask for donations from local business that already pay dues to them. Where is the money going that they already get?
There is a Festival of Music in Green Lake. It brings in some pretty good music but it is limited in scope. They could probably expand that for more of the community.
The Green Lake Music Festival is generally held at some remote location. I have never attended. It is usually during a weekday, when I have to work. I think it is meant more for the summer people. I am sure it is a beautiful event.
There is nothing wrong with chamber fund raising when you have a poor chamber, but Green Lake has a rich chamber that has an outstanding income. It also spends too much time promoting other events in other areas. Time to shut down the cash flow to this chamber. It also does nothing to promote businesses in Green Lake. They feel it is not their job. Why do you think that many businesses here avoid the chamber?
I guess if you think the Trasher Opera House remote then I guess the music festival is a long ways away.
It seems they all think that money is the answer to their problems.
Chief, how about doing a blog post on the Labor Day 1/2 marathon to see what Green Lakers thought of it?
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