As a self-proclaimed music junkie often complaining about the lack of live music in Napa Valley, nobody wanted BottleRock to succeed more than me. And by certain accounts, it did. Drawing crowds in excess of 100,000 people, who forked out as much as $600 for multi-day passes to jam out with more than 60 bands, all without totally crippling downtown Napa. Leading up to the event held in May, some doubted if a festival of this magnitude could (or should) happen in Napa, while others feared a fate filled with traffic bottlenecks and a trampling of downtown. But the music rolled on, traffic flowed and attendees rallied at the prospect of round two in 2014, when festival organizer, Gabe Myers, stepped on stage and vowed to bring BottleRock back next year.
It appeared all was swell on the BottleRock front, which, in its first year, became the largest event to ever be produced in Napa. In the days that followed, a retelling of BottleRock tales could be heard up and down the valley and, for the most part, the words were favorable. Until the big boom dropped just one month later, when The Press Democrat and Napa Valley Register reported financial woes to the tune of $1.8 million in debt. In July, that figure shot to $2.1 million with nary a sign of payment in sight. While the list of creditors grew to include everyone from stagehands and event staffing to catering and the city of Napa, festival founders Meyers and Bob Vogt seemed to being doing little to allay the storm of negative attention. Aside from speaking of a willingness to make good on their debts followed by finger pointing at Cindy Pawlcyn’s catering company, which they cite as the obstacle to forking over payment (Pawlcyn’s people claim otherwise).
As I write this in August, the mountain of debt still stands. Vogt and Meyers have copped to being in talks with potential investors as a means toward paying creditors. Only time will tell if BottleRock dies or lives on to look back at this first year blip as a mere rite of passage that festivals of this magnitude (Coachella and other such successful fests had financial woes in their infancy) endure on the bumpy road to success.
A different type of tale
Like life, while some falter, others flourish—especially when it comes to the grandiose dreams of making a dramatic dent in Napa Valley’s arts and entertainment scene. One such fairytale, the Napa Valley Film Festival (NVFF), gears up for round three, and bad press has been hard to come by. Instead, the venture, founded by Marc and Brenda Lhormer, which is set to take center screen November 13 through 17, continues to make strides.
Brenda Lhormer reports a 25 percent rate of growth in attendance from year one to two, with projected attendance for 2013 expected to rise from 32,000 to 40,000. She reports that economic spending for the 2012 festival week rose from $3.5 million to approximately $5 million, with average spending coming in at $500 per person. It’s a figure that represents locally circulating monies and includes payments to participate in the festival, lodging, dining, wine tasting, wine purchasing and other retail spending.
Lhormer elaborates on how the festival’s original business objectives are still at play three years later. “We wanted local businesses to see a massive spike [during a time they’d typically experience a slowdown], to succeed and see new customers. That’s what our fest has been doing for the past two years and we know that trend will continue this year.”
While BottleRock creditors clamor for payment, NVFF partners like the Westin Verasa, Villagio, Bardessono and Meadowood, have returned consistently. “Every year, we’ve gone back to our partners to see if they saw an increase in business. Many have told us it’s the best business they’ve ever had on this weekend from year’s past. They’re drawing new customers and a younger demographic. It’s really gratifying that businesses feel like we’re making a positive economic impact.”
Lhormer shares that most food and beverage partners that participated in the inaugural fest in 2011 have returned each year since, while other businesses that shied away from the opportunity when the festival was an unproven entity have since asked how they can get involved. The event also continues to draw large corporate sponsors. This year, Cadillac (the major transportation sponsor) partners with Sony to create a moveable theater experience called “On the Move,” where large screens will be caddied all over the valley to offer on-the-fly movie experiences in local parks and perches from Napa to Calistoga.
Lhormer assures that the diversity festival goers have come to expect will continue this year. More magazine, together with vintners from Women of the Vine, will serve as co-sponsors for the first ever NVFF Power Luncheon: Celebrating Women Making a Difference, on November 16. The event will honor Anita Hill (who’s film “Anita” is set to screen at the festival) along with Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe, who heads a vocational school in Gulu, Uganda, and is part of the documentary “Sewing Hope.” The event is part of the fest’s overarching theme this year: Women’s Empowerment.
The festival will reveal a new Lifestyle Pavilion at the opening night gala (previously held at Robert Mondavi Winery) within a tented space stretched between the outdoor area between Oxbow Public Market and the 500 First Street building (formerly known as Copia). “This change offers the opportunity for so many more wineries to participate and we can have spirits and a variety of chefs. There will also be a showcase to demonstrate the restaurant boom that’s happening in downtown Napa.”
With the NVFF’s promise of another late fall boon to local business, let’s hope the folks behind BottleRock close the year by making good on their debts, so the potential exists for another bump to local biz come spring.
