Field Theory: Cancellation Notice
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"Organisers of the Cuba Sreet Carnival in Wellington claim Wellington City Council will no longer fund it because they won't hold the street party during the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
However, the council says that's not the case and it has not yet been formally asked for a financial contribution."
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Mr Judd got there before me. Yeah that article just made things murkier including:
However, Mayor Kerry Prendergast says the council has been in talks about creating an umbrella organisation to run both the Cuba Street Carnival and the Fringe Festival.
@Giovanni: I meant it sounded more like the organiser's version reported by the DomPost.
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but when my employees are spraying around corporate welfare -- and too often doing it without proper scrutiny or due process -- I've got a very big problem indeed.
Yes it's a problem. It's actually quite well known; rush-of-blood-to-the-headitis is its name. Happens every time when something 'big' and 'worldclass' by whatever means swoops into town.
I have seen many an officer with this symptom. I've yet to find the cure.
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It's about Kerry of Tawa.
She runs Wellington as a shopping mall for her suburban constituency.
Who are a lot more into rugby than half-naked samba dancers. Yup, we could afford a carnival, rugby (though the rugby is happening anyway, charging $$$ a ticket and making fucktonnes of money for the IRB, so why the council needs to spend *anything* on it escapes me) *and* libraries. We could especially afford this stuff if we weren't spending a fortune on building highways for suburbanites SUVs, and tearing up pedestrian areas to provide room for buses (instead of taking space from said SUVs).
We do have the hope that if we can mobilise the people of Wellington to actually vote and leave Kerry firmly off our STV ballot papers, we might see a better headline in Septermber.
Carnival reinstated. Kerry cancelled
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Cuba Street Carnival - clarification
Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast has denied as “absolutely untrue” reports that the 2011 Cuba St Carnival has been cancelled because the Council is not committed to funding it and is spending money on the Rugby World Cup instead.The Council has been working with the Cuba Street Carnival and Fringe Arts trusts since last year on forming a new trust focused on delivering and developing events for emerging artists in Wellington.
Mayor Prendergast says the Council committed $75,000 toward helping establish the trust and has not received any formal funding request for the 2011 Cuba St Carnival.“As far as the Council is concerned we are still working with the trust and a report detailing the steps to establish it is being finalised at the moment.
“We have always been supportive of the Cuba St Carnival and contributed approximately $300,000 last year. The suggested figure of $500,000 was taken out of context and included a much wider range of events that the Council and Cuba St Carnival Collective Trust had been discussing.
“The Rugby World Cup has been budgeted completely separately from community events and major events. It is absolutely not drawing Council funding from any other events in the city.”
Nick Simcock, Chair of the Cuba St Carnival Collective, says a decision was made at the last board meeting that is was not feasible for the new trust to run an event of the Cuba Carnival’s scale in its first year of operation.
“We decided the focus should be on identifying appropriate trustees, building relationships with stakeholders and engaging appropriately qualified staff instead.
“We think it is in the best interest of Wellington City, the performers and the 150,000 carnival attendees for us to plan for a successful carnival in the longer term rather than compromise its authenticity because we have committed to an unrealistic timeframe in a very difficult financial environment.”
The steering group for the new trust, made up of representatives from the Carnival and Fringe Trusts, is working with other creative interests, including Wellington City Council, on a long-term strategy to retain and build Wellington’s status as New Zealand’s leading centre for arts events and emerging artists.
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soooo... anyone believe her?
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OTOH... has the Dominion Post ever been right about anything?
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"dolphin v. pastry"
-I have a revered old old family receit for "dolphin pie" (and we aint talking mahimahi here. Or a French princeling.)
It may resolve argument... -
OTOH... has the Dominion Post ever been right about anything?
Fair call.
I’m just amazed they failed to bring Seripisos into the story somehow
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Cuba Street Carnival - clarification
For those not wishing to read the full version, I have a summary.
We won't be funding Carnival next year. But we're happy to spend $75k on setting up a pointless bureaucracy that will totally fail to hold a carnival.
Way to go.
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We won't be funding Carnival next year. But we're happy to spend $75k on setting up a pointless bureaucracy that will totally fail to hold a carnival.
Way to go.Then I ask, is that the fault of the council or the trust?
As for the DomPost, is there ever an easier story than "don't you hate the council?"
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don't you hate the council?
Maybe if it didn't consist of council officers with a middle-class, suburbanite agenda, a mayor with a middle-class, suburbanite agenda, and a couple of allegedly Green councillors who've been "assimilated" into the "constructive" side of council, then we wouldn't.
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I remember discussing the Cuba Street Carnival with Chris Morley-Hall when it was but a twinkle in his eye.
Having been involved with The Gathering for a few years by that point I knew how much effort, blood, sweat and tears it took to create a "happening" out of nothing - how much it took out of you and how long it could take to turn that twinkle of an idea into something real and tangible and successful.
I just want to say how much I admire Chris for having taken up the challenge and making the Cuba Street Carnival into the 150,000-people success it had become by 2009.
I'm not going to speculate on exactly why the Carnival has hit this bump in the road - the stories and reports don't make sense at the moment - there are obviously some big pieces of info missing, and I hope we get the opportunity to find out more soon.
Wellington Batucada, for example, probably wouldn't exist if it weren't for Chris and the Cuba Street Carnival. We originally formed in November 2001 to perform in the Carnival, and we've been a part of it ever since - and in the process have become a part of Wellington's culture in the same way as the Carnival has.
Events like the Rugby Sevens, the Cuba Street Carnival, the Wellington Festival of the Arts and the Fringe Festival are some of what makes Wellington such a special place to live. All those wonderful events bring colour and a little bit of magic to our city, and make it a place to be proud of.
Each of these events also creates its own little set of ripples in the Wellington pond which further enrich our city. Just as The Gathering inspired a whole generation of DJs and makers of electronica to come out of their bedrooms and into the light of live performance, so events like the Cuba Street Carnival provide a huge number of creative people with a wonderful, joyous, fantabulous excuse to push their creativity and their showmanship to new levels every two years.
The Batucada crew, for example, worked every day for two months on our float and our costumes for the 2009 event, and we start rehearsing our performance pieces months before the big day. It's always been a huge part of who we are and what we do.
Being a part of the Carnival (and winning the Supreme Award) has positive spin-offs for us too - our beginners' course that followed soon after the Carnival last year had more than three times as many participants as normal, and we've continued to get big numbers to our courses since then as well. We continue to grow and improve, and love what we do - and a lot of that is due to our ongoing participation in the Cuba Street Carnival.
Chris can be proud that he has made such a huge contribution to our performing arts culture over the past 10 years, just as we can be proud that our membership of Batucada brings colour to many events in and around the city throughout the year.
I'm completely gutted that there won't be another Carnival next year. I'm crossing my fingers and praying that this will be a temporary hiatus and that we'll all be back again with bells on in 2013 (if not sooner!)
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soooo... anyone believe her?
Any particular reason not to, except that she's an evil Tory bitch?
OTOH... has the Dominion Post ever been right about anything?
If Phil Kitchen wasn't in the habit of getting things right, he'd have put every paper he'd have single-handedly destroyed the media in this country years ago. And just to play the devil's advocate for a moment, ever seen a newspaper run a story where someone says "we didn't actually need, or deserve, that grant/budget increase -- and the world's not actually going to end"? As Hayden observed no media outlet has ever lost an audience by bagging City Hall -- hell, some of the most unsavoury press barons to ever suck down oxygen have made their fortunes that way.
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serious question: why does a special council-funded group need to stage the carnival?
especially if chris is still wanting to stage it (as suggested by his required $500k)?
all a bit strange really. i say less council, more party.
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Che, I suspect that a lot of the $500k is money that goes straight back to the council for "services", or pays for things that are required by council and government.
If you just announced the roads were closed and anyone trying to drive them would be blocked by 150,000 people in crazy costumes, then invited said people to come and party, you could probably have a pretty cheap event, with volunteer clear-up.
But the council insist on cones, bouncers, fences around any area where kids might come into contact with the Evil Drink, etc.
Cost of putting on Carnival: $50k
Cost of nanny state: $450k -
Sue,
So how many people are speaking as the voice of the carnival?
chris is one, and he's the man with the vision and who i thought was the voice and force of the carnival
however now there is this new uber trust to look after carnival and fringe and becuase it's being set up = no carnival in 2011
then there is someone from the carnival board i think
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Sue, I think you have put your finger on what is troubling me about reports so far.
What is this trust exactly? Is it the same as the old Carnival Collective? What is the role of Chris MH, and of the other people quoted? Why are there such big discrepancies in various peoples' stories?
At this point I am quite cross, but I don't know where or who to direct this annoyance at -- except maybe the press.
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As an aside how much was the Hero Parade costing to put on if anybody can remember?
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As an aside how much was the Hero Parade costing to put on if anybody can remember?
Not much. I attended an Auckland City Council meeting in the newly opened Town Hall in the late 90s, where the agenda item was how much was Council going to support the Hero Parade.
They were asking for $10K, made up of donation in kind really, of barriers, and cleaning crews.
The Xian fundamentalists on Council weren't having a bar of it, but were outvoted at the last minute.
From memory most of the Hero Parades were only ever supported by private sponsors (Qantas for example), and Council only chipped in a minimal amount for street cleaning.
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But the council insist on cones, bouncers, fences around any area where kids might come into contact with the Evil Drink, etc.
Cost of putting on Carnival: $50k
Cost of nanny state: $450kThis carnival has run successfully previously with some council funding. It would be pretty presumptuous to say that the increase in costs of several hundred thousand is the result of the council, given that they've been involved previously. Evidence would be good.
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In regard to the $500,000 - it's a red herring and has now been retracted by KP.
Carnival's fate 'not council's fault':
She also retracted the council's earlier suggestion that Mr Morley-Hall had requested $500,000 for next year's carnival.
Instead, she said that no formal request for funding had been received by the council.
and Rugby didn't steal carnival cash - mayor
It has been reported that Mr Morley-Hall asked for $500,000 from the council for next year's carnival, but Ms Prendergast said that figure included a much wider range of events than the council and Cuba St Carnival Collective Trust had been discussing.
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I come from the point of view of having worked on smaller festivals and dance parties.
Basically, the carnival needs to provide organisation (telling people where to go for the parade) and stages for the bands. None of that is very expensive, especially if you get volunteers to help out. (If people start expecting to be salaried, of course, or if you hire a large paid crew, then costs will shoot up).
A stage and PA like the one on Swan Lane would be about $20k, max.
Apart from that, it's all the crowd control and enforcement that send the costs up.
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Marketing
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"big cost blowout" usually says two things to me:
1. price-gouging
2. bureaucrats.both of which this council seems to be very, very good at.
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