Will some of you who like to attend the International Festival be disappointed. Does it matter to you? I kind of like to keep events like this around Downtown to keep its non-commercial flavor. But I probably will still go. http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2315861 Moving out of downtown International Festival heads to Reliant Park for 5 years By RACHEL GRAVES Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle A downtown institution is trading in skyline views and an urban atmosphere for ample parking and easy highway access. The 32-year-old Houston International Festival is moving, not quite to the 'burbs, but to a tract of manicured grass and two parking lots on 27 acres at Reliant Park. Festival organizers signed a contract Monday with SMG-Reliant Park to hold the April music and culture festival near the football stadium for at least five years. The contract contains an optional extension for a total of 10 years. SMG, which manages Reliant Park, would not disclose how much the festival is paying. Jim Austin, iFest president and chief operating officer, said it is well below the $250,000 a year the festival would have had to pay the city to continue to hold the event downtown. The City Council voted last summer to dramatically increase the $51,000 in fees it would charge the festival to remain in the public parks and streets surrounding City Hall. Officials had complained about closing streets, wear and tear on the parks and being reimbursed for only a fraction of those and other costs, including security and garbage pickup. The increased price tag, limited space downtown and impending reconstruction of Smith Street prompted the festival to seek a new site. Festival enthusiasts bemoan the move, but organizers say they are excited about their new home on the Reliant property between Main and Kirby. "Downtown is a beautiful space, but it had its challenges," said Geary Broadnax, chairman of the Houston Festival Foundation, which puts on the International Festival. "We have a blank slate. We can create something fabulous here." Some particular attractions for festival organizers are the plentiful parking, sufficient electrical outlets to replace the noisy generators used in the past and the ability to have a single, better-decorated entrance to the festival. "You get a feeling that you're walking into an arts festival, not a bunch of chain-link fences," Austin said, referring to the temporary fencing that surrounded the downtown site. They boast of the "greenspace" that was built amid the paved parking lots. It includes two artificial ponds, dozens of spindly young trees and a drainage system that should stave off the mud puddles that have plagued the festival in the past. The festival spotlights a particular country every year. Thailand will be the featured country next April, and organizers have big plans for using the 10 additional acres the Reliant site will give them. They will bring in elephants to do performances and give rides, design the center stage to look like a Buddhist temple, and possibly construct a floating market similar to those in Thailand, where people sell flowers, produce and cooked food from long boats. The International Kids Zone, Texas Zone and Latin Zone will all be held on pavement. "Bring a parasol," said Kati Ozanic-Lemberger, who is designing the structures for the festival. But she noted that it also is hot downtown and that the festival will build structures with shade and have misting tents. The increased space will enable Ozanic-Lemberger to be more creative, marking the Texas Zone with a 30-foot windmill and the African Caribbean Zone with a 16-foot column painted in African designs. She and Austin said the zones will be more distinct than at the downtown site, with different colors, music and food reflecting the region that each represents. "All of your senses will be satiated," Austin said. Some predict the move will diminish the festival, loved in part for attracting diverse crowds of Houstonians to listen to live music from Texas, the United States and the world. "It's not going to be very creative," said Nuri Nuri, a KPFT-FM radio announcer and devoted festival participant. He said the new site will be more structured and sterile, ruining the relaxed atmosphere that led families to spend the day at the festival, napping in the parks, meeting new people and chatting with friends. "I'm not blaming the festival folks because they don't have the money," Nuri said. "Let the city put some money in it, for God's sake." Mike Savas, a music buff and former KPFT announcer, said he will miss the ambience of downtown. He thinks city officials are overlooking a natural part of creating a vibrant downtown that attracts more than commuters. "It seems ironic that they're trying to build up downtown, but only in certain ways," said Savas, who has performed at the festival in a Greek dancing group. But though the city helped found the festival and has long supported it by waiving many fees, city officials did little to discourage the move. "I just don't see how these minimal changes would drive them out of downtown," said City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, who pushed for the measure that quintupled the fees the festival would have had to pay to remain on city property. Councilman Mark Ellis disputed Austin's contention that the festival generates revenue for the city in parking fees and taxes, promotes international business, and helps Houston's image. "Their position now is, `Now that y'all have built us, we're going to go take our ball and play somewhere else,' " he said. "Good riddance." Savas and Nuri said they will still attend the festival but fear it will be less fun. "The music is so great," Savas said, "that wherever it's going to be, I would suffer through it."
yeah, i like festivals in downtown. but, not too disappointed about the move, especially when the festival is featuring my birth country.
