Arts Beats and eats?

[eastland]

AB&E is a blatant money-grab. No "soul" or sense of purpose like the events it helped kill [[Festival of the Arts, TasteFest, etc.).

[stinkytofu]

AB&E is a blatant money-grab. No "soul" or sense of purpose like the events it helped kill [[Festival of the Arts, TasteFest, etc.).

How did AB&E help kill Comerica TasteFest? They were two months apart. Perhaps they ate the same sponsorship dollars?

[Kathleen]

AB&E is a blatant money-grab. No "soul" or sense of purpose like the events it helped kill [[Festival of the Arts, TasteFest, etc.).

Having attended AB&E, TasteFest, Festival of the Arts, and so many other festivals that combine music, art, and food, I fail to see how you can call AB&E a "blatant money-grab". Who was grabbing the money?? The musicians played for the patrons and got paid for their gig, the restaurants sold food, and artists from all over the country sold their wares. Attendees heard music by national acts and local groups, ate food from restaurants they previously might not have known about, and they bought art from talented local and national artists. Proceeds went to local Michigan charities, just as TasteFest proceeds did. And in spite of this event happening on the same weekend as a myriad of other big and worth-attending festivals, it survives due to the interest and patronage of SE Michiganders and others.

And I don't believe that AB&E killed the other festivals. Not only are corporate sponsorships necessary to fund the event, partially in order to bring in the big name musical acts or the artistic international performers, but there is much competition among the festivals and the events. I've talked with some of the folks associated with Festival of the Arts and TasteFest and there are many reasons that these festivals no longer exist.