Sitting in the middle of Colorado Blvd. at Make Music Pasadena (Photo – W.K.).
If you’re standing, sit down! Here’s the sad news: MMP may be dead!
By Melanie Hooks
Rumors have been circling around for quite a while in and around Pasadena about the possible death of Make Music Pasadena, the largest free music celebration in the area.
The all-day, all-ages music festival with a draw of close to 50,000 music lovers, suffered a low attendance year last year due to a rainy weather. Apparently not only rain was a factor in putting the festival on hiatus this year, but increasing costs had a direct effect too.
The festival’s demise -or hiatus- as organizers like to call it, came in a post on their main page few minutes ago (as publishing time). Here’s the full announcement:
After nine years of bringing free music to the streets of our city with Make Music Pasadena, Old Pasadena Management District and the Playhouse District Association, co-producers of the festival, have made the difficult decision to put the event on hiatus for 2017 and to evaluate its future viability.
Current funding sources are not sufficient to finance an event that is entirely free to the public. Due to exponentially rising costs in conjunction with a significant lack of funding from sponsorships and donations, Make Music Pasadena faced a $150,000 budget deficit, making it impossible to produce the festival for 2017. A proliferation of local and national music festivals has also made it a challenge to secure both talent and local media attention within a limited budget.
The producing organizations remain hopeful that sufficient sponsorship might be achieved for a 2018 event, and altruistically-inclined white knights are encouraged to contact either organization to discuss details. That’s not to say that Pasadena will be without live music this summer: We are delighted that the Arroyo Seco Weekend Festival will join in the tradition of bringing local, regional, and national acts to the people of Pasadena.
We hope this free and cool festival will be back in some shape and form in the coming years. In the meantime, rejoice. The Eclectic Music Festival and Art Walk is coming to South Pasadena on May 6, 2017.
So long, MMP.
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