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Posted on Tue, Sep 13, 2011 : 5:55 a.m.

Saline's Celtic Festival Committee: 'Let's get moving' on next year's event after finishing in the black

By Lisa Allmendinger

Members of the Saline Celtic Festival delivered good news to the Saline City Council Monday night at a work session - this year’s revamped event finished in the black.

Bob Rash, the event’s chairman, said the festival took in $61,887 in revenues and paid out $61,209 in expenses for a net profit of $678.

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In addition, he said, the festival’s new non-profit arm called Friends of the Festival, netted $10,815.23 through its fundraising, beer tent and new 5-K run, contributing $9,000 to the festival, leaving a balance of $1,815.23, which will serve as the start of a rainy day fund.

The committee hopes to increase that amount to $15,000 by 2014 as a cushion against future losses because of bad weather.

Prior to this year’s event, the City Council surprised committee members by expressing serious concerns about the event’s financial viability. But in a close vote, it approved the July event that’s taken place for the last 16 years in Mill Pond Park.

Rash said the committee took those concerns seriously and worked hard to plan an event that was “successful, popular and fun.”

The city’s festival suffered from bad weather for several years in a row and showed losses of about $15,800 in 2007 and $18,000 in 2008 before showing estimated profits of $19,700 in 2009 and $3,600 in 2010, according to a four-year history of the event.

Pam Grosshans, treasurer for the festival, said, “The essence of the Celtic Festival is celebrating Celtic culture and at the same time be a part of the arts.”

The Celtic Festival celebrates Saline’s sister city relationship with Brecon, Wales, and showcases Celtic music, dancing, and athletics.

This year, more than 300 volunteers put on the event and the committee reduced its expenses and dependency on city staff. Paid attendance topped 3,200 and a survey of 149 people at the festival showed that 24 percent of the people asked were from the Saline zip code while 76 percent were from out of the area.

Mayor Gretchen Driskell, who is on the festival's committee, reiterated her opinion that the event is a benefit to the community.

“This is a different event than Summerfest, (which focuses on city residents). I do believe this has never been just about Saline. It reaches out to a broader audience.”

The festival is put on by a seven-member executive committee, 31 chairpersons and more than 300 volunteers with support from city staff including the police department and the Department of Public Works.

The committee is expected to give a Powerpoint presentation to the City Council on Sept. 19, when it’s expected that a discussion of the event’s future will take place.

“I think we set a strong foundation this year,” Rash said, “But there’s still room for improvement.”

He said the committee is already thinking about next year and has set a projected date of July 13-14.

"Let's get moving" on next year's event, he said. Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter with AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Saline stories, visit our Saline page.

Comments

Jimmy Olsen

Thu, Sep 15, 2011 : 12:46 a.m.

I hope that the commitee will not be strong-arming every business in Saline again next year to support their festival. Other organizations had issues with donations this year.

treetowncartel

Tue, Sep 13, 2011 : 4:10 p.m.

Don't they have a German festival coming. Celtic or German, got a pick one or the other. i go for the Krauts, better food and better beer, although the Celtic may have a leg up when it comes to whiskey.

kms

Tue, Sep 13, 2011 : 11:13 a.m.

My kids and I attended for the first time this year and had a great time. We loved watching the Highland Games. We'll look forward to it next year!

Susan Montgomery

Tue, Sep 13, 2011 : 10:52 a.m.

Great news! We love going to the Celtic Festival. Please bring back covered seating for the Highland Games, we missed it as we wilted in the sun far from the competitors last year...