The deficit came in the very year its nonprofit organizer,ArtsQuest, could least afford it because of the uncertainty thatcame with launching its performing arts center at SteelStacks. Theloss from Musikfest, which provides half the nonprofit's revenue,pushed ArtsQuest into a $1 million operating loss, more than 5percent of its budget. So, as Musikfest opens Friday evening, its financial performance isstealing some of the spotlight. "This is a year that is critically important for ArtsQuest …They have to hit their mark," Mayor John Callahan said.
ArtsQuest over the last year has deconstructed the festival tofigure out how to make it more efficient, stepped up its marketingand, perhaps to court good karma, gathered with Tibetan monks ofthe Drepung Loseling Monastery on Thursday for a ritual to sendhealing energy to the area of last year's flooding in Musikfest'sHandwerkplatz. ArtsQuest President Jeff Parks said a good deal is riding on thisyear's performance, but "survival" is not the issue. "Are we going to go into bankruptcy? No, that's not what is atstake. What is at stake is the ability to do what the nonprofitcommunity calls risk capital," Park said. In other words, takechances.
"What new activities can we take on? ArtsQuest is known for takingrisks, adapting to the needs to the community. Without restoringour operating loss, we will have to be more conservative in how wemake our decisions." From the day Musikfest debuted in 1984, people would behard-pressed to call it conservative. It was staged in Bethlehem, astruggling industrial town that talk show host Phil Donahuedescribed in his book the previous year as having a "very sick"culture (Donahue later apologized). Then-Mayor Paul Marcincinignored the recommendations from his advisers and threw the city'ssupport and resources behind the German-themed festival Parkspitched. That risk reaped rewards.
Musikfest has become the nation's largestfree music festival, attracting as many as a million people in anygiven year and pumping an estimated $39 million into the regionaleconomy. That attitude continued last year when ArtsQuest opened a $26.6million performing arts center at the former Bethlehem Steelproperty, helping its partners to Furnace Transformer a 9-acre industrialslab near the former Steel blast furnaces into what he calls a "21 s t century town square" where there are musical performances —a year-round Musikfest. Parks admits there were miscalculations last year, as would happenwith any new venture. Startup costs were higher than expected.
Somemini-festivals, such as Steel Jam, weren't so successful,compounding Musikfest's loss. Musikfest Café, thecabaret-style music venue in the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks,operated below the industry standard of 60 percent of capacity.
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