The Fun Fun Fun Fest stage lit up Austin during last year's event.[/caption]Concern is rising that Fun Fun Fun Fest may not be able to happen at Auditorium Shores this year.
The festival is locally owned and operated and has occurred in Austin since 2006, but with this year's site plan still not approved by Austin City Council the festival's fate hangs in the balance.
FFF Fest is scheduled to occur Nov. 6-8 in the same park area where it has been held since 2011, with the exception of 2014 because of construction conflicts. Austin City Council on June 25 postponed approving any site plan. A vote now scheduled for Aug. 6 after council members returns from their July vacation.
District 4 Council Member Greg Casar sponsored the site plan resolution proposed for June 25 and told fellow council members through the council's message board that stakeholders were working together to find the best solution for all park users and nearby residents.
"The Parks [and Recreation] Department and the festival organizers have worked hard to come to a solution that would allow the festival to continue, while also respecting the needs of regular park users, especially relating to the new off-leash dog area, trail access and water access at the newly renovated Auditorium Shores set to open this summer," Casar wrote.
During a June 23 council meeting, Casar called this a transitional period for the newly renovated Auditorium Shores, and some kinks were likely to need worked out to ensure all users of the park are happy moving forward.
City staff told Austin City Council the park would be closed for eight days to allow FFF Fest organizers enough time to set up, host the event and break down stages, but the event owners would pay all related permit fees and would not ask for a fee waiver requested and received by many other event organizers.
Transmission Events, which produces FFF Fest, last year paid nearly $100,000 in festival fees, which went toward to the city's general fund, according to General Manager Bobby Garza.
District 10 Council Member Shari Gallo voiced concern dog owners would be negatively affected by not being able to access the park and nearby business owners would see a large increase in unwanted parking, which could hurt business, she said. Garza recently addressed concerns held both by supporters of the festival and those who want the Nov. 6-8 event moved out of Auditorium Shores.
"We are only asking for the same amount of space we have had in previous years," Garza said in a news release. "We’re certainly not asking to displace users of the dog park. We know their frustration, as we share similar circumstances—redevelopment of the park happened in spite of our historic usage, too."
