The city of Ocala approved a new partnership with a private company to co-host the upcoming Harvest Fest this year.
During Tuesday’s meeting of the Ocala City Council, Ocala Recreation and Parks Director Kathy Crile informed council members of the desire to partner with the AEG Presents, LLC, citing similar relationships the city has for other events.
“The city needs a partner to assume the responsibility of managing the event, and to reduce the amount of city resources required to execute the event,” said Crile.
Similar to city’s role within the Ocala Arts Festival, Crile indicated that the city would benefit from transitioning from festival host to a support role.
Because of the proximity of this year’s event, the city approved a one-year contract with AEG and will work together to share responsibilities for 2019. Crile indicated that the city will revisit the relationship after the event to explore the possibility of a multi-year contract in the future with the hope to pass all responsibilities to the company.
Last year’s Harvest Fest, which was the first that the city charged an admission for, saw double the attendance of year’s prior with over 3,000 attendees, according to Crile.
This year’s festival, which is the sixth installment, will see AEG provide talent, production, and ticketing services, while the city will provide all other support services comparable to prior years. The event is scheduled to take place at Tuscawilla Park (800 NE Sanchez Ave) on November 9, from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. and will feature two stages of live music all day,
a variety of food trucks and craft vendors.
The city currently operates the festival at a loss, but unlike in 2018 when the net loss was over $90,000, this year’s projected net loss will be $46,000, according to Crile. In the event that this year’s festival draws a profit, the city will stand to receive 75% of the net profits and AEG will receive the remaining 25%.