Letters to the Editor 07/23/2008

To the Editor:

Jean Wells has given to our town a very special gift, called "Quilt Show." It began 33 years ago with 12 quilts blowing in the breeze on the Old Sisters Hotel, now called Bronco Billy's.

Over the years her wonderful gift has increased more than one could imagine. People come from all over the world to experience this wonderful gift. They come for a week or more and fill up our town with excitement, energy and the almighty dollar. Many return in the off-season to visit our beautiful community.

Most merchants are gracious with the gift, sharing in the experience and are thankful to Jean and the hundreds of volunteers for the event she created. The event put Sisters, Oregon, on the map as the home of the largest outdoor quilt show in the world.

We are thankful because she has created an opportunity for merchants to provide services to the thousands of visitors and hundreds of volunteers that participate in Quilt Show.

Unfortunately, some take advantage of the gift. They turn this very special time of sharing into a money-only event, turning our wonderful and incredible town into a street fair with vendors coming from afar to take from our town and giving nothing back.

The vendor issue lies on the shoulders of the business and property owners who choose to allow vendors to set up shop on Quilt Show day and take from those that work here year round.

For those business and property owners that choose to rent to vendors I ask you to consider saying "NO" next year. No to renting to vendors. Why don't you see what you can offer to the Quilt Show instead of what you can take away?

Please do not ruin this gift for everyone else. Be thankful for what we have, as this gift is not required to be given.

Truly,

Myrna Dow

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To the Editor:

My husband and I attended the event (Central Oregon Blues & Crawfish Festival) two nights over the July 4 weekend. We feel that this event is the best thing that has happened to Sisters in a long time.

Sitting on a blanket in the grass, enjoying friends and family in the fresh air certainly beats being in a stuffy tent crammed into uncomfortable chairs that are so close together one cannot even cross one's legs.

The entertainment was excellent. the high caliber of talent from the artists was beyond description. I would think that talent like that would not even bother coming if the festival was limited to one night.

The organizers deserve many pats on the back for their hard work in erecting an extremely attractive stage along with beautiful lighting and a spectacular sound system. As for the "noise" level, the organizers admit they have some bugs to work out.

The city council should not discourage new events that draw revenue to our town.

Kathie Helser

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To the Editor:

I would like to thank AMP Media Group for having the foresight to put the Central Oregon Blues and Crawfish Festival together. What a fun weekend!

The "pass" made it easy for everyone to come and go all weekend. The music, food and beverages were great. The festival itself was run very professionally.

I was pleased to witness a different type of venue than Sisters usually has. Music is universal - it brings people together - and with all that is going on in the world, what better time than now to sing the blues? I look forward to this event again next year and beyond.

If there are issues with noise and location, let's all pull together (city council, Mayor, anonymous night noise level/permit monitor) to get them figured out WITHOUT shunning the event.

If this little town can manage a quilt show, rodeo, folk festival and countless other events, then it can also manage a great blues festival.

Thanks again AMP - great job!

Terri Rood

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To the Editor:

In response to the article about the noise level at the Central Oregon Blues & Crawfish Festival held Fourth of July weekend at Creekside City Park (The Nugget, July 16, page 23):

The issue of sound levels can be easily remedied with constructive discussions and resolutions of all those involved, which includes event organizers, neighboring residents and the city council. 

We had many people attend and come by the festival during the three day event to praise the sound, the festival and the beautiful venue under the pine trees. Creekside Park has not typically been used in the past as a music venue because the park doesn't provide power, but with the adjacent campground and creek, it becomes a beautiful location to provide music and many who attended agreed. 

The Village Green Park, which is utilized to host live music events, is well within the city and is also surrounded by neighborhoods. To simply strike any park as a potential music venue would be a loss. 

The Mayor's suggestion of initiating a study of noise is logical to provide feedback and facts to these issues. The other suggestion of limiting the event to one night eliminates the definition of a "festival" and thus would impact other festivals and venues in Sisters as well. 

The creation of a new "parks code" must consider all music festivals and venues already in existence. 

Sadly, I found the comment about an option by the city mayor to decline the festival a permit next year to be extremely premature.

Thank you to all who attended the festival and had a great time, making it a success. We appreciate all of you and look forward to discussions with the city and neighbors, which lead to improving the venue and festival for everyone.

Cheryl White

Owner, Amp Media Group

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To the Editor:

On behalf of the Friends of the Sisters Library, I would like to thank all of the volunteers who gave their time and energies to make this July's Book Sale a wonderful fund-raising event.

Thanks to the volunteers, the Sisters community and the many visitors to the area this week, we made more than $5,000, which also included new and renewed memberships to the Friends of the Sisters Library. The funds will be used to support and enhance our Sisters Library.

We do appreciate all of the support!

Zeta Seiple

FOSL Used Book Sale Chair