Telluride Daily Planet letter to the editor (TBF content)

[Rob_from_Ohio]

http://www.telluridenews.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_1f32410c-19fc-11e5-8dbc-e74b051aa680.html

Your thoughts? 

[AnythingAtAll]

Meh, so Thurston Howell III has an opinion...



When a wine festival, a film festival, a mushroom festival, a chamber music festival and a jazz festival just isn't enough...

P.S. "...a crowd that will enjoy Telluride, respect the area and environment, leave with a positive feeling and make all of us happy to be a part of it."  Doesn't that describe at least 99% of us?  One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch, girl...

[jlarsp]

I guess there will always be complainers. Planet Bluegrass--to their great credit--goes out of their way to minimize the impact of the festival on the town. And I know that it isn't true that almost all the locals leave for the weekend--I know many who go to the fest for at least a couple days. And I think the economic impact on the town is significant. I see restaurants very full during the fest. And I know the festival doesn't get to use the town for free--there are fees and taxes. I think overall it is an economic plus for the town.
All that said, we can all as festivarians do better and should continue to try to influence new fest-goers to behave in the festivarian spirit and treat the fragile ecosystem and town as it should be treated.
My guess is the person who wrote the editorial simply doesn't like crowds. He might be surprised by the results of a city-wide vote.
Long live Bluegrass!

 Listening to: Bruce Cockburn

[Coyo1]

Well said JLARSP.  As for Jon Nelson's letter, I'd say that most locals will see right through this guy's ignorant rant (i.e. grouping cocaine in there just so that he can portray festivarians as doing something illegal is weak) what a joke! I'd hope that this guy gets an earful from his neighbors and other locals

 Listening to: Punch Brothers

[jlarsp]

Thanks Coyo1!
I agree with you! I'm back in Chicago now and still feel high on the mountain air and festivation karma!
Let the countdown to next year begin!

[landshark]

http://www.telluridenews.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_1f32410c-19fc-11e5-8dbc-e74b051aa680.html

Your thoughts? 

Gee I am a Tride chump. I spent 4200. for 1 week for a condo that the toaster was broken, the coffee maker was broken, the toilets did not flush, the stove was broken and no hot water and no screen door( no wonder the Property Mngr came by first thing to ask if things were ok, little did I know). I ate at a restaurant 3 times and I did not smoke nor drink nor did I do coke. Nope Im no angle just sensory over load and wanted to focus on the music and nature. The town of Tride loves us because without us they would just have to bring in someother kind of revenue and most have been returning clients for over 20 and 30 years. Now anyone who knows anything about working for a profit when you are working with the public knows repeat is the meat. You can count on us to be there no matter, rain or shine. TELLURIDE where the money flows in and we keep comin cause we can and we love everyone and Bluegrass. Bet your bottom dollar, bet your bottom dollar we will return. 42 strong years so far.

I think you need to evolve. I saw that trash pile on the mountain it was there way before Fest my friend. This Fest is not nor will ever be a negative to the planet Impact welp we all have a footprint but as Fests go AAA+ for being environmentally aware and pro active

 Why Bluegrass you ask? Because it is the core of Americana and Bach is played many times over. Just listen.

 This planet has room for all of us just move over.
I feel more passionate then ever to defend a culture that has been under attack twice this week. I feel offended by this. That's my take

[jlarsp]

Well said landshark!

[landshark]

  Yep just sayin and thank you. Got me all riled up

[Australian fan]

http://www.telluridenews.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/article_1f32410c-19fc-11e5-8dbc-e74b051aa680.html

Your thoughts? 

Gee I am a Tride chump. I spent 4200. for 1 week for a condo that the toaster was broken, the coffee maker was broken, the toilets did not flush, the stove was broken and no hot water and no screen door( no wonder the Property Mngr came by first thing to ask if things were ok, little did I know). I ate at a restaurant 3 times and I did not smoke nor drink nor did I do coke. Nope Im no angle just sensory over load and wanted to focus on the music and nature. The town of Tride loves us because without us they would just have to bring in someother kind of revenue and most have been returning clients for over 20 and 30 years. Now anyone who knows anything about working for a profit when you are working with the public knows repeat is the meat. You can count on us to be there no matter, rain or shine. TELLURIDE where the money flows in and we keep comin cause we can and we love everyone and Bluegrass. Bet your bottom dollar, bet your bottom dollar we will return. 42 strong years so far.

I think you need to evolve. I saw that trash pile on the mountain it was there way before Fest my friend. This Fest is not nor will ever be a negative to the planet Impact welp we all have a footprint but as Fests go AAA+ for being environmentally aware and pro active

 Why Bluegrass you ask? Because it is the core of Americana and Bach is played many times over. Just listen.

 This planet has room for all of us just move over.
I feel more passionate then ever to defend a culture that has been under attack twice this week. I feel offended by this. That's my take

Hear, hear


For the record we also paid for a condo( also with broken toaster, is there a theme here?) and we ate out at restaurants with friends from DC who were in town at least four times. We also collected all our rubbish, etc

Peace and love 

[bschultz]

Most condos are owned by non-locals. A lot of the cash generated by TBF subsidizes second home investments and the festival season has a whole may make it more likely that owners rent short term (vacation) rather than long term (locals).
The actual festival pass is one of the best bargains out there, condos not so much.

PB has done a good job with the festival over the last 20 years responding to the real and widespread concerns generated by the festival. The fest today is a much lower impact event than 20 years ago.

PB runs a very good fest but there will be a LTE just about every year from someone as long as there are people peeing on lawns, getting loud at 2 am or simply making the letter writer wait for a table at their favorite restaurant. I cannot remember a time since I started going in mid-80's that someone did not have a complaint. Telluride is a small town in TBF is a big event.

I do not think that an independent third party review would find any reason to believe that TBF is a net negative but I do think that it would find some locals who head out of town during it and rent their condo for big bucks and some who have real complaints caused by festival patrons. That is the nature of the trade off.



 Listening to: Van Morrison

[TellurideTom]

[rant]

I can't in all honesty figure out how this guy can blame the festivarians on the horde of trash on the mountain and the influx in undesirables and homeless people in the streets.

I know I'm not the only one that tries to leave my campsite cleaner when I leave than it was when I got there.

Yes, there are a lot of slobs that come to the festival and there's plenty of garbage put in the landfill after we've gone, but Planet Bluegrass does more to help the town than some of the locals who just complain.

I know people from out of state that own condos in town and a lot of them come back to town just for the bluegrass festival and rent them out for high dollar during the ski season.

I'm also not the only one that eats in the local restaurants and shops in the local stores to provide income for the locals.

This guy needs to get off his high horse and out of the shadows so he can see the light.

[end rant]

[completejohn]

Since I had the pleasure of being there two weeks prior to the fest, then again the Saturday before through the fest, I can say the difference in store traffic from a non-fest weekend to a fest weekend is amazing.

Prior to the fest, the stores and restaurants are uncrowded, sometimes nearly abandonded (especially the souvenir and jewerly stores).  Need a table at a restaurant, just walk in.  Want a drink?  no line at the bar.

Then fest hits and everything changes.  No reservations?  Sorry, it's a 2 hour wait.  Lines at all the shops.  I could barely get through the aisles of the pharmacy.  The sidewalks were so full that I found it easier to walk in the street or down the alleys.

Even more amazing is all the non-touristy stuff that I used.  A copy shop, a chiropractor (THANKS, DOC!!!) and seemingly daily trips to Ace Hardware. 

It would depress me to add up all that I spent that week.  Now multiply that my 10,000 people.  Now add in all the condo and hotel rentals.  And finally tack on the sales tax.  CHA-CHING!

One look at the Palm Theater and you know that this is a city with money.  TBF is a big part of that cash cow called tourism. 

This letter writer needs to move to Norwood.

[tarprun]

I lived in Telluride for many years and his description sounds a lot more like 4th of July. Hordes of traffic, litter, thousands of people with nothing to do between 3 and 9:30, drunkenness. Ugh! I think most locals would take Bluegrass over July 4th. Biased festivarian here, but the town is filled with Jon Nelson's during July 4th. Memory serves that every place I worked did quite well financially over Bluegrass, the owners had nothing to complain about financially, but local workers were definitely fried.

 Listening to: Kacey Musgraves new album

[tarprun]

TBF is a financial needle to the economic vein of Telluride after 2 very quiet months.

[Bevin]

Jon Nelson is very clearly an exemplary and first class douche.