FTL Beach Bum
March 11th, 2010, 04:17 AM
The decision has been made: The Air Lauderdale air show that was planned for April 24-25 this year has been canceled.
Here's the announcement from Stan Smith, the would-be producer:
Much to our sincere regret, we must announce today that the Air Lauderdale Beach Fest 2010, scheduled for April 24 and 25, has been canceled. Several factors have made the production of a quality event financially untenable at this time including the estimated cost of Fort Lauderdale City Services ($500,000 to $600,000), the required $1 million bond and the overall soft economy. The unavailability of the Air Force Thunderbirds or the Navy Blue Angels also negatively impacted the already weak sponsorship market.
We wish to thank the U.S. Military, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission and staff for their hard work, support and encouragement. We’re also grateful to our loyal sponsors and the many enthusiastic supporters, volunteers and Facebook fans who did step forward to help bring the community together to Thank the Troops.
We also wish to extend our appreciation for the guidance and support of Broward Mayor Ken Keechl and Nicki Grossman of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. We will continue with our efforts to support Fleet Week’s 20th anniversary by holding a kick off event at the beach in late April. Our plans for 2011 are forthcoming.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/03/air_show_canceled_for_2010_dec.html
Preceeded by:
Air show on verge of cancellation
By Brittany Wallman, Sun Sentinel
9:31 a.m. EST, March 9, 2010
The Air Lauderdale air show and beach festival, the promised resurrection of one of South Florida's most popular events, will be canceled unless an "angel investor'' or two materialize immediately.
The show's organizer, public relations consultant Stan Smith, said Monday that he's run out of time to secure sponsors. Large corporations didn't give as generously as they might have if the nation were not in a recession, and Smith said he hasn't raised enough money and couldn't secure the $1 million bond the city required to ensure workers would be paid.
Smith said he needs to cancel the show now out of fairness to anyone who might spend time or money on the show, only to have it not go off.
"It's heartbreaking," he said.
Smith worked for more than a year to revive the air extravaganza, appearing on Fox Business News just last month to tout it. The old Air & Sea Show drew tens of thousands to the beachfront every spring from 1995 to 2007, to watch civilian stunt pilots and U.S. military fighter jets and bombers, and a marine exhibition. The show was televised in 144 countries, serving as a marketing tool for the "Venice of America.''
"Obviously we're disappointed,'' Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said, "but we understand the economics. I know that Stan's worked very hard to try to put this together, and it's tough, in this economy.''
The death knell for the predecessor show tolled when McDonald's pulled its title sponsorship. Organizer Mickey Markoff said he couldn't make it without that support. Even before that, though, the city began taking a hard line against the air show in 2004, under the guidance of then-City Commissioner Christine Teel. The city stopped subsidizing it with free police, firefighters, lifeguards and parks crews.
Smith's version of the air show would have been on a smaller scale; he hoped to build it up to what it had once been. His lineup lacked the biggest crowd pleaser: The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds fighter jet teams announced they weren't coming. Smith instituted an entry fee for the planned April 24-25 show and said coolers would be banned.
Smith wouldn't say how much money he needs to produce the show, except to say it's "less than a million dollars.''
Brittany Wallman can be reached at bwallman@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4541.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-airshow-canceled-lauderdale-20100308,0,5100034.story
:cry:
Here's the announcement from Stan Smith, the would-be producer:
Much to our sincere regret, we must announce today that the Air Lauderdale Beach Fest 2010, scheduled for April 24 and 25, has been canceled. Several factors have made the production of a quality event financially untenable at this time including the estimated cost of Fort Lauderdale City Services ($500,000 to $600,000), the required $1 million bond and the overall soft economy. The unavailability of the Air Force Thunderbirds or the Navy Blue Angels also negatively impacted the already weak sponsorship market.
We wish to thank the U.S. Military, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, the Fort Lauderdale City Commission and staff for their hard work, support and encouragement. We’re also grateful to our loyal sponsors and the many enthusiastic supporters, volunteers and Facebook fans who did step forward to help bring the community together to Thank the Troops.
We also wish to extend our appreciation for the guidance and support of Broward Mayor Ken Keechl and Nicki Grossman of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. We will continue with our efforts to support Fleet Week’s 20th anniversary by holding a kick off event at the beach in late April. Our plans for 2011 are forthcoming.
http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/broward/blog/2010/03/air_show_canceled_for_2010_dec.html
Preceeded by:
Air show on verge of cancellation
By Brittany Wallman, Sun Sentinel
9:31 a.m. EST, March 9, 2010
The Air Lauderdale air show and beach festival, the promised resurrection of one of South Florida's most popular events, will be canceled unless an "angel investor'' or two materialize immediately.
The show's organizer, public relations consultant Stan Smith, said Monday that he's run out of time to secure sponsors. Large corporations didn't give as generously as they might have if the nation were not in a recession, and Smith said he hasn't raised enough money and couldn't secure the $1 million bond the city required to ensure workers would be paid.
Smith said he needs to cancel the show now out of fairness to anyone who might spend time or money on the show, only to have it not go off.
"It's heartbreaking," he said.
Smith worked for more than a year to revive the air extravaganza, appearing on Fox Business News just last month to tout it. The old Air & Sea Show drew tens of thousands to the beachfront every spring from 1995 to 2007, to watch civilian stunt pilots and U.S. military fighter jets and bombers, and a marine exhibition. The show was televised in 144 countries, serving as a marketing tool for the "Venice of America.''
"Obviously we're disappointed,'' Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler said, "but we understand the economics. I know that Stan's worked very hard to try to put this together, and it's tough, in this economy.''
The death knell for the predecessor show tolled when McDonald's pulled its title sponsorship. Organizer Mickey Markoff said he couldn't make it without that support. Even before that, though, the city began taking a hard line against the air show in 2004, under the guidance of then-City Commissioner Christine Teel. The city stopped subsidizing it with free police, firefighters, lifeguards and parks crews.
Smith's version of the air show would have been on a smaller scale; he hoped to build it up to what it had once been. His lineup lacked the biggest crowd pleaser: The Blue Angels and Thunderbirds fighter jet teams announced they weren't coming. Smith instituted an entry fee for the planned April 24-25 show and said coolers would be banned.
Smith wouldn't say how much money he needs to produce the show, except to say it's "less than a million dollars.''
Brittany Wallman can be reached at bwallman@SunSentinel.com or 954-356-4541.
Copyright © 2010, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-airshow-canceled-lauderdale-20100308,0,5100034.story
:cry: