Columbia residents voice complaints about upcoming local festival
- Rachel Radecki
- Sep 18, 2015
- 2 min read
Columbia residents readied themselves for the ninth annual Roots N Blues N BBQ Festival happening this weekend in Stephens Lake Park in Columbia.
Residents expected a large turnout for the festival featuring over 30 gospel, country, folk, bluegrass, rock, and soul artists. But, the crowds tend to be a turnoff for some Columbia residents.
Edie Buckman said that friends of hers have enjoyed the festival in the past, despite how busy it is. Buckman said that the stores and restaurants in the downtown Columbia area get too crowded due to the influx of people for the festival.
“I didn’t want to fight the crowd,” Buckman also said.
To accommodate the large crowd, traffic will be restricted this weekend near Stephens Lake Park on Old 63 and Broadway. There will additionally be shuttles provided by the CoMo Connect public transit system.
And the crowds aren’t the only factor keeping people from attending the festival. Some have found that the prices are just too high.
Jordan Davis, a Columbia resident, said that more people would be attending the festival if tickets were a cheaper price.
Davis also said that student discounts for people at the local colleges would increase attendance at the festival. David said, “since they’re all broke,” students would benefit from a small discount.
Festival tickets are $49.50 for Friday and Sunday, and $65 for Saturday. A single ticket for the entire weekend costs $125.
Katy Beavin, another Columbia resident, also said that the festival this year was too expensive to justify attending. Beavin said that the festival used to be free. Beavin said, “people reminisce about those days.”
In addition to the music, the festival featured a kick-off event on Thursday. There will additionally be a half marathon and 10K at Stephens Lake Park on Saturday and a Sunday Gospel Celebration.
Despite the complaints surrounding the festival, some residents are still looking forward to attending.
“I think it would be so much fun,” said Buckman.
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