CUYAHOGA FALLS: The remainder of the 2016 Riverfront Concert Series has been canceled, and there are no plans for it to return in 2017.
That could mean next year will be the first in 30 years that the city won’t have free Friday night concerts downtown.
The city announced Thursday that IROK — a nonprofit formed two years ago to operate the series when former private promoter Bob Earley and city officials parted ways during a spat — blamed dwindling attendance and low beer sales.
In its heyday, the concerts would attract more than 5,000 people. Sources say that in recent weeks, there were well below 1,000 in attendance.
Mayor Don Walters met with concert organizers late Wednesday and “they explained that while they continued to meet their monetary obligations to charities, vendors and the city, their costs to produce a concert each week were greater than funds generated,” the city said in a written statement. “They further explained that they had explored countless solutions but inevitably determined that the risk of further monetary losses was too great.”
IROK’s director, Mike Thomas, could not be reached Thursday.
Mayor Don Walters commended IROK for distributing $70,000 to local charities the past two seasons, and the many volunteers who donated “countless hours of their time” to run the event.
“I can’t stress enough that these people do not receive an income from this,” Walters said. “They donate their time year-round and take time away from their families to do this with absolutely no pay.”
Walters said he thinks this summer’s hot, humid weather may have played a role.
“I was down there. ... I love the heat, but a lot of people do not, especially standing on the concrete when it’s 92 degrees,” he said.
Others believe there was a fundamental operational difference. A for-profit promoter with private money at stake will advertise and market more than a nonprofit trying to save money to distribute to charities.
“Obviously, things are totally different between being for-profit and nonprofit,” said Erich Weiss, owner of the Cuyahoga Falls’ Chick-fil-A and a vendor at the concerts since 2009. “It’s tough. It’s a very tough thing to pull off.”
Weiss said vendors paid in advance for the entire year, but he’s not worried about getting a refund because he supports what the charitable organizers were attempting to do.
He would, however, like a break off next year’s fee because he’s confident that something will happen to replace the series.
“It’s such an iconic festival, I just can’t imagine it not surviving. Someone will regroup. I just know it,” he said.
Walters said as far as he knew, IROK was not leaving in debt. Most expenses are paid in advance, he said.
It can cost up to $15,000 a week to host a concert, including renting the pavilion from the city and paying for security, insurance, lighting, sound, sanitation fees, beer and band fees.
It was unclear whether IROK was indebted to any bands that still expected to play this year. Southern Rock Stars was set to perform Friday. As of Thursday, IROK had yet to update its website at http://www.riverfrontconcertseries.com to announce the cancellation. Five concerts were supposed to be held with the last one set for Sept. 2.
IROK’s income came from selling beer, renting space to vendors and acquiring sponsors.
Each week, a different charity was guaranteed a $2,000 donation for providing volunteers to work the event.
“So if [IROK] brought in $15,000 or more in revenue, that was great. It covered the costs. If they didn’t, there was a loss because they honored their commitment to every charity that has been down there,” Walters said.
IROK also arranged for eight local Boy Scout troops to take turns cleaning up after the Friday events for a $500 donation. With the cancellation, some troops will not get that chance.
While Earley was a for-profit promoter, when he left the city, he argued he had also supported many local charities, donating $350,000 in his 11 years. Earley ended up taking his “Rockin’ on the River” franchise to Lorain’s Black River Landing, where the event now charges admission.
Denise Ahern, a 49-year resident of Cuyahoga Falls who started attending the concerts in the 1980s, said she always saw them as a great opportunity for younger adults.
“It was a sense of community within that age group. It definitely wasn’t kid friendly — more for the 20-something crowd, but a nice way to connect with people,” she said.
She’s only been to one concert in the past two years, she said. “No reflection on IROK — just a stage in my life where it’s not something I really embrace anymore,” she said.
But she does wish the city had done more to retain Earley.
“I think he did a fabulous job. He had a personal stake in it. He had to front all that money himself, and if it rained, he didn’t get paid. I don’t think people understood” the risk he was taking, she said.
Falls Councilman Jeff Iula said he attended most of the IROK concerts.
“I’m not a big music person, but I love to see people. I came for the social aspect,” he said.
While Iula is a personal friend of Earley and was a paid worker at his concerts, he said he was rooting for IROK to succeed.
“I love Cuyahoga Falls as much as anyone,” he said. “I wanted it to work out.”
But he said IROK was never going to have the star power of Earley, who was a WNIR radio personality with his own fan following, and an outgoing, passionate businessman who wasn’t afraid of risk.
“Earley was a gambler,” Iula said.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.