It would appear congratulations are in order for Jan McClintock, city manager of San Juan Bautista. Together with entertainment organizer Frank Beaty, she has arranged for an international folk festival to be held in San Juan Bautista next Memorial Day weekend.
Since I call myself the Mobile Skeptic, I was naturally skeptical at first. For example, I remember how many years and how much wrangling and confusion it took to get the Independence Rally off the ground.
Of course, the Independence Rally faced staunch opposition from city and county government in the beginning. The rally committee kept having to re-argue the benefits of the rally, before logistics could even be considered.
In this case, McClintock has the vision to see what a benefit this festival could be to the whole county. As staged previously, it combines folk music from Chinese, Russian and African-American traditions. According to Beaty, “It was really amazing how it fit together and flowed. Our major theme is to promote friendship and awareness of the ‘big three’ cultures.”
But who is Frank Beaty? Once again I was skeptical. Huckster scenarios from Elmer Gantry to The Music Man drifted through my mind. Is this a person who comes into a small town, collects wads of cash for this and that (salvation, trombones, consulting, perhaps), and then vanishes?
A quick check of Google indicates that Frank Beaty is the real deal. He has a 30-year track record of consulting in the entertainment industry and organizing events from blues festivals to entertainment for casinos.
He is even a guest instructor for the University of Montana’s Entertainment Management program.
(Entertainment management in Montana? That’s another column, and may reveal more about my own prejudices than I would like.)
At any rate, I also checked out UM’s Entertainment Management page and sure enough, Frank Beaty is listed as a guest lecturer.
I don’t know how Jan McClintock and Frank Beaty found each other. I can’t imagine where in San Juan the festival will be staged if 10,000 people a day are expected. Five months seems like a really short time to pull all the details together, even with Frank Beaty’s experience and leadership.
But I have to return to my original thought. Jan McClintock deserves congratulations: for thinking big, for seeing possibilities, for persevering in tough negotiations, for daring to break away from business as usual to try something that hasn’t been done before.
It could set a precedent for more large events in San Juan or Hollister, and it could boost tourism if festival attendees like what they see and return for a closer look, or tell friends back home about the cute Old West town they visited.
Even if this project falls through for some reason, this is a good time for other businesses and agencies to ask themselves: Are we ready? Is our welcome as warm as it can be?
Is our staff prepared to be friendly and helpful to strangers?
Are our facilities fit for occasional large crowds?
Are we knowledgeable about our community, its history and lore?
Increased tourism could be good for our community, and this even could be a jump-start. Let’s think through the implications and make sure we don’t squander the opportunity.
Elizabeth Gage is a Hollister resident. Her column appears Tuesdays. Reach her at [email protected].
