Hello Visitor, we need your help.

How do you put on a ragtime festival?

Each budget year balances festival revenue/income derived from badge sales and donations with festival expenses, which consist of musician payments, lodging, travel, piano rental/moving, plus a variety of hotel fees based upon our ability to satisfy minimums for room nights and food and beverage receipts.  There are also lesser costs, such as program printing and credit card fees.

Despite vigorous efforts of the Board to curtail last year's expenses by reducing venues, out-of-state traveling musicians and reduction of rental equipment, losses resulted. Your Board must now consider the options for the 2024 festival and beyond.  

The West Coast Ragtime Festival has evolved from a barely-bones budget 38 years ago to the festival we have come to love.  Fiscally conservative budgeting has kept the festival coffers slowly building toward a comfortable reserve for “rainy days”, always mindful of the next year’s projected cost.

Frankly, the pandemic years have resulted in a steady complete depletion of those reserves. Now, after an artistically successful 2023 festival, the reality is that revenues from that festival did not match the expected cost of next year’s festival.  Bottom line:  while it costs $50,000 - $70,000 to put on a festival, last year’s earnings were $30,000.

The task at hand

A cash reserve comfort level acceptable to board members is approximately equal to our cost of putting on one festival. Assessing the risk level and probability of changes in hopes of achieving this is the task before the Board.  Many suggestions for improvement are already under way:

• Direct promotion to a younger crowd?
• Increased promotion?
• Reduced number of venues?
• Try for more lenient hotel deals?
• Restructure badge prices?
• Raise badge rates & structure.
• Single day?
• Two venues?
• More vigorous pleas for donations and sponsorships

We are open to all suggestions.
 

What does the future hold?

There are signs of hope, people are attending live events.  Recent concert venues in Sacramento have seen healthy attendance.  The Monterey Jazz Bash recently had an uptick of attendance.  That won’t be enough to meet our current need, but it is a hopeful indication.

Are there donors willing to help?  Several significant donations have already been pledged and it is hoped that more will be forthcoming.  We constantly are told that this festival is ‘too special to fail,’ and we hear that.

We can’t do it alone.  We need people to help fill the gap to make it happen. Your sponsorship can fund one or more musicians!    

Please consider a tax-deductible donation to the West Coast Ragtime Festival at your earliest convenience.  We thank you.

Your very grateful,

West Coast Ragtime Festival Board of Directors

 https://westcoastragtime.com/donate

 or send by mail to:

West Coast Ragtime Society
P.O. Box 13346
Sacramento, CA 95813-3346

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