Published: July 03, 2008 02:12 pm            

KENNETH HART: Nostaglic for days of Regatta 7/06

By the time you read this, another edition of Ashland’s annual Summer Motion festival will be drawing to a close.

And, no doubt, it will have been an unqualified success, just like its predecessors.

The fact that Summer Motion’s organizers have been to able to keep the event going at such a high level in the face of a troubled economy, sponsor pullouts and other obstacles qualifies, in my mind, as something of a minor miracle.

And, that they have been able to do so without resorting to charging admission for the concerts — which, given the caliber of entertainment, would certainly be justified, in my opinion — or succumbing to the temptation to sell alcohol, thus damaging the event’s family-friendliness, makes it even more miraculous.

Chuck Charles, Summer Motion’s president, deserves the bulk of the credit for the festival’s success. Without his vision, his boundless enthusiasm and his unequaled fund-raising ability, I believe that the event would have long ago faded into memory, just like its former sister festivals in Ironton and Huntington.

And hey, speaking of those ...

Am I the only one who grows somewhat nostalgic for the old Tri-State Fair & Regatta days as Summer Motion winds down every year?

And, am I the only one who thinks it might not be a bad idea to revisit the idea of the three principal river cities — Ashland, Huntington and Ironton — hosting festivals on successive weeks during the summer?

Face it, as good as Summer Motion is, it’s only for five days. And, once it’s over, that’s it.

My thinking is that there has to be more of an appetite for summer entertainment in our region than that. And, said appetite is only to increase, I believe, what with gas prices keeping more and more folks at home.

With the TSF&R, we had three solid weeks of warm-weather festivities to look forward to every year.

I’m not necessarily advocating going back to having the festivals all overseen by one umbrella organization, as was the case with TSF&R. That proved too downright unwieldy. And, I think it also led to hurt feelings from time to time, with some folks feeling as though their cities were unequal partners in the enterprise.

Besides, I think that each town should be able to control its own event and coordinate it as it sees fit.

One of the big obstacles, obviously, would be money. It’s entirely possible that the Tri-State simply no longer has the sponsor base to support three festivals.

Another is the fact that people like Charles are few and far between and that, despite his many other talents, he lacks the ability to replicate himself, what with that pesky cloning ban and all.

It’s also possible, too, that that colossal stink-bomb from a few years back known as the Ironton Megafest (remember that?) may have poisoned the well for festivals in that city for the foreseeable future.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since the dissolution of TSF&R. There’s a lot that leaders in Ironton and Huntington could learn from Summer Motion’s success.

I honestly don’t know whether resurrecting a three-pronged festival would be feasible or not, but I definitely think it’s an idea worth exploring.

Our region would have nothing to lose — and possibly a lot to gain — from doing so.

KENNETH HART can be reached at khart@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2654.

        

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