Footloose meets Float Fest

Not since Willie Nelson brought his 4^th of July Picnic here in 1976 has live music faced eternal damnation. One could easily draw a line from the fictional Ren McCormack of the film “Footloose” to the real-life Marcus Federman of Float Fest, two characters who faced local men of supposed moral clarity who look to ban music and dancing from their towns.

The two sides had an informal face-off at Thursday's Gonzales City Council meeting where a workshop was held to hear information regarding Float Fest, a Federman-produced event that would bring two days, over 20 bands, and tens of thousands of people to town to camp along and float in the Guadalupe River between Independence and J.B. Wells parks.

The choice was clear from the promoter and supporters: an economic benefit that struggling Gonzales could use to boost its tax roll. From those aligned with certain houses of worship, nothing more than a scourge of sex, drugs, and loud rap music would plague the town should the fest be allowed in.

Federman was the first to speak. He gave an overview of his event and described the footprint on J.B. Wells Park where it would be held. He presented a map showing acres of camping, parking, bus lanes, tubing stations, and a concert area.

“We're very excited about the opportunity to come to town,” Federman said.

He spoke of the economic benefit his festival had in its previous home of Guadalupe County, where a recent study showed a $12.3 million infusion of dollars to the area over the course of his event. Federman described meetings with all local law enforcement and first responders here, as well as city leaders and landowners in order to calm any concerns they may have on such a massive event coming to a usually sleepy town. Federman assured that his festival was a top-notch, well-run machine with plenty of outside help coming in that would keep patrons and townsfolk safe.

“We don't want to come here and cost taxpayers any money,” he said. “The most important part of the safety plan is keeping people safe. We do not tolerate drugs, abusive behavior, anything that is against the law.”

Federman also promised improvements to Independence Park should Float Fest be allowed. To facilitate river access for his floaters he would install permanent access points along portions of the river with stairs and cement walkways to the water for easy entry. Currently, the city does not have dedicated river access points for recreation seekers.

Federman closed his remarks by stating that he is a family man with two small children. He is a musician, river outfitter, and got into his profession with a goal of having a music festival.

“My event is a very calm event,” he said. “It is a safe, clean, controlled environment.”

Gonzales Mayor Connie Kacir spoke next. She said that she had met with Federman and other officials about moving the festival here in 2020 from its current location near Martindale on the San Marcos River, but the timeline had since moved to 2019 after the county judge there decided to deny Float Fest the necessary event gathering permits. She said she thought it would be a great economic opportunity for the city but she needed to know that they could keep Gonzales safe. She then asked local law enforcement heads to give their take.

Gonzales County Sheriff Matthew Atkinson addressed council and said that he thought it a great idea when he first heard of it. Since then he has taken a step back after learning the size and scope of the event. He mainly took issue with the Guadalupe River and its role in the “float” portion of the fest.

“That's a dangerous piece of water,” Atkinson said. “People drown in that part of the river.”

He said that the river depth here is greater than that of the San Marcos River, his first concern. Second is the lack of resources his department would have in responding to emergency calls with only 19 officers on staff. He said that is a short time to get all of his resources together, but if asked to do so, he would find a way to do it.

Next, local hospital officials spoke. They said that they would do whatever it took to be prepared for the event — which has an expected attendance of 25,000 people —  and that they are trained in mass-casualty events should one occur. A note was read from the local game warden, who also voiced concerns on the depth of the river being a challenge to safety. Police Chief Tim Crow said that the event's plan looked very organized inside of the festival grounds, but it was what could happen outside that concerned him, again citing water safety. But if council votes to allow the fest in July, he would do everything he could to ensure safety on his part.

Gonzales County Emergency Management Coordinator Jimmy Harless said that he had spoken with counterparts in Guadalupe County, all of whom spoke highly of Federman and his festival. They also pledged support to Gonzales should they need it. EMS Chief Allan Linebrink echoed that, saying he had been talking to neighboring counties and they had agreed to assist. He expects a doubled call volume that weekend.

“We will make it work if we have to,” Linebrink said.

“We're going to learn everything we can” said Fire Chief Keith Schmidt, should the event happen.

County Judge Pat Davis was the final official to speak. He commented not only in his capacity as the county's head, but also as a past trooper in the Texas Department of Public Safety. He said that it could be done but it would be tough, and that it could be overwhelming but in a positive way. He would be the one issuing the mass gathering permit.

The only letter of opposition he said that he received was from the local Baptist church. Davis said that the concern he heard was that of drug use at the event, but that was moot since drugs were also used at the annual Come and Take It Celebration. There's also a lot of alcohol consumption at that event, he said, another thing that isn't paid much attention to because everyone gets home safe.

Davis said that his past experience as a trooper during Shiner's Bocktoberfest taught him much. They had prepared hard for the big Kid Rock show — of which Davis said he is a big fan — and brought in extra troopers from across the state to assist with the expected rise in drunk driving and crashes. However, he found an orderly crowd with few problems and more traffic headaches than harm.

As for the river, while he did sound concerned, he explained that those are grown adults getting into the water making their own decisions.

In all, the event would be good for the economy, he'd support whatever decision was made, and it would be hard for him to deny the mass-gathering permit because Federman had followed all of the rules to get to this point.

Next were citizen comments. Most spoke in favor of the event, noting the economic boost it could provide.

“There's so many other things we can do [besides rodeos],” said Sherry Garino. “Opportunities often occur before [people] are ready.”

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Daisy Scheske Freeman praised local leaders for their planning up to this point. She spoke of the 1975 Come and Take It Celebration when local churches protested against dancing and alcohol in the streets during the festival. Things obviously turned out OK, she said.

Keith Schauer said that he had attended the event last year with his family. He said that Federman has a solid plan and the festival was very organized.

Cara Jacobs said that if organizers were intent on “fixing” that part of the river for safe recreation, it would be great for the town.

Chad Simon — a recent Pittsburgh transplant — said that he is for anything that brings extra revenue to town since he has two businesses here. Connie Dolezal — another business owner — said that by mid-July the town is usually dead and that surely some of the fest goers would venture into downtown to shop. Sidney Floyd said that if Float Fest came, people would come back that want to see what Gonzales has to offer. CTI Entertainment Chair Britney Caka said that it would put Gonzales on the map. The town has been “stuck in a rut” the past two decades, she said, and if officials passed on allowing the festival this year, it would likely head elsewhere permanently.

“If you don't want to attend, don't,” said Deana Robinson.

For those speaking against the festival, drugs and alcohol were the common scare.

“We're not equipped in a lot of ways to handle this,” said Betty Vaughn.

“I'd rather not expose our young people that go along with that,” said Lynn Cochran.

“We have a reputation on the line here. We could be overwhelmed,” said Steven Winton.

Pam St. John said that she doesn't want to be known as the city where Float Fest is and would rather be known for Texas Independence.

Pastor Chris Irby spoke for the Gonzales Minesterial alliance. “Yes, there are drugs here. We are a fallen people. It does not seem wise to invite more.”

And Pastor Forrest Hamilton of Faith Family Church spoke last. He read a lengthy list of negative Yelp reviews that he found online against Float Fest. He also threw in some Facebook comments from those who had a bad time with the event. He also noted some curse words that he discovered in songs performed by Ice Cube, who is a rumored headliner for the event. He took offense to words like “f***, s***” and other lyrics that he spelled out loud for council. The former Kiss fan took offense to the black rapper, calling him racist for his lyrics against police brutality.

After two-and-a-half hours of talk, the meeting was thrown back to council for further discussion. Councilmembers did not ask any questions, and the meeting moved along into other business and those in attendance quickly left.

A special called meeting of the Gonzales City Council has been called for Monday evening to discuss Float Fest. Meanwhile, a meet and greet event has been scheduled by Federman on Thursday starting at 6 p.m. at GG's Steaks and Spirits for anyone that wishes to speak to him and ask questions. Snacks and refreshments will be provided by Federman and all are invited to attend.

Meanwhile, Willie Nelson might have some words of advice for the latest concert promoter that wants to take a stand with live music in the birthplace of Texas freedom.