Memorandum                    

City of Lawrence

City Manager’s Office

TO:	David L. Corliss, City Manager
FROM:	Diane Stoddard, Assistant City Manager
DATE:	April 22, 2015
CC:	Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager
RE:	Request for Funding for Busker Festival

Background:

The City is in receipt of a request for funding for the 2015 Busker Festival.  The Busker Festival has been a successful festival for a number of years in Lawrence featuring street performers in various downtown venues.  This year, the Busker Festival will be held the last Friday in May in conjunction with other Final Fridays activities in downtown Lawrence.

For a number of years, the Busker Festival and its organizer Richard Renner, has been a recipient of a grant through the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission’s community art grant program.  This program has an annual total budget of $7000 and has averaged over $20,000 in annual requests in recent years with the 2015 year receiving over $50,000 in funding requests. Last year, the Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission had recommended a separate funding source for ongoing festivals, such as the Busker Festival and the Freestate Festival.  Though the LCAC is very supportive of the Busker Festival, they did not recommend funding this year through the community art grant program, but passed a motion at their February meeting supporting this $10,000 request from the Busker Festival.  See attached memo summarizing this recommendation from the LCAC.

If approved, staff suggests that this funding come from guest tax funds due to the visitors drawn to the community to participate in the festival.

Requested Action:

Consider $10,000 in funding support of the 2015 Busker Festival to be held the Final Friday in May on downtown Lawrence.