Organizers of a downtown Butler event are responding to issues raised by City officials by canceling the event.
Last week, Mayor Bob Dandoy addressed Council about discussions he had with organizers for the Italian Festival scheduled for August 23rd, 24th, and 25th. The main issue was allowing set-up on Thursday which removes parking and negatively impacts businesses on Main Street.
According to a detailed email sent by one of the festival organizers, Rocco Lamanna, a revision of the original agreement occurred in February of 2019 under the administration of former Mayor Ben Smith. This policy remained in place when the festival returned in 2021 after the pandemic. Some confusion about setting up Thursday night began in 2022 and issues continued before last year’s festival which both occurred under the Dandoy administration.
Lamanna went on to say that organizers are not prepared to put over 100 “vendors and workers in a dangerous situation by only allowing 3 hours total for set up” and a large number of deliveries after having around 15 hours in the past. He believes that the damage to the event is “irreversible” due to “misleading quotes” and expressed sadness that the event will not continue. Vendors will be offered full refunds.
Mayor Dandoy replied to that email with another that expressed a willingness to meet with Italian Festival organizers “to address the logistics for the festival that will minimize any inconvenience” for organizers, vendors, the city, and Main Street businesses.
