Next year, far West Texas may become home to a new festival.
Austin-based C3 Presents — which is known for producing major festivals like Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits — is reportedly planning to hold the festival on a ranch outside of Marfa’s city limits, heading north toward Fort Davis.
Marfa Mayor Ann Marie Nafziger has been in talks with C3 Presents over concerns she’s heard from the community. And now the festival company plans to attend a public meeting in Marfa on April 11.
Mayor Nafziger told Marfa Public Radio she reached out to Charles Attal, one of the co-founders of C3 Presents, to invite him and other representatives to Marfa for a public community forum.
“I expressly let him know that a lot of community members from both Marfa and the surrounding region have a lot of concerns,” said Nafziger. “I let him know that I have a lot of concerns and that I felt like the community really needed to be heard.”
Listen to the mayor's interview with Marfa Public Radio to hear more about what she's learned so far about the planned event and what to expect at the community forum on April 11.
Interview Highlights
On the concerns Mayor Nafziger has heard about the festival...
"There have been concerns around public safety, emergency services, police, and fire particularly since this event would be during May when the area sees hot, dry weather." Mayor Nafziger says she's heard infrastructure concerns over what the potential 5,000 attendees could do to city resources.
On what Marfa officials could do since the event is planned to be outside city limits...
The event is planned to take place outside the municipal boundary, so the city doesn't have jurisdiction over that. The Mayor says the city council could plan to pass a resolution, but the real influence rests with the county. Mayor Nafziger hasn't heard where county commissioners stand on the event, or if there's anything that could be done at a county level.
On a proposed 10-percent donation from ticket sales to a local organization...
During her discussions with the festival company, Mayor Nafziger says, C3 Presents has talked about giving 10 percent of ticket sales to a local non-profit organization. “When I spoke with them they were interested in that money going to the school or to city parks."
Click play on the audio to hear the full interview.
