Now, I don’t want to whine, however, I must oblige.

First off, the Arts Dockside did not “give” the marina anything. Gene Elmer had come up with the resolution to take half of the marina parking lot and he “settled” for 22 spots. It was voted on and passed. We stressed the impact this would have on the art fair, the vendors, and their families, and, therefore, the City of St. Ignace, but it did not matter to this particular committee. They reduced our vendor count by 13 spots and also our registration area.

The art fair should be celebrating its 33rd year here in St. Ignace in 2010 and the City has had the marina for what, eight years? I just cannot believe that in those eight years this has never been an issue like it was this year, and I cannot believe that the boaters who have a slip here at the marina were not aware of the only two events that kick them out of their parking spots: car show and art fair. I would like to believe that when contracts were drawn up for the seasonal boat slips eight years ago, something would have been mentioned or at least made their boaters aware of what happens here in our town.

So my concern here is, where does this end? Like I said at the beginning, I do not want to whine and not be flexible, but the way we were treated by the marina this year and the way I felt like I was not going to be heard, what will happen next? Gene originally wanted 35 spots taken from the pavement parking lot; that would reduce this craft show by at least 33%, if not more. So how do you scale back a 32-year event that much without a huge impact?

Anyway, I feel angry that a few complaints by people who were not made aware of the city’s events, for me, completely ruined the “last weekend” of the tourist season and what I can bring to the City of St. Ignace. With that being said, I will likely step down and offer this wonderful two-day event to someone else. It is hard work all summer long, especially during the month of August, and I would never “rest easy” knowing that this event will eventually never be what it was or could be.
Jennifer Joseph
Arts Dockside
St. Ignace