The owner of Leapin’ Lizard is putting up $65,000 in hopes of creating a concert series in Cape Coral.
Dubbed Voodoo Fantasy Fest, the two-day festival in late October would be the first of six proposed concerts thrown by Mary Ann Evans, should the event prove successful.
“This is a first time attempt. We’ve done a few small events, but this one is larger,” she said. “We’re setting this one up to hopefully be a model for several more.”
The Community Redevelopment Agency pledged $2,000 Tuesday to help Evans advertise her event.
While the amount was not “make or break” for Evans, the money did help her to solidify an advertising schedule that, she admitted, was coming down to the wire.
The money, too, might have helped to move the CRA’s advertising assistance toward a program similar to its facade grant and rental assistance programs.
“This is directly on point with what we’re trying to do,” said CRA attorney Frank Schnidman. “Just as we’ve entered into a rental assistance program, you could set up a system to give marketing assistance.”
Creating a system for which to monitor and distribute marketing assistance to CRA businesses could help someone like Evans who has no previous experience in hosting large events.
While there are two charities that will benefit from Evans’ work — the Kiwani’s Club and Paws for Patriots — CRA board members were still concerned that people seeking help should be accountable to a singular set of rules.
“A certain criteria should be laid out,” said board member Frank Dethlefsen. “We should create a criteria to handle disbursement of those funds.”
The CRA gave advertising dollars to the Pearl Lounge for a three-day event in May. That event featured a number of CRA businesses.
Evans said she expected to merely break even for the event, but at the heart of her efforts is bringing attention and dollars to the Cape.
“To get people to come to the Cape and visit and see what we have to offer, that’s our ultimate goal,” she said. “To build that hospitality district, all the business owners have to make the commitment.”