Walnut Street Merchants Seeking Solutions to Keep Jamboree Craft Vendors from Blocking Access to Their Storefronts (View Video Here)

June 5, 2024
By: Dwayne Page

For more than half a century, the annual Smithville Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival has been a popular tourist attraction for DeKalb County and an economic shot in the arm to the local economy. But store owners on West Walnut Street, members of the Smithville Merchant’s Alliance, claim that in recent years their business has been hampered somewhat on Jamboree weekend by craft booths that line both sides of the street in front of their shops making customer access difficult.

Recent meetings and discussions with the Fiddlers Jamboree Board of Directors have apparently not resulted in a solution to the satisfaction of the store owners so they came to the monthly meeting of the Mayor and Aldermen Monday night to express their concerns. They also presented a petition signed by themselves and fellow downtown business owners asking city officials to intervene.

From the beginning of the annual festival, the city has allowed Jamboree organizers on that weekend to block off the downtown square and use the streets for setting up food and craft booths.

Kim Luton, president of the Fiddlers Jamboree and Crafts Festival, explained during the meeting Monday night that vendors who rent booth space pay a fee to the Jamboree which goes toward the event’s operation cost.

“Our policy states that we will place a booth in front of businesses last. If we see we are going to be full, we offer the booth space to businesses before we place them and ask that they pay the craft booth fee of $135 for that space. If so, we place the craft booth on the waiting list in case something becomes open. We see this as a goodwill gesture from the businesses to support the Jamboree,” said Luton.

Although it’s not new for craft booths to be placed throughout downtown during the Jamboree, Walnut Street has become a much busier place in recent years as new businesses have moved into what were once mostly vacant buildings.

Rick Walker, owner of the Arts Garage on West Walnut Street, said while vendors should not be allowed to block access to their store fronts, West Walnut Street businesses should also not have to pay a fee to ensure space in front of their stores is unoccupied.

“We don’t want vendors blocking access to our business fronts”, explained Walker. “We have been forced to pay a $135 vendor fee to have a 10’ x 10’ spot open in front of our businesses. I would like to point out that this is not required of the businesses on Main Street because they don’t have vendors on that side,” he said.

“Randy Caldwell of the Purple Door Antiques and Unique’s and I attempted to make a resolution of this. We met with the president of the Jamboree committee on August 22, 2023. We expressed our concerns and provided some suggestions and potential solutions in writing. We were able to meet with the Jamboree committee on May 9, 2024 where we expressed our concerns again. We offered some solutions and both the fire chief and chief of police offered some solutions as well. We were sent a letter on May 20 from the Jamboree committee saying basically the solution is if there are not enough vendors you can have the space in front of your building but if there are too many vendors you will have to pay to have that space open,” said Walker.

“My request is that the city council intervene with the Jamboree committee on behalf of the businesses and business owners of downtown Smithville to help us come to a resolution and stop this unfair practice of charging us to have the space in front of our businesses. I want to be clear we support the Jamboree 100%. I have gone to the Jamboree every year since I have lived here, and I have products that I have bought from vendors that I use on a weekly basis but we can’t have that at the cost of our (store owners) success. We bring tax revenue into the city every day. We have created and revitalized downtown in the last couple of years so much so that social media influencers and the Discovery Channel influencers have come to downtown Smithville to film it and advertise it to the world. The state tourism board is investing in Smithville and DeKalb County because of the things that are going on here. So we ask that you help us intervene with this to have a resolution that is both beneficial, successful, and as fair as possible for both the Jamboree and for the businesses downtown,” said Walker.

Randy Caldwell of the Purple Door also addressed the mayor and aldermen.

“We are not here in a combative mode,” said Caldwell. “We would just like to work out a solution that is a win-win for both parties. As Rick said we have been working through this for about three years. We have been professional about it. We have even offered to do a layout to see how it can benefit both parties but unfortunately, we have arrived at the same solution every year. We don’t think what we are asking is unreasonable,” Caldwell continued. “We think there are viable options that can work for both parties. I attended a committee meeting here a few weeks ago. One of the things we were told was one of the reasons the Jamboree was started was to help the businesses downtown in a period when business was slow. I can attest as a business owner that business is slow this time of the year. Its very important for us to be successful and we want the Jamboree to be successful but its hard to be successful as a retail establishment when people cannot see your building,” explained Caldwell. “Even if we have the 10-foot space in front of our shop, its still difficult for people to see it. I know how hard it is to put on an event like this. I don’t think its malicious by any intent. People are used to doing the same thing every year and we understand that, but we think everybody can be successful if we look at some options. We did pass around a petition. We are representing the Smithville Merchant’s Alliance as a group of retail owners downtown. This petition is signed by 83% of the retail businesses downtown in support of our request. We ask that you take that into consideration as you consider our request. These business owners all live and work here. We invest in the community. We are here 365 days a year and we are also very supportive of all the different organizations. We put on events which costs us money, time, and effort but we are bringing tax dollars to the city and county. To reiterate, we are in support of the Jamboree. We want the vendors to be successful. We understand the value they bring in foot traffic to our door. My wife was a vendor for three or four years here at the Jamboree, so we very much appreciate what everybody does to make that happen. Again we respectfully request that you consider what we are asking,” said Caldwell.

In her remarks, Kim Luton expressed her thanks to the City of Smithville “for all the city provides for the Jamboree weekend including security, EMA (Emergency Management Agency), city workers and so much more. We, the Jamboree board, truly appreciates it all,” she said.

“The mission statement of the Smithville Jamboree and Crafts Festival is to preserve the true heritage of Appalachian Craft, Music and Dance. This year’s festival is the 53rd Jamboree to carry through with our mission,” said Luton. “The Jamboree Board is made up of 11 members. We also have seven separate committees that work on different areas of the Jamboree. No one is paid. It is an all-volunteer effort with a lot of time involved. This is a free event for the public. The Jamboree is a 501c 3 non-profit organization. We barely break even. All donations to the event provide a tax write off to those who assist the Jamboree financially. Our income is derived from sponsorships, food booths, entry fees, and craft booth fees,” Luton explained.

“We also promote the City of Smithville and downtown. We want the businesses to succeed and capitalize on the two-day event as much as the possibly can. At our last board meeting, we invited the downtown businesses to come and discuss their concerns. Fire Chief Charlie Parker and Police Chief Mark Collins joined us and offered a suggestion for opening up 3rd Street in order to increase our booths and offer a place to move some booths as needed. This year it is not possible because of electrical boards that would need to be in place. The costs are more than our budget can handle this year at $2,000 to $3,000. However, this is something we can begin to look at for next year,” said Luton.

“We have hired an additional constable to patrol the streets and sidewalks. Vendors should not be putting their containers or anything on the sidewalks. We understand that was an issue last year and we will make sure the sidewalks are clear at all times”.

“As far as Main Street is concerned,” Luton said “it is the fire lane Chief Parker has designated. Booths are not straight down the middle of the street. Each year, we rotate moving them further to the right or the left so that there is enough room for emergency services if needed. This is the only reason there are booths on one side of Main Street,” said Luton.

“On average, there will be 25,000 to 30,000 visitors over two days. It has been said that this festival and I quote” provides enough income to supply my store for Christmas”. Several stores have called and asked, “how can we help?” That’s what it’s all about, community and common good for all,” added Luton.

After the public comment period, Mayor Josh Miller and the Aldermen briefly discussed the concerns but took no action.

“I was told this morning (Monday) that only two booths would be on Walnut Street this year (Jamboree),” said Mayor Miller. “The cut-off date (for booking a Jamboree craft booth rental) was June 1. I don’t know if that has changed but there is apparently not going to be an issue this year. But whatever you do (aldermen) we have to be fair. We cannot do one (exception) for Walnut Street and not do it for Market Street or all streets. Everybody has to be on a level playing field,” said Mayor Miller

Alderman Danny Washer made a motion to table the request until a workshop could be scheduled to discuss it further, but the motion died for the lack of a second.

Alderman Beth Chandler said the issue should be revisited before the Jamboree next year.