Resignation puts Farm Fest in limbo
Trending
Mark Mackey is resigning as chairman of the Fredonia Farm Festival committee and blasting village government on his way out.
Mackey has chaired the Farm Festival for seven years and is going out with what he says is its biggest one yet in August. However, he is tired of pushback from Fredonia officials on various issues.
"I'm tired of fighting. Every year it's been something different," he said during a recent interview. "I spend more time than I should at these trustee meetings and I just don't want to do it anymore."
He continued, "Last year is when I really started to keep track of my hours and how much I'm volunteering. I put in 1,087 hours of volunteer time to the Farm Festival (in 2022). This year I'm over 750 (hours) already. People think I get paid for this, and I don't. It's all volunteer."
Mackey said the festival highlights the village and brings outside spending to it.
"I feel the trustees should do all they can to help and support me because we are doing nothing but highlighting the village. Instead, I get…" He trailed off. "For several years there, we had to pick up every piece of trash after the Farm Festival is done. We had to blow out the parks, we had to have the streets whitewashed. Not one other festival in the village had to do any of that."
Mackey said he refused to pick up trash starting last year, when the Farm Festival fell under the umbrella of Festivals Fredonia, because that organization's other festivals don't have to.
"Of course, I heard about it. But when the other festivals happen, they don't hear about it. I don't understand why I get so much pushback," he said.
Mackey's comments come after another group of volunteers -- Festivals Fredonia -- sounded concerns over the oppressive actions of the Village Board earlier this month when it failed to approve the Red, White & Blues event that is scheduled to be Sept. 8 and 9.
Frustrated Festivals Fredonia volunteers have sent the board a letter noting if the open container law is not waived, it will impact vendor participation and attendance. In addition, the constant battles with the Village Board may lead to a dissolution of the volunteer effort.
Mackey also criticized a food truck law trustees enacted in 2021, and a proposed measure governing vendors. "And then when I went to the village board to get approval to run the festival this year, the police chief (David Price) wanted me to have Day and Park streets open, which is impossible to do with all the stuff that happens. I mean, Day is where the stage is."
Price, ultimately, did not get his way on that and the streets will be closed for the festival.
Mackey said it's not just the current village government that is problematic. "A certain individual in the village government came to me and said, 'This festival is beneath me and I would never be caught dead buying anything in it.' I have been through several iterations of trustees. Some of them have been very supportive, but I always get pushback from others."
He asserted he has grown the Farm Festival. "Last year was a huge success with all the vendors, and the word got around. This year, I filled up all my vendor spaces in March, something that's never happened before," he said. "I decided to put vendors on Park because I can fit 15 more vendors on the road there -- and I still have a waiting list. Probably 40% of my vendors are new, only because they've heard about how successful this event is."
He went on, "You know, when the Farm Festival started 55 years ago, it was the village that ran it. Somehow, it got away from that.
"Running this festival is a huge task. Nobody from Festivals Fredonia wants to take it on and I honestly don't see anyone else willing to take it on and give it the commitment it needs. So I don't know if it'll happen again, and it'll be sad to see the Farm Festival go away."
But if that's the case, "This will be the biggest Farm Festival ever, and as I've been saying in my meetings, 'We're gonna go out with a bang.'"