FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Subject:  Re-organizational Meeting for the Marina International Festival of the Winds

After nine years of dedicated service the Executive Board of Directors for the Marina International Festival of the Winds will be retiring effective August 31, 2008.   The Board of Directors is seeking some person, group, groups, or promoter, who can take the Festival to the next level, to include other venues throughout the City, and to continue and expand on the success the Festival has seen over the past nine years.  There will be a meeting to discuss potential options at the Community Room of the Marina Library, 190 Seaside Circle, in Marina at 6 pm on August 28, 2008.  The Board has created a Request for Proposal (RFP) which can be found on the Festival website: www.marinafestival.com.  The RFP not only includes current venues but explores the expansion of the Festival to other potential sites and ideas.  The Board urges anyone interested in the continuation of the Festival to review the RFP and to please attend the meeting.  Participation is encouraged by civic groups, clubs, businesses, school organizations and any interested individuals to attend.  Several Board Members will assist in an advisory capacity.

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  The Festival has come a long way since its inception in 1999.  Don Livermore, at the time Librarian for Los Arboles Middle School, along with Steve Emerson, then President for the Marina Chamber of Commerce, and a core group that comprised the initial Board of Directors, envisioned taking Marina’s most prevalent asset (the wind) and turning it into a fun, learning experience for all ages.  The concept also included allowing a venue for local businesses and non-profit groups to gain exposure and added potential revenues.  It further wanted to give the City of Marina the recognition as a destination by attracting out of area visitors to the City. 

The primary objectives and purposes of this Festival, a nonprofit public benefit corporation [501c(4)] is stated in its By-Laws as follows: The Marina International Festival of the Winds is dedicated to the planning and execution of an annual family-oriented event in and for the people of Marina.  The goal of each year’s event is to bring about a stronger sense of Community in the City of Marina, a better understanding of its cultural diversity, and to raise educational awareness for children and those individuals that attend each year’s event through the use of wind-related activities and entertainment for all ages.  

With its humble beginning at the Los Arboles Sports Complex, the Festival has virtually out grown the present venue at Glorya Jean Tate Park and now includes Marina State Beach.     

The activities at Glorya Jean Tate Park have been many and have varied depending upon the year.  At the beginning the Festival tried hot air balloons and skydivers for the opening ceremonies: the former had to be discontinued due to too much wind, the latter for increasing costs.  But the constants for the Festival have been the giant kite demonstrations, the big tent that includes wind-related art projects including kite making and science learning, live music and entertainment, the giant inflatable air park, and the food, vendor and informational booths from the community.  The Festival has depended on local sponsors to keep the event going, and in the past, grants from the Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau for out-of-county advertising and the City of Marina.  The Board has strived to keep the Festival free to all who attend, and has been successful so far.   

This past year the Beach activities included both hang gliding and skim boarding competitions.  Sponsored by the Coastal Condors, the hang gliders consisted of a very international group, out to win the purse that was awarded for the first time this year.  Another first was SkimFest, sponsored by On the Beach Surf Shop, which brought skim boarders from all around Monterey Bay.  

The Board of Directors for the Festival has now decided, after nine years of dedicated service, it is time to hand over the Festival to some person, group, groups, or promoter, who can take the Festival to the next level, to include other venues throughout the City, and to continue and expand on the success the Festival has seen over the past nine years.  The Board has created a Request for Proposal which can be found on the Festival website: www.marinafestival.com which not only includes current venues but explores the expansion of the Festival to other potential sites and ideas.  

The Board has planned a meeting at the Community Room of the Marina Library, 190 Seaside Circle, in Marina at 6 pm on August 28, 2008 for interested parties to discuss the next steps to ensure continued success for the Festival.  Participation is encouraged by civic groups, clubs, businesses, school organizations and any interested individuals to attend.  As of August 31, 2008, the Festival Corporation and the Board of Directors for the Marina International Festival of the Winds will dissolve and the Festival will cease to exist in its present form.   

This is an opportunity for the community to take the Festival to the next level.  Please pass this information along to anyone you know to attend this meeting so that we can keep those kites flying high. We thank everyone for their past support.   

The Board of Directors for the Marina International Festival of the Winds

For further information please call: (831) 595-7516.