Save Ponderosa Festival

Funds raised through this GoFundMe campaign will go directly to costs associated with putting on the Ponderosa 2018. These include costs for production (stages, audio, lighting), performers, venue rental, insurance, security, and this list goes on.
For those that want to help, the number one way is to purchase your ticket to this year's festival and to tell your friends to do the same so that they don't miss out on the party.
Please read on for more details... Thank you.


August 1, 2018

Hello to the freshest people we know,

We hope you’ll take a few minutes to read this letter, as the festival we all know and love, Ponderosa, has found itself at a serious crossroads. We’ve been debating for weeks about releasing this news but felt it was important to be honest and open with you because we believe this is how a festival should be run.

Over the last six years, we’ve poured every ounce of love, passion and personal finances into this project. We’ve been through a lot together to even get this far - from the humble beginnings of a party with friends in an orchard, to a full blown arts and music festival. Ponderosa has taken its fair share of licks along the way but even with the Rock Creek forest fire and the last minute forced cancellation in 2015, we’ve managed to persevere. We’ve taken the losses on the chin because we believe in the project and have seen the positivity it brings into people’s lives. We also know that it takes time and a significant amount of patience to build an independent event like ours.

But in the spirit of honesty, Ponderosa has yet to financially break-even, and in some years the losses have been substantial. We’ve been paying for the event out of our own pockets, without ever taking a salary or payment of any kind. We’ve been hustling full-time jobs and working the festival in every spare moment. We’ve missed camping trips, weddings, gone home early from parties, had less time for friends and family, all in an effort to make the event financially sustainable.

We aren't telling you this to gain your sympathy. The two of us made the decision to start this festival and if given the choice, we’d do it all over again because we wholeheartedly believe in Ponderosa and the magic that’s created every time we get together in Rock Creek! It has been undeniably special for all of us that have attended.

2017 was a great year. Although we didn't reach the break-even point, we were closer than we’ve ever been. We looked towards 2018 with feverish excitement, thinking this was going to be the year Ponderosa started on the path to being financially sustainable. But in fact, this year has been one of the most heart-breaking, as the support for the event has dropped.

We are significantly below where we need to be, with tickets sales falling behind last year’s numbers. It is so discouraging for us, as continued growth has been one of the major motivating factors for us to carry on.

At this point, with less than three weeks to go, it is looking very likely that 2018 will be the last Ponderosa Festival. We’re heading towards another year of heavy losses and we simply will not be able to hold on any longer.

It is disheartening for us when the solution seems so simple...all we need to keep this festival alive and thriving is your support! We need a few hundred (500, in fact) more people to come out to Rock Creek, float in the river, listen to music, and soak up some of BC's purest nature on a pristine riverside site! That is it. The party is ready to rock, we just need you!

The purpose of this letter is to see if you want Ponderosa to continue, if you feel it is something worth supporting, investing in and keeping alive. It is not easy for us, in fact it is really hard, embarrassing even, to ask for help.

We thought about keeping this side of the event private and just having another great time with whoever showed up this year and announcing the end of Ponderosa this fall. But we didn't think that was fair to everyone who has supported and believed in us for so long. Kris’ sister put it best; "people can't help you if they don't know you are hurting.”

So there it is, two friends laying it all out there. Yes, we run a business and sometimes businesses fail, but in the end we don't really see ourselves as typical businessmen. We are music lovers, friends, festival goers; we are just like you. We have a dream and we have chased it with all we have.

If Ponderosa isn’t your thing, we hope you will get out there and support another independent festival, venue, local business, up-and-coming band, or community event because without your support, nothing great can happen.

But if you see what we see in Ponderosa, if you have felt what we have felt in Rock Creek and want to help keep the dream alive, then let's do it together! We are more than happy to keep organizing the party for years to come, if that is what you want!

So here's what we're asking of you:

1) Buy a ticket and join the party

2) Bring a friend or three (or ten) with you

3) Help us spread the word that this event is worth checking out

4) Can't make it? Help out with a donation to the cause on GoFundMe

If you have a ticket already, have no fear - this summer's party will go off like it always does! We will be there with our party pants on and all this talk of finances and tickets sales will be unseen. It will be another wicked summer weekend and the beautiful part is, everyone who is supposed to be there, will be.
 
With freshness, love, and a lot of appreciation,

Kia and Kris




www.PonderosaFestival.com