In the face of a social media war of comments causing concerns for safety, and with the hands of the Howell Area Parks and Recreation Authority tied by the Howell City Council to either close its festival tent at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14, or get shut down entirely, the Melon Fest will go on in an abbreviated and alcohol-free manner, and without the popular Melon Festival Tent.
The already scaled-down event was scaled down even more to make up for the loss of revenue from the Melon Festival Tent’s alcohol sales.
The re re-vamped event will include the traditional Howell Melon Run at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 13, and a reduced Howell Melon Festival, which runs from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, on the lawn of the Historic Livingston County Courthouse. There will be live bands, games for kids, a mom2mom sale and other activities. You can click here for more.
Without the revenue from the Melon Festival Tent to support them, activities throughout the festival week were eliminated.
Gone is the Howell Melon Ball, which was set for Monday through Wednesday, featuring a mother/son dance on Monday, a daddy/daughter dance on Tuesday, and a family dance on Wednesday. “A Like Totally 80s Wedding” dinner theater event was planned for Thursday. And gone completely is the Melon Festival Tent and the activities planned for it.
Though sales of beer and wine help HAPRA raise extra funds to offset the overall cost of the festival each year, it
Then HAPRA amended a lot more than just its civic event application, and axed the Festival Tent.
“The Howell Melon Festival, as we all know, is more than beer and politics,” said Tim Church, HAPRA’s executive director, in a statement. “This event is about supporting local businesses and local farmers.”
The sold-out Drag Queen Bingo will proceed at its new location at the Historic Howell Theater; it was moved after questions over the appropriateness of the event for a family-friendly festival was sparked by Meghan Reckling, chair of the Livingston County Republican Party. City officials found the social media furor that ensued so concerning that it feared for the safety of festival goers.
Church said HAPRA will work with local agencies and do its part “to ensure the safety of participants and visitors.”
