COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Facing funding cuts from Colorado Springs, the city’s Juneteenth festival will be relocating to the Citadel Mall’s parking lot for this year’s celebration.
Last year, the city announced some cuts being made and the reallocation of some funds from LART (Lodging and Automobile Rental Tax). This is a fund used to help events that promote tourism. These events include Pikes Peak Pride and the Festival of Lights, both events that were central topics when these cuts were announced.
Event organizers OneBodyEnt were on that list. Last year, they used the $150,000 in LART money to help put on the annual Juneteenth celebration, but this year, they only get $75,000. On their website, they cite cuts to this and other events as a key reason they are relocating.
“This is challenging news, however we will overcome it, and this year will be as successful as previous years have been,” their website reads.
They have previously hosted the event at America the Beautiful Park, but this year, they said the Citadel Mall was eager to volunteer as the new home for the event, which draws thousands of people each year.
While the organizers have less money for the event, they will still have support from donors and sponsors, as well as that $75,000 from the city. The city’s Chief of Staff, Jamie Fabos, said she believes that it will likely be used to address safety.
“LART funding is very often used for police and fire, and that is required anywhere you have a large gathering of people,” Fabos said.
The Citadel Mall has previously made headlines for several crimes that have happened there and, for many, has become known for that reason. But city officials said they believe this celebration could be the start of a change in reputation.
“What I would love to see it do is to be a spark for having the Citadel Mall become a cultural and arts center in this part of the town,” said Councilmember Nancy Henjum, who represents the district the Citadel Mall is in. “The more people are around, the safer it is.”
Henjum also pointed out the fact that Juneteenth has never had any issues with safety since the annual celebration began, and she believes this will not change even with the change in location.
When asked about those safety concerns and why the city will not help provide services or waive certain fees to allow the event to continue as-is, Fabos said it is not within their capabilities with the budget they are currently dealing with.
“I wish we could donate police services and fire services, but those do represent a hard cost to the city, and so obviously if we did it for one, we’d have to do it for everybody,” she said. “And with our budget the way it is, we just don’t have the luxury of donating those services.”
Fabos said events like the Festival of Lights, which will be getting no money from LART this year, have had great success in finding money elsewhere, and she believes Juneteenth will do the same. She commended the organizers for their change and said she hopes more organizations follow suit, allowing the city to use LART funding for more events and allowing some larger ones to be self-sustaining.
Despite calling the cut “challenging news,” organizers also expressed optimism for the change this year.
“The new location will provide access to the mall. ample parking, close access to public transportation for the community, vendors, all on the gravel versus grass and several other perks,” they said on their website.
The event will be held in the Citadel Mall’s parking lot that is closest to the old Babies R Us and is planned for June 20-22.
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