Since late last year, founding organizer Ted Gehrke had been mounting what he called a “last-ditch” effort to keep the Metro Fountain Blues Festival alive. At the same time that the festival was celebrating its 30 anniversary in 2010, SJSU’s Associated Students was forced by its own financial situation to pull out as the main sponsor.
The situation looked dire, but by last month Gehrke had made peace with it, and he even wrote a speech that would have been the festival’s official sign-off. He planned to deliver it when the Fountain Blues Festival AllStars Band performed at Montalvo on March 2.
“That night, I was going to give the going-away speech,” says Gehrke. “I had my ‘It’s been a great 30 years,’ wave-goodbye-and-fade-into-the-sunset ready for that gig. I was really hoping I wasn’t going to cry.” But that very day, he got a call from a potential sponsor who expressed serious interest in supporting the festival. The speech went into his back pocket while he spent a few weeks nailing down the details. Luckily, he was prepared with a long-term financial plan showing how the festival was close to being profitable and, with a few tweaks, could quickly be in the black.
The deal came together, though the sponsor isn’t ready to be named. With the date set for July 9, and the city giving him some workable terms on St. James Park, the key details were in place. His first calls were to secure the JC Smith-led Fountain Blues Festival AllStars Band, and Tommy Castro, who had been holding part of his schedule in limbo for six months in order to accommodate the festival.
Gehrke admits to being somewhat surprised—but ultimately pleased—with how everything has worked out. “All of a sudden, bam! I’m back in it. And I’m extremely happy.”
Now comes the hard—but fun—part: mounting the festival and making sure its long-term future is secure.
“We have got to show a profit this time,” he emphasizes. “The people who want to keep this thing going have got to support it.”
The Metro Fountain Blues Festival will be held July 9 in St. James Park, San Jose; $10.
