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JUNE 23 - JUNE 30, 2015

The King of Promoters, Rick Crogan Speaks About the Festival

By Rick Crogan

JUNE 23, 2015


Day and night the crowds came pouring in.

Rick Crogan is the undisputed King of Promoters in Niagara Falls.
His very presence puts the weakling promoters who whine like the pusillanimous and contemptible objects that they are into a deep shame.
Crogan shows that you can put on a show without government subsidies. And he paid the price in corrupt Niagara Falls for daring to stand up to the establishment.
Congressman Brian Higgins reads proclamation for Joe Calato.
Councilman and Mayoral Candidate Glenn Choolokian presents proclamation honoring Joseph Calato as an honor to this community, as a host of elected officials sit in foreground.
Rick Crogan's Festivals are a success because he makes them work.

This year’s Niagara Falls Music & Art Festival was the biggest so far!

I am so proud of the artists and musicians who participated in this event and made it such a huge success.

We estimate that there were between 30,000 and 35,000 people who attended over the three days of the event. There were many families who we saw on all three days enjoying the music and fun atmosphere.

Honoring Joe Calato, the Niagara Falls resident and inventor of the nylon tip drumstick, was a true highlight of the event.

Congressman Brian Higgins, Senator Rob Ortt, Assemblyman John Ceretto, County Legislators Dennis Virtuoso, Jay Zona, Mark Grogio, and Owen Steed all presented Joe Calato with citations, along with Senator Ortt presenting a resolution to this humble promoter for my work on the event and with the community.

Councilman Glenn Choolokian presented Mr. Calato with a resolution of appreciation from this city which was the highlight of highlights of the event.

There were musicians from Brazil, Italy and Nigeria who came to Niagara Falls just to celebrate Joe’s success and see what Niagara Falls music is all about.

I am often asked what is in store for next year and when does that planning begin.

Well the planning begins next week after we have all gotten caught up on our rest. The future plans for the Niagara Falls Music & Arts Festival are to continue to grow this festival through partnerships with local and national businesses and by not taking taxpayer subsidies in whatever name and disguise they may try to creep into.

Remember, my friends, that taxes are taken from the people and comes to government in the form of the people's hard work.

But Music and Art is to be created through talent and love, not from pilfering from the toil of the people so that some may not toil and rest easy at festivals playing their songs and plying their wares on the backs of the people.

I stood up against this brutal method of taking from the poor working people and giving it to the rich concert promoters and certain forces in this city went after me tooth and nail because I wouldn't take public money to run a concert.

But we showed them.

We created the biggest festival in Niagara Falls dwarfing all the weaklings that cannot put on a show unless they take money from the people through government.

My long term vision is to create our own NFMAF Music Conference leading up to the festival.

I would like to see Niagara Falls become a regional center for trade show for the music industry bringing in sound, lighting, stage, musicians and all facets of the concert recording and touring industry.

It is important to bring in major sponsors and partners to grow this event to reach that goal, but, big sponsors or small, we are ready to grow it to the next level. 

We are looking for interns for the festival, people that want to be groomed in the music industry, marketing and web design.

For the next year we are planning to return to the three stage set up we had in the past.

The number of musicians who want to participate has outgrown the two stages used this year and last year.

We have already scheduled the 2016 Niagara Falls Music and Art Festival for the June 17, 18 and 19. 

Thank you to all that supported the event and continue to support it.

We did it on our own. Everyone who helped did it voluntarily.

Remember that the next time you go to one of those horrid taxpayer subsidized concerts. Remember, while all those happy listeners are having fun, somewhere in the background, someone you don't see is being forced to toil to earn the money government will take from him or her to pay for their giddy fun.

We are not like these.

God bless you all.

 

 

 

 

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