Partnership helped keep Beaufort festivals alive

A partnership between the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce and a downtown Beaufort event planning group may have saved some of the most popular Beaufort events and festivals from peril.

At the beginning of March, the chamber took over Main Street Beaufort, which organizes events like the Beaufort Shrimp Festival, A Taste of Beaufort and the Downtown Farmer’s Market, among others. Without the partnership, Main Street may not have been able to continue to run the popular events after a year of economic shortfalls, said chamber president Blakely Williams.

“This has been an unbelievably positive combination for the Beaufort community,” Williams said. “We had a shared geographic interest, and we’re thrilled to have a renewed focus on downtown revitalization.”

A year of setbacks

The problems for Main Street Beaufort started last year, when the organization lost $90,000 out of its $350,000 budget within just four months.

The city of Beaufort had provided funding for the organization every year since 1985, but in June 2015 did not include funds for the nonprofit in its fiscal year budget.

A five-year contract with the city guaranteeing money from parking revenue to Main Street expired in 2014 and was not renegotiated. Under the contract, Main Street Beaufort received a little more than $50,000. In 2014, the city approximated its contribution with a budget amendment, but the amendment was not renewed.

City leaders believed Main Street had not done enough to grow and retain businesses downtown, Mayor Billy Keyserling told the organization’s supporters in a public meeting last June.

The second big blow came when the organization’s Beaufort Shrimp Festival, its biggest money-maker, was canceled due to heavy rain and safety concerns for visitors.

Director LaNelle Fabian said that Main Street had expected to make about $38,000 at the annual event.

Hoping for better

The infrastructure provided by the chamber is expected to prevent the economic shortfalls Main Street faced last year from happening again, said Williams.

Fundraising efforts and improved efficiencies from combining overlapping objectives and resources should keep the festivals in operation, Williams said. For example, the chamber’s already existing marketing team and administrative employees can help keep Main Street profitable, Williams said.

“Plans are underway for all the events people in Beaufort love every year,” Williams said.

Main Street Beaufort organizes the spring and fall ArtWalks, Trick or Treat Downtown Beaufort, Light Up the Night and the Christmas parade, as well as A Taste of Beaufort, the Beaufort Shrimp Festival and the Downtown Farmers Market.

This story was originally published April 1, 2016 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Partnership helped keep Beaufort festivals alive."