Duke BehnkeAppleton Post-Crescent
KAUKAUNA — The Electric City Experience music festival has changed its name and location this year.
Now called the Fox Cities Experience, the event will be held June 6, 7 and 8 at Jefferson Park in Menasha, ending its seven-year run in Kaukauna.
Electric City Productions, the company behind the festival, announced the developments in a news release Friday and in a Facebook post Saturday.
"The festival will feature performances from some of the best musical artists in our region along with great food,carnival rides, midway games and unique vendors," Fox Cities Experience said. "This year, we're adding beautiful lakefront views, playground fun for the kids and all the other great amenities at one of the Fox Valley's premier parks."
The lineup of performers will include Cool Waters Band, Fox Menagerie, A-Town Unplugged, Ifdakar and Kyle Megna & the Monsoons.
"As we prepare for new beginnings, we want to offer our deep gratitude to the city of Kaukauna and our many sponsors for their incredible support through the years," the organization said on its Facebook page.
Kaukauna 'disappointed and shocked' by changes
Kaukauna Mayor Tony Penterman said he and other city officials were surprised by the changes.
"We're disappointed and shocked," Penterman told The Post-Crescent, "because the event organizer came to the city council as recent as Tuesday, May 7, and was requesting some supplemental funds to help offset some of the sponsorships that didn't come in this year."
Since 2021, Kaukauna has provided $10,000 annually for the festival. Penterman said Jason Lipsky, owner of Electric City Productions, asked for an additional $9,000 this year. The council agreed to increase the city's contribution by $6,000, bringing it to $16,000, but also attached conditions and asked to review the company's financial statements. Penterman said the Heart of the Valley Chamber of Commerce agreed to provide $3,000 to fulfill Lipsky's request.
Kaukauna officials learned last week that Lipsky canceled the event in Kaukauna.
"We met what he needed," Penterman said of the additional $9,000. "I don't know why he pulled out."
Menasha site opens the door to sponsorship opportunities
Lipsky had a different take on what transpired. He said he informed Penterman in March that key sponsorships had fallen through and requested that Kaukauna provide a "funding backstop" up to $10,000 to cover costs in event he didn't find replacement sponsorships. Lipsky thought Penterman was on board but said weeks passed without approval by the council.
In the meantime, Lipsky was working with Menasha on a contingency plan. Lipsky said Penterman knew that a move to Menasha was a possibility.
After Kaukauna committed to the additional $6,000, not the "funding backstop" Lipsky had sought, the decision was made to change course.
"The whole month of April basically went up in smoke by an inability or unwillingness to communicate or have meaning conversations on things at the city level," Lipsky said.
Jim Collar, spokesman for Fox Cities Experience, said relocating to Menasha's Jefferson Park offers financial and logistical advantages.
"By being more centrally located in the Fox Cities, that opens the door to sponsorship opportunities we didn't have when it was more of a Kaukauna-centric event," Collar said. "We think this will make us more sustainable in the long run."
Kaukauna will study creating new music festival later this summer
Penterman said he will form an advisory committee to explore staging a music festival in Kaukauna later this summer.
"With the original date being only three weeks away, pushing this year's event to later in the summer will provide time to gather sponsors, sound technicians and musicians," Penterman said. "Given the short notice, this year's event likely won't be as big as previous years, but we're still hoping to include carnival rides and several bands."
When did Electric City Experience get its start?
Electric City Experience launched in 2015 as a one-day festival in Kaukauna, following in the spirit and success of Appleton's Mile of Music. It featured 55 performers, including Cory Chisel, on 15 stages and venues.
The event returned in 2016 and 2017 and offered a vendor market, food trucks, a car show, kids activities and fireworks.
In 2018, Electric City Experience expanded to five days as organizers sought to make the event more accessible to families by moving the musical performances out of downtown bars and onto outdoor stages. They also added a carnival, art market and brunch.
The festival was canceled in 2019 because sponsor and volunteer resources were unable to keep pace with rising costs.
Electric City Experience also wasn't held in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic, but it returned in 2021 as a four-day festival. It operated as a three-day festival in 2022 and 2023.
Contact Duke Behnke at 920-993-7176 ordbehnke@gannett.com.Follow him on Twitter at@DukeBehnke.
