Dear Editor:

It is nice to see some new entertainment introduced in Montesano, but who is responsible for the planning? The concept of the Fish and Brew Fest was good, but the timing was so wrong for many reasons.

Wasn’t this event initially planned for Saturday night? Had it been on Saturday, there would not have been any conflicts. Allow me to explain.

Since the beginning of time, (about the same time dirt was discovered) the Kiwanis has held their annual spaghetti feed on Homecoming night. That’s right, Homecoming. This is one of their major fundraisers that enables them to provide scholarships for college to local high school students. The last thing they needed was another event planned that would draw potential attendees away from their event, especially when it involved live music and beer. They make a pretty mean spaghetti, but they serve milk, juice and coffee, hardly a fair competition.

Let’s face it, service organizations such as the Kiwanis are struggling to survive. They really don’t need any type of hinderance. They provide a valuable service to the community and deserve our support, not interference. These folks are working hard to keep their organization going and helping local youth continue their education.

The advertisement for the Fish and Brew Fest highlighted that the Husky game was being televised at the event. What about Homecoming? Where’s the community spirit to go and support your local undefeated high school football team? Do you see what I mean about poor planning? Promoting the Husky game over your hometown Homecoming, come on … tacky at best. I’m pretty sure this was an oversight, but it was a major faux pax.

Any new event has a responsibility to pick a date that does not interfere with events that are previously planned. That’s a basic rule that is usually followed.

Had the Fish and Brew Fest been held on Saturday night, there would not have been any conflicts. Who decided to change the date to Friday night instead of Saturday? Hopefully, the planning for this event will improve in the future.

Here’s a thought — why not reimburse the Kiwanis for any lost revenue and promise to schedule any future events on a Saturday night, that does not interfere with any previously planned events? This way the community gets a new event without having to pick and choose which one to attend. This community is too small to have this type of poor planning.

Doug Iverson

Montesano