The Harrisburg City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to provide funds for the upcoming Kipona Festival.
Council approved a reallocation of $10,500 from the general fund to go towards supplies and services for the festival, including sound equipment, golf carts, street closure and the fireworks display, which alone will cost $20,000.
Mayor Eric Papenfuse called the vote “historic,” saying that this is the first time Kipona funding has been brought before council for approval.
According to Jacqueline Z. Parker, director of Community and Economic Development, the budget for Kipona this year is about $80,000, a cut from last year’s $100,000 budget.
Parker said that about half of the funding has come from contributors and sponsors, leaving $37,500. That leftover amount will be paid with $27,000 from a trust and agency account and the $10,500 allocated tonight.
Lenwood Sloan, director of Arts, Culture and Tourism, stated that the festival is “a first-class festival in a major city” and that the spending is a “sober, responsible management of limited funds.”
Papenfuse also said that he plans to bring festival spending “on book” during next year’s budgeting process, expressing concerns over the way the city has historically funded the festival with a special account outside the council-approved budget.
“Ultimately, I don’t think the city should be in the festival business at all,” Papenfuse said. He went on to say that he would like the festivals ultimately to be outsourced, with the city collecting a permit fee.
Unlike previous years, festival events will take place on City Island in addition to Riverfront Park. Riverfront Park will still be home to food vendors and booths, though City Island will also house numerous vendors.
The three-day festival will begin Saturday, Aug. 30, and conclude Monday, Sept. 1, with the fireworks display beginning at dusk on Sunday.
