Around 30,000 people packed the Missoula County Fairgrounds over the weekend for the inaugural Zootown Festival. The only evidence left by the massive crowds is some trampled grass and the crows picking through whatever scraps of food remain.
That meticulous cleanup is one of several reasons county officials are very pleased with the promoters behind the festival.
“It exceeded our expectations,” Fairgrounds operations manager Billie Brown says. “We were delighted.”
Brown says the festival went off without any hitches, from the county’s perspective.
The festival paid an up-front $50,000 rental fee, and the county will get $5 from each ticket sold, up to $120,000. Brown says the two-day event will likely double the fairgrounds’ annual rental revenue.
“We’re just ready to do it again,” she says. “We really understand what their perspective was on how big it’s going to get, and we’re ready to go there.”
The lead promoter behind the festival, producer Scott Osburn says the festival is likely to grow in future years. He added most festivals aren’t profitable for a few years, and that includes Zootown.
“I just appreciate everyone giving us a chance to go out and deliver the product that we were aiming to deliver,” Osburn says. “We’ll continue to do that year over year as we grow.”
There was one wrinkle for the festival. The Missoulian first reported local bar and caterer the Rhino sued the county and Osburn’s company, alleging they breached a contract with the bar when they moved forward with a different alcohol provider. In an emailed statement, Osburn said the festival was unable to reach an agreement with the Rhino, which resulted in an “impasse.”
The county on Wednesday filed a response in court denying a violation of the contract. It instead is seeking damages from the Rhino, alleging the bar broke the contract itself.
Zootown Festival has four more years on its contract with Missoula County.
