Reggae on the River @ Eel River

[Drunk Monk]

Friday's weather was weird.  Overcast, muggy and stifling - it had a thick oppressive feel - very stony.  RotR elicits some of the stoniest moments of anywhere.  This was accentuated by Tantaka, an electro-dub band, which laid down a fat stony soundtrack at the start of the day that was really working for me.  My friends and staff started to settle into place.  One group of friends that used to run a popular booth got a job supplying plants for backstage.  Most were live decorative flowers, but they also had some mature pot plants, including two large bushes that were days away from harvest.  What a job.  Another old partner-in-crime got a job with a vendor friend that has exploded.  I remember when that friend was slinging tie-dyes on a blanket in the Grateful Dead lot.  Now he oversees a half dozen brick&mortar stores across the U.S. and a major production facility and he just got official GD licensing, plus my other p-i-c friend as one of his lieutenants. 

Psych was constantly busy and although most of the problems were solved efficiently, it never really let up.  I was on the biggest takedown early - a burly dude near south beach who was agitated and confused, surrounded by maybe 2 dozen security trying to figure out how to corral him.  We took turns trying to engage him but to no avail.  Then he grabbed the throat of one of my protege - she reacted correctly with the stranglehold break I taught her and then we both took him down on the river rock and coarse granite gravel.  It was a beautiful takedown considering the environment.  No one was hurt and I was so proud to see her do exactly what I trained her to do in the field (she's now head of responders for JAH Med, but has always had great psych skillz and is an honorary JNK member).  I got a little road rash as he struggled on the ground but that was minor.  After which I iced it, and tried to garner some sympathy by sitting in the feckin front of main med with that dang ice bag, but no one fell for my ruse.  Who cares if the old dude got hurt?  That's what he does.  Whatev, man, whatev.

I forgot to mention that the river completely changed shape over the winter storms so RotR lost a good two acres of camping area.  The plan was to camp people across the river, and there was a point were it was ford-able.  That was the old Reggae Rising site, but camping attendance was low so it wasn't so bad.  The venue only felt full on Sat & Sun nights.  The rest of the time, more audience was down by the river because it was cooler.  There were rumors that the river was toxic just prior to the event, but by some magic, it cleared and was approved for human immersion.  I didn't really think about that too hard.  For years, swimming in the Eel was an annual pilgrimage, but I haven't been in for maybe a decade now as the water has gone sour.  Mostly, I blame the growers who spoil the land with unregulated farming practices, dumping grow fertilizers and such without regard.   

I have a note that there was a takedown in the bowl, but I don't recall it now.  It must've been busy cuz I usually remember the takedowns pretty well. 

Why are there so many zebra statues in Thai altars?

Want to know what happens next?  Stay tuned for the next chapter.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Ah, the old "Bait & Click". Shameless.

[Drunk Monk]

I woke early as is my habit, grabbed a quick shower because the showers were empty at that hour, and was called out immediately to the river.  There was a dude across the river who immediately started yelling after the Teepee sound system there stopped at around 7 AM.  A lot of crew people showed up, maybe a dozen rhinos and quads, all sitting at the bank, all discussing who might go swimming after this guy. He claimed he had been a swimmer fro 40 years and a local DJ named Dub Cowboy, who all the locals knew, said he knew him.  DC was in charge of that area.  The dude had been in a DUI which claimed the life of his gf, and had been PTSD ever since.  He was deemed 'Humboldt royalty' meaning there was enough people that knew him that absolved him of any penalty.  In the end, we just left him there because he wasn't really harming anyone.

I did this weird shuffle with my most high maintenance vol at Ground Zero/RGRV.  He requested special treatment with getting parking, and I humored him for no particular reason at all.  I had friends up at RGRV, so it took me out of the zone to a quiet place where I could chill.  

Patte, former JM director, came with fresh smoked salmon, halibut and scallops from AK, plus several hard boiled eggs from her chickens, laid that morning.  I ate almost all the eggs in one sitting (they were small).  She gave me a major slab of salmon which I munched on all day.  The scallops and halibut were served up for dinner.  

I treated myself to a new lid that says 'Dragon with Matches' a fav GD lyric.  It was to promote an herb strain called Scarlet Fire (more GD references) and you got a free joint sample in a nice black doob tube with every purchase.  Enjoyed that with another old JNK deadhead for J. Boog, who I usually don't care for, but he had a great three song opening.  He's sort of the Island/JAHwaiian Toots.  

I let my mustache grow out after Yosemite.  It was at that scratchy phase two weeks in that kept messing with me.  

Next year, I need to make some special laminates that say 'scapegoat'.  I'm not sure why but I'm sure I'll be able to use them.  'scapegoat lammy' is in my notes along with 'poppin out a rubber kitten', 'hemphysema' & 'cuddle puddles'.  I make these notes to try to remember things I think I'll use for something later, but I often forget why out of context.  

Want to know what happens next?  Stay tuned for the next chapter.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Click!

[Drunk Monk]

Sunday night was short.  I got in by 6AM because Saturday nite proved to be one more Saturday nite at RotR.  I can't really remember what happened, but we kept busy all night (I could refer to our report but it wasn't that significant).  I was awakened at 7:30.  So only an hour and a half of downtime for the last day.  

Sunday is really a blur.  I remember it being pleasant on the whole and I have a note that says 'tighter than a cop's lips' in my notebook, but that's it.  

The closing act on Sunday was the only act I really wanted to see - Two of the I-Threes (Marley's heavenly back up singers) Judy Mowatt and Marcia Griffiths, backed by Sly and Robbie, with Cherine Anderson filling in for Rita Marley.  Honestly, that's the only reason I stayed through Sunday as I usually escape early (Sunday night clean up sucks).  Just prior to their performance, we got a call for an advocate.  That's a code word for sexual assault.  We all jumped, but as fate would have it (and thank JAH) there wasn't enough room on the vehicles for me to ride in.  My second in command this year, Sarah, took lead for psych on it, and she's very talented, a better choice than me given the circumstances.  So, astonishingly, I was free.  I worked my way up to the viewing stands on stage right and found one of the Doc's family there along with the JM check-in lead.  We enjoyed the entire set together.  It was a blessing.  I was a huge fan of Judy for many years.  I've seen all three permutations of the I-twos over the years, but never the I-threes.  I almost went to JA once to see them, but I couldn't secure a ticket.  It was delightful to see Judy again, to hear that powerful voice still in fine form, to see her with Marcia, and with that rhythm & bass.  So IRIE.

Wendy, my baby driver, was bent on leaving ASAP the next morning and I was totally with her on that.  We staged her Prius for quick exit and loaded up what we could.  Not sure when we got to bed, not too late, and I was still one of the last before leaving the scheduled hospital crew on their own because I knew I didn't have to drive.  We were super efficient on the exodus and enjoyed a lovely breakfast, complete with bloody marys, miles away.  I was home by early afternoon.

After last year, I had a break with Reggae.  Losing Jingles put a damper on the sound for me and since then, it all sounds kind of flat.  I was really looking for inspiration this year, and while I didn't have any epiphanies, I did enjoy myself and the adventure that is JAH Med.  Overall, it went well, better than to be expected actually.  I'm encouraged by the next generation of JAH Med leaders and hopeful that the org will survive for a few more years.  And I'm not ready to retire, not quite yet, but I'm grooming my replacement with Sarah and she's really rising to the occasion.  

So 2018...until that time.

[Drunk Monk]

Poor Reggae on the River Attendance Leaves Mateel Community Center's Future in Question
by Thadeus Greenson
September 02, 2017

This year's Reggae on the River.[img=347x0]https://media2.fdncms.com/northcoast/imager/u/original/5986376/reggae.jpg[/img]



Redway’s Mateel Community Center is in a state of crisis after its biggest annual fundraiser, Reggae on the River, not only failed to meet revenue projections but left the center with a “significant” debt.

“Very challenging times lie ahead, there are difficult decisions to make, and the future of both ROTR and the MCC is at stake,” Mateel General Manager Justin Crellin wrote in a letter to to the Southern Humboldt community, inviting it to a Sept. 19 meeting when he will share further detail of the Mateel’s financial state and what options are being considered.

In an email to the Journal, Crellin said it didn’t become clear that ROTR was in trouble until during and after the three-day music festival on the Eel River near Richardson Grove in early August. He said early ticket sales outpaced those of the year before but that last-minute sales, walk-up sales and single-day tickets all lagged way behind. The lower attendance also negatively impacted merchandise sales and other income streams at the 33-year-old festival, Crellin said. He added that organizers had worked to reduce spending on this year's festival and operations came in well below budget, just not nearly enough to make up for the diminished attendance.

In addition to putting on the annual festival, the Mateel is a fixture in the Southern Humboldt community, offering a free hot lunch program, youth arts and music programs, among other things. Crellin said staff has already been cut back to “essential hours,” with some layoffs having already occurred. “Presently we are looking to maintain our programs and events that are currently confirmed through the end of December but we will be holding off on adding things beyond this until a clearer path forward emerges — one that resolves our outstanding debt and more solidly enables us to commit to 2018 operations/planning,” he said, adding that various options are currently being explored, including “some rather encouraging ones.”

In the community letter, Crellin says Sept. 19 is also a chance to really discuss how the center can grow and adapt to meet the needs of a changing community. In his email to the Journal, he expanded on that point.

“I think in simple terms we are starting to see the effects the changing cannabis economy is having on our community and I know from speaking to other local business owners in town that many of their numbers are down too, underscoring that folks simply don’t have the money in their pockets they once did,” Crellin said. “I’m also not sure the influx of newer local residents feels the same connection to our larger community, back to the land type values, and the importance of supporting community institutions like Mateel or ROTR quite yet and this is something that needs to be fostered so that we are sure to be able to keep these institutions viable and relevant in the future as our community evolves its values, needs and desires change.”

Crellin declined to divulge hard financial numbers at this point, saying he’d prefer to share them with the community Sept. 19. He said he hopes folks will come to the meeting with an open mind, suggestions and willingness to do what they can to help the Mateel find a sustainable course forward. 

See the full letter copied below, which includes details of the Sept. 19 meeting:

 To the membership of the Mateel Community Center and the larger Southern Humboldt community,

Reggae On The River 2017 failed to meet its budgetary expectations and, for the first time in memory, the production sustained a significant loss. Truly the lifeblood of the Mateel Community Center, the center’s operations have for years relied heavily upon the consistent and anticipated success of this fundraiser- and without these proceeds (and a significant debt load) the community center is now at a difficult crossroads.  

Very challenging times lie ahead, there are difficult decisions to make, and the future of both ROTR and the MCC is at stake. That said, there is also an opportunity here to re-examine as a community what our priorities are for the Mateel Community Center and re-evaluate not only what we need to keep the center viable in the long run, but also what is needed to stay relevant and functioning with the greatest beneficial impact for the entire community. Like it or not, our community and economy is changing, and this is a real fact we will need to come to terms with as a community. As a first step in this direction- for the Mateel Community Center anyway- we, the board and staff of MCC, would like to invite the community to join us Tuesday, September 19th- 6:30pm at MCC- 59 Rusk Ln in Redway to reflect on these matters.  

We will discuss our current financial/ operational situation, answer questions/ review options, start to assess what the community wants its community center to be in the future, and talk ideas in setting a more sustainable course for the center in the years ahead. Major changes and an organizational re-structuring are certainties- and your participation as a concerned and involved community member is necessary. The community center truly is and always has been what we make it- and Mateel will survive this current adversity- even if it may look quite different on the other side. If ever there was a community that could do it though, it is ours. Please join us on September 19th and together we will embark on this difficult but necessary journey. Mateel Forever!  

Justin Crellin
General Manager
Mateel Community Center 

[Drunk Monk]

MATEEL COMMUNITY CENTER REVEALS THE EXTENT OF ITS FINANCIAL CRISIS

September 20, 2017 Kelley Lincoln 35 comments


The audience at the Mateel last night. [Staff photo]
The Mateel Community Center (MCC) held a public meeting asking for community feedback on their next steps after losing $140k on Reggae on the River 2017.
General Manager Justin Crellin outlined the problem, its history, and potential solutions in a thirty-minute report. This culminated in the dire reality that the Community Center is around $533,000 behind. Half the amount is actual debt and the other half appears to be the lack of funds to operate for the 2018 season.
Crellin said, “From a budget perspective, the discrepancy between the $140,000 loss on the [Reggae on the River] festival and the $290,000 we budgeted to make on the event in 2017 is a $430,000 difference, underscoring the severity of the situation, and in combination with past debt [of $142,000], explains why our current debt load is $533,000.”
The Mateel says there is no possibility of a Reggae on the River event in 2018 without a partner or investor.
Crellin admitted the MCC has already spent the $100,000 dollars it had in reserves. The Board is considering which programs to cut and which to keep with its limited budget. Staff is being laid off and the remaining staff is on “essential hours.” No specifics were given about which positions have been eliminated.
Options for Moving Forward
The top options financially, according to Crellin, are partnering with an investor or leasing the Reggae on the River event to another producer and ensuring the Mateel Community Center’s funds ahead of the event. There are no formal proposals to present to the public at this time because the Mateel is currently developing the confidentiality agreements which are needed before the Mateel can enter detailed negotiations with any potential partner for the event. Crellin does say, however, the Mateel has already received at least two credible offers for this option without having yet released any sort of request for bids. Although the Board does say that decisions may be made as early as next week about the direction the Mateel will take.
Another option is finding 500 individuals, businesses, or families to buy $1,000 lifetime memberships. The Board was notably mute about its enthusiasm to take on such a responsibility, which would historically fall under its duty of “ensuring adequate resources to advance its mission” according to the National Council of Nonprofits.
And MCC’s bottom of the barrel options are selling the ROTR event outright, or taking a loan out on the Mateel Community Center property. If the Board did want to take a loan against the property, it must be voted on by the membership first. When the General Manager turned the microphone back to the Board, Garth Epling said “As a long time volunteer, it hurts my heart to see this downturn. [but] This hall is the asset we need to protect.”
During the public participation session, Peter Houston, a producer of the Northern Nights festival, expressed interested in supporting the Mateel with Reggae on the River. He said Reggae is how he came to Humboldt County and he wants to see it stay local. “We can work together,” he said.
What Happened?
In Crellin’s report, he spent a lot of time explaining how the Mateel Community Center came to be in this position. When the MCC returned to French’s Camp in 2013, the event was financially successful. Expecting the same for 2014, the Community Center was shocked when the event netted half their projections. Proceeds only totaled $178,000 when $358,000 was budgeted.
The Mateel seems to have then taken out loans from community members. Crellin kept referring to “bridge loans” that were to get the agency through the 2015 year. However, MCC has yet to fully repay these loans. “We have only chipped away at them,” he said.
When asked, Crellin and the Board declined to specify to whom this money is owed.
The next two years were strong. 2015 netted $249,000 and 2016 netted $278,000, but the debt from 2014 hung on the MCC propelling the Board into a pattern of using early online sales for the next event to fund ongoing operations.
Other factors played a role in the current budget crisis according to Crellin. Reggae on the River (ROTR) infrastructure required investment including installing new leach fields for a septic system for the kitchen and food vendors; engineering shade structures for the concert bowl; complying with Humboldt County Planning and Building Department permit codes on every structure on the Reggae on the River venue such as the stage and the beer barn; and constructing a rain catchment pond to make water available to the event for dust control and lawn for the concert bowl. And the MCC hall also had major upgrades such as a new indoor stage, an outdoor stage, and building improvements to the hall itself during this four year period.
In 2017, Crellin said, the organization had reined in its budget, reduced its costs and was on track with early ticket sales higher than the past year until the last two weeks before the show. The usual sales spike that happens in the final weeks before a show did not materialize this year. And local sales were disappointing, but the Mateel didn’t know that until almost the moment of the show because local ticket sales tend to occur just before a show. And then the on-site sales were low including the single-day tickets. Overall, the sales were down $312,000 from 2016! Additionally, with fewer people at the venue, MCC sales of beer, merchandise and parking passes were also down.
Where It Is Now
Crellin says as devastating as the poor income of 2014, at $178,000 was, a loss on Reggae on the River was unprecedented, unexpected and a crushing blow to the future of Mateel operations. The Mateel sees a lack of support from the local community and Justin wonders “If the locals don’t come [to ROTR] then who are we doing it for?”
Crellin says the Mateel’s annual budget, including Reggae on the River runs about $2,000,000 a year, that Reggae revenue is around $250,000 a year providing half of the hall’s operating funds. Another $100,000 comes from their number two event, Summer Arts and Music Festival. However, they said Summer Arts is a “risky” venture due to the possibility of rain which, when it happens, keeps people home. When asked, Crellin said revenue from ROTR during the years it was held at Benbow State Park was comparable, in the $250,000 range, but that the Mateel felt it was “a matter of diminishing returns” and that the lack of camping began to work against them.
The Mateel is attempting to look at the loss and what led to it. The line-up is widely criticized. The local and regional economy is in serious flux without a sense of what to expect. People are much busier and have said to Mateel insiders that taking time off to attend Reggae would be a personal sacrifice. Additionally, there are many more festivals and options than when Reggae began on that shadeless river bar known as French’s Camp, including nearby Sierra Nevada World Music Festival.
Audience Feedback
During the public comment and proposal part of the meeting, aspects of the Mateel’s lack of local support were revealed. A woman said she was born in Briceland in 1975. She said that upon returning to Southern Humboldt and Reggae on the River after an absence of many years, “I didn’t recognize it as the same festival….I didn’t see anyone I know” at the show, and she said the emphasis on VIP passes instead of families seemed like a mistake to her. And she also said Carol Bruno needed to be given credit because “she knew how to throw one hell of a party.”
Although echoes of these statements are heard around the community, no one else in the hall shared thoughts like these publicly. And the Mateel did not, in its remarks, acknowledge the role history or the role emphasis on income over community may have played in the downturn of the event. Nor were any solutions put forward about how to overcome this. The woman who did draw it out walked away after saying, “Good luck with your Reggae.”
Nonetheless, the true nature of Reggae’s ongoing worldwide popularity and respect was highlighted by Jerry from Burkina Faso in Africa. Jerry reports he had spoken to Reggae Artist Alpha Blondy about his desire to bring tools home to his country, and that Alpha Blondy had told him about the “greatest people in the world” at the Mateel and Reggae on the River. Alpha Blondie introduced him and the Mateel brought Jerry and his Tools for Change to Reggae in 2015 where he was able to collect a shipping container of tools such as wheel barrows, shovels, trowels, shoes, buckets, cooking pots, and other basic items. Jerry said the Mateel is loved in Africa and “we can bring you a lot of music and a lot of variety.”
Only one person thought selling the show outright was a good idea. And she said it very adamantly. No one supported the Board taking a loan on the Mateel Center property. And several people spoke of the need for the Mateel to consciously examine cultural core values and include them in any financial deals moving forward.
A businesswoman said she is glad to do business with the Mateel for Reggae on the River. She thanked the Mateel for not settling for the lowest prices possible and said the Mateel’s support of local business is important for the community’s economy.
That Mateel spends about $150,000 locally, brings about 4,000 people to the area, and generates about a million dollars of economic stimulation with the one event according to Board Member Garth Epling referring to figures from 2015. Part of the money spent includes $70,000 for law enforcement presence.
Agnes Patak a former Mateel Board Member reminded everyone, “it is all about us to coming together. We all need to support each other. The pot thing is going away, but we are still here and we have each other.”
Jimmy Durschlag spoke, identifying himself as KMUD Board President, “I was at our first venue, the Fireman’s Hall, when we chose our name.” Durschlag was also a member of the horn section in a widely popular Southern Humboldt band, Rod and the Ideals, composing a lot of the horn sections for their songs.
Referencing KMUD, he said, “we have always had a cooperative relationship. It is also critical to [KMUD] that you do well. $20,000 of our budget comes from Mateel-related events…. Just like KMUD, the Mateel is a community essential.”
Durschlag continued, saying “these organizations were created because we needed their services.” In this, he included Beginnings, Whale Gulch School, and Heart of the Redwoods Hospice.
Durschlag also said of the current time “[at KMUD] our pledge drives are more challenging. Old timers are tired, are moving away or have died.” He said, “We are going to an awful lot of memorials.” Then, referencing the new comers, he said, “This place is not just about growing pot and making as much money as possible. Communicating that is essential.” He acknowledged he is not sure how to get that message out, but he emphasized the need saying, “We must grow our sense of community.”
What’s Next
The Board did not make any decisions or even comment much last night. There is a special Board meeting next week on the 25thof September at 6:30 pm where decisions are expected to be made. If the membership wants to be involved in those decisions, it is important to be at that Board meeting according to Board Member Garth Epling. Board Member Cynthia Martells added, “The conversation does not end here.”
And the Mateel would like you to know the October 25th Underachiever’s “Renaissance Tour” is now a Mateel Forever benefit show. All proceeds will benefit the Mateel.
Our reporter, Kelley Lincoln, has an approximate 12 year history of volunteerism, employment and membership with the Mateel Community Center.P

[Drunk Monk]

Cho.  

I thought we were done.  

MATEEL ANNOUNCED DEAL WITH HIGH TIMES FOR REGGAE ON THE RIVER
March 20, 2018 Kelley Lincoln 60 comments


[img=300x0]http://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/maxresdefault_live-300x300.jpg[/img]
Reggae on the River 2016 image
The Board of the Mateel held a three hour meeting this evening in which a new fundraising effort was proposed and the Board announced a contract with High Times Magazine to produce Reggae on the River.
At the Mateel Board of Directors meeting, Darryl Cherney engaged the room with his fundraising proposal that was well received. He explained to themthat he doesn’t need a title, but he needs authorization to act on behalf of the Mateel. And he said he needs staff or board to work with to help him direct his efforts in compliance with the Mateel’s existing bylaws and other rules the organization runs under. He was granted his needs and will begin the adopt a debt campaign forthwith.
The Board was already moving into ’truth and reconciliation’ mode which Cherney had said should be part of the fundraising campaign before he spoke. There was a palpable difference in tone.
Before Cherney spoke during the public comment period, the board heard more from the community of volunteers about their reluctance to talk to people.
During public comment, the crew who create the Kidlandia area of Summer Arts gave feedback about getting a “Dear Coordinator letter’ which was perceived by many in the community as summarily dispensing with the services of longtime workers. Board Secretary Anna Rogers read a letter from longtime Mateel member, and former board member Andrew Burnette, aka Burner. Burner’s letter also expressed frustration that he received one of the letters and asked how the Board can move forward if they don’t work with the community.
And then finally under new business, the Mateel Board of Directors decided it is going to enter a contract with High Times Magazine to produce Reggae on the River for 2018 at French’s Camp. The Board heartily thanked the Arthur Family for concessions made by them in the negotiation process. As yet, there aren’t many details available (See the press release from the Board below).
The news was disclosed in a manner that really highlighted the complexity of a public non profit raising funds by working in a business world as complex and contract driven as the music industry has become.
The Board was going to vote without a word of discussion because they have been meeting and negotiating the deal for 6 months…out of public earshot because of non-disclosure agreements.  But the Board wasn’t allowed to vote until it gave a lot of explanation about why.
All the Board revealed is the deal isn’t forever…so they aren’t selling Reggae on the River.
The Board also said the Mateel does not have to spend a cent to make Reggae happen this year. The new producer will take on all the fiscal responsibility.
Board Member Eryn Snodgrass seems truly pleased. Snodgrass feels it will be a well-needed infusion into the local economy that keeps Reggae “in its spiritual home at French’s Camp.”
author’s note
It should not be inferred by the reader that Darryl Cherney’s fundraising proposal was accepted in full by the Board of Directors.  The Board agreed to have Cherney work on the Adopt-a-Debt campaign, but did not adopt all Cherney’s recommendations.  
With regard to Cherney’s demand of ‘truth and reconciliation’ the Board is making progress, but it should be noted that the Board overall continues to struggle with how to meaningfully include the community in their process.
And finally, the public present at the meeting expressed reservations regarding the proposed Reggae on the River contract.
Press release from the Mateel Community Center:

Reggae on the River Festival Announces New Strategic Partnership with High Times

High Times Productions, Mateel Community Center Pair to Grow Iconic Music and Culture Celebration

REDWAY, CALIF. – March 21, 2018 – High Times Productions, the event-management team for High Times Media, today announced an exclusive partnership with the Mateel Community Center to breathe new life into the iconic Reggae on the River festival.
High Times will assume all responsibility for the upcoming festival’s talent lineup, marketing, and monetization efforts. The brand will also provide the Mateel Community Center with best practices learned from it’s long and successful production history in an effort to ensure the experience is on par with what the industry has come to expect from it’s premiere brand.
“Reggae on the River is a beloved institution in the Northern California music and countercultural scene, and a natural fit for High Times,” said Adam Levin, CEO of High Times Media. “We already operate numerous music and lifestyle events across three continents and see Reggae on the River as an extraordinary addition to the amazing experiences we curate annually for tens of thousands of fans.”
The festival has been connected since 1984 to the Mateel Community Center in Redway, and held on land controlled by the Arthur family. Originally, it was a one-day musical event to raise money to replace Mateel’s hall, which had been destroyed in a fire.
Under the new partnership with High Times, the center will have the resources to continue growing and developing the festival, said Garth Epling, the MCC Board President.
“Reggae on the River has been a treasured part of Northern California’s cultural scene for decades, and Mateel’s board has been committed to finding a long-term, sustainable partnership to ensure the festival thrives for years to come,” Epling said. “This High Times partnership ensures that Reggae on the River will remain a cornerstone of life in Humboldt county.”
High Times Productions produces a series of Cannabis Cup events annually as well as several other lifestyle and music events tied to High Times magazine, the oldest and best-known brand in the business of legalized marijuana. Given their production chops, knowledge of the landscape, and successful history in both events and media, High Times was the perfect partner for the Mateel Community Center. Reggae on the River marks an important step for High Times Production to manage a broader music event not explicitly tied to the legal cannabis industry, Levin said.
About Reggae on the River:
Reggae on the River is an annual music festival in Northern California, nestled along the south fork of the Eel river amongst the redwood trees. 34 years running, this cultural gathering has grown into North America’s premier live-reggae concert destination. Originally conceived as a fundraiser for the Mateel Community Center, the event has become known from Jamaica to Humboldt as the place to be on the first weekend in August. Visit us on the web at http://www.reggaeontheriver.com/
About Mateel Community Center:
The Mateel Community Center has fostered the arts in rural Northern California for approximately forty years. Serving as the cultural hub of the Southern Humboldt community, we provide arts, educational, and social service programs, and present a myriad of multicultural musical, theatrical, dance, comedy, film, craft, and rental events- earning our non-profit organization international acclaim.
Located in the town of Redway, CA, the Mateel Community Center hall is a showcase of fine woodworking, craftsmanship, and solar design that first opened in 1988. Owned and operated by the MCC, a 501©3 non-profit organization, the Center is well utilized by the entire community and serves as a venue for both commercial and non-profit rentals, as well as in-house Mateel productions.
About High Times:
For more than 40 years, High Times has been the authoritative voice of authentic cannabis culture, leading the fight for legalization and empowering the burgeoning industry’s legal entrepreneurs. High Times content spans digital, social, video and print platforms as well as location-based events highlighted by the Cannabis Cup global franchise and the High Times Business Summit conference series. Visit us at HighTimes.com, and follow @HIGH_TIMES_Mag on Twitter, @hightimesmagazine on Instagram or like us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/HIGHTIMESMag/

[cranefly]

Wow, what a complicated mess, political, financial, and probably cultural.  It's way over my head.

Does this mean that High Times believes it can make a profit with Reggae this year?

If it does, will Mateel be watching and learning, and be ready to take back the reins in a year or two?

As for Mateel's debt, that seems rather substantial.  Can a fundraising effort really put a dent in it?  I don't have a clear idea how many people they can approach.

Just blathering...

[Drunk Monk]

It’s always been a hot mess and I’ve been with it now for nearly three decades. It’s such an epic tale, but my perspective is blocked by HIPPA.

[Drunk Monk]

  So 2018...until that time.

I have officially bailed from this year. It’s just too close to Paris & Rome, plus with all of the High Times shenangins, I just don’t have the bandwidth. I’ve been at every RotR since #5 except one. Now it’ll be two. I am unattached although I have left the door open should I change my mind. Doubtful.

[Drunk Monk]

RotR #34 starts today.  I'm not there.  That's kinda weird because I've been to every one except 1 since #5.  That's like 3 decades straight, still the majority of my life.  With all of the changes, I'm curious to know how it goes, but only marginally so.  For a short twinkling moment, I thought about trying to make it, to squeeze it in before Europe next week.  But I don't have the days off.  I burned up a lot to film Man at Arms this year.  So there was really no way.  High Times waited too long and we saw the opportunity for Europe, so this year is a miss.  Nevertheless, I've been getting 'miss you' texts and seeing facebook/instagram pix of accomplices who've already arrived at the Eel.  

Alas.  

Next year.

[Drunk Monk]

It’s next year...

Reggae On The River: The Magical Years
by Steve Heilig, May 15, 20199 Comments

The fabled Reggae on the River festival has been through more trials and tribulations than your average 30-something native Californian, with a real rough patch in recent years due to disorganization, in-fighting, and financial struggles. The result has been an extended identity crisis. But considering some near-death experiences over the past decade or so, the faithful strive to keep the faith, revive it, and keep it going (Reggae Fest Seeks Rebound After 2018 Losses, AVA, May 8). After all, the ROTR “brand” was for decades “the world’s greatest reggae festival,” even if it’s been many years since that was truly accurate.
But for a long time, it was true indeed. Started as a fundraiser in 1984 to rebuild the burnt-down Mateel Community Center, sort of a ground zero for the far-flung “redwood nation” of back-to-landers, herb growers, and music lovers who’d moved to Northern Mendocino and Southern Humboldt counties starting in the late 1960s, ROTR soon became by far the largest event of the year there. It went from one Saturday to two and then three, starting on Friday nights. At its peak over 15,000 people gathered on the first week of August on a baking bend in the South fork of the Eel River nine miles South of Garberville, the not-so-big biggest town around. World-renowned musical stars from around the globe ventured to this unique setting and left vowing to return if they could. Many did, time and again.
From the start, ROTR was presented by a large crew of staff and volunteers headed by Carol Bruno. With her husband John and many more locals, they created an entire town in the forest and on the riverbank. Over the decades it came to seem “normal” at least in some ways, but really it was astounding. Only those who really knew it firsthand understood how complex and big the festival workings were. Carol knew, and presided over it all, smiling through challenges and madness that would have driven most people screaming into the redwoods, never to return.
I began as a fan, then a journalist, then a volunteer, and wound up actual staff, “Chief” of a backstage crew. Alas, the infighting heated up, both the crowds and the music became less wonderful, and I quit in 2007, just as it all melted down into the struggles that have seemingly persisted to some degree ever since. But “it was fun while it lasted” doesn’t even begin to convey how great that whole week each August was for me and so many others, for almost two decades, working and playing long long days into the night, camping in Richardson Grove’s big trees, cooling in the river, making lifelong friends, playing music on KMUD radio as a guest, even talking to the Garberville Rotary Club lunches. But of course at core it was about the legendary musical lineups hitting the stage all weekend. Just as evidence, here are just a few of the most memorable musical moments I can recall:
1990: South African reggae star Lucky Dube, largely unknown here, utterly transfixed everyone with a rousing, razor sharp and transcendent show. He returned to ROTR later but was tragically murdered in a car-jacking a decade ago. Live, he was legendary and never to be forgotten. This was the last one-day ROTR. 
1991: Trumpeter High Masekela, also from South Africa, joined “reggae ambassadors” Third World for a memorable jam and joyous rendition of his biggest hit “Grazing in the Grass.”
1992: One of the years where one after another, artists who would be headliners anywhere else took the stage one after the other - Toots and the Maytaks, Jimmy Cliff, Burning Spear, and for good measure, Zimbabwean legend Thomas Mapfumo.
1993: The hottest year ever, reaching over 113f, so that emerging West African star Baaba Maal, after his relentlessly stirring set, collapsed backstage and said “Take me back home so I can cool down!” Add returnees Jimmy Cliff, Lucky Dube, and Third World, plus reggae queen Judy Mowatt and Haiti’s Boukman Eksperyans.
1995: The debuts of #1 U.K. reggae band Steel Pulse And Nigerian juju master King Sunny Ade, plus Jamaican roots stalwart Sugar Minott and the Africa Fete package of great African and Caribbean artists.
1995: Alton Ellis, one of the few greatest seminal Jamaican singers, poured out his heart even though ailing. 
1996: Mysterious spiritual reggae singer Ijahman Levi lived up to his cult reputation and more, and Jamaican idols Beres Hammond and Luciano made their debuts to powerful effect.
1997: Another all-superstar year - Toots, Spear, Dube returning - with the debut of original Wailer Bunny Wailer, calypso legend Mighty Sparrow, Nigerian Star Sonny Okusons, who wept onstage at the death of his countryman Fela Kati, and a searing reggae debut by Joseph Hill and Culture.
1998: West African superstars Alpha Blondy and Baaba Maal, Jamaican roots legends The Congos, and the “Spirit of Unity” tour featuring Dube, Hammond, Steel Pulse And more.
2000: Friday night shows debuted with an astounding show by newcomer Femi Kuti and his ultra-tight band and those entrancing dancers. Bunny Wailer closed the festival with his hourslong “history of reggae” extravaganza.
2001: Congolese superstar made sweet magic on Friday night, and closing on Sunday night, Luciano climbed to the top of a lighting tower, still singing and terrorizing Carol Bruno, who said “I just can’t watch” and fled backstage.
2002: one of the years of too many superstars to list.
2003: Culture returned for a legendary set, so did Israel Vibration and the Roots Radics, plus Toots, Cliff, Third World, and African stalwarts Bembeya Jazz.
2004: Steel Pulse, Bunny Wailer, Congolese all-star group Kekele, and the Easy Stars full reggae version of Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”
2006: The fest moved on river curve south to Dimmick Ranch, presenting Sly and Robbie and Don Carlos’ Black Uluru showcase, the mighty Salif Keita from Mali, and closer Bunny Wailer yet again. Sometime far after midnight on Monday morning, with all crew chiefs invited by Wailer to join onstage and sing along, I had a spontaneous revelation that it would get no better than this, that the magic moments were becoming rarer, that the “unity” theme of the festival was no longer really in effect, and that I should and would retire from ROTR before I ruined my memories. And so I did. 
[img=478x0]https://i0.wp.com/www.theava.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TootsHibbert.jpg?zoom=2&ssl=1[/img]Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals, who coined the term “Reggay” in Jamaica in 1968, testifies at Reggae on the River sometime in the 1990s.
Carol Bruno died recently, after a prolonged decline in her health. She was a pillar of the SoHum community, and far beyond, with many challenges in her life but her spirit intact. Mourning for her has been widespread and deep. She was one who would look you in the eye and say “I love you” and there was no doubt that she meant it. One of the last times I saw her was in Boonville at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, where I had taken the role of a stage MC, bringing bands on and offstage. Carol and John were honored guests, reggae royalty really, and we put seats on the side of the stage for them to use - not something done for almost anybody. Carol was frail, but we wanted her to see up close her friends in the veteran group Third World. After I announced the band and they launched into one of their signature songs “96 Degrees in the Shade,” I walked over to Carol, took her hand, and said “This one’s for you.” She smiled that smile, and I had to walk off behind the stage to compose myself, all choked up. The band dedicated their set to her.
[img=478x0]https://i2.wp.com/www.theava.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/JohnCarolBruno.jpg?zoom=2&ssl=1[/img]John & Carol Bruno
Carol Bruno, thank you for everything. This one’s for you too.

[Drunk Monk]

Not this year...

Reggae on the River 2019 has been cancelled

[Greg]

What will you do with a free weekend!?!?