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Norcross Women’s Club, Lions cry foul over arts festival ruling

Gwinnett Daily Post
(Reprinted by permission from the Gwinnett Daily Post)

By Carole Townsend
Staff Correspondent

NORCROSS - Members of the Norcross Women’s Club and Norcross Lions Club are not happy about a decision made Monday regarding the annual arts festival.

A committee of five people comprised of city staff and board members decided to award the festival to a private for-profit organization rather than these two clubs, which have produced the festival for more than 40 years in the city. The decision made Monday was based on the committee’s selection of the better proposal submitted for this year’s arts festival.

Former Norcross mayor Lillian Webb addressed current mayor Bucky Johnson and City Council members at Monday evening’s council meeting. Webb expressed her dismay over the committee’s decision and reiterated the ultimate purpose of the festival since its inception.

“This festival has always generated funds for those who can’t help themselves,” Webb said.

Former Norcross High School principal and Lions Club member Bill Heron said Monday that the festival promoter hired by the two clubs, Frances Schube, did a great job promoting the festival for several years. Heron stated that Schube was paid 21 percent of the gross profits from past festivals, a generous portion.

However, Schube announced to both civic clubs late last year that she intended to take the festival over and produce it through for-profit Splash Festivals, with her partner Cindy Flynn. According to Heron, neither the Lions Club nor the Women’s Club agreed with this plan.

Warren Anderson, president of the Norcross Lions Club, asked council members why the festival would be taken away from the clubs who produced it successfully for more than 40 years. He also questioned the ethics of Monday’s decision, stating that the Norcross Arts Alliance could not be unbiased in awarding the festival to any one group.

Johnson and every councilmember present at Monday’s meeting stated that they had nothing to do with the committee’s decision. Some were not even aware that a meeting had taken place.

The Norcross arts festival has generated as much as $70,000 each year, and all of the proceeds are awarded to several charities through the two civic clubs. According to club representatives, those charities will no longer profit from the festival proceeds.

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