The Atlanta Dogwood Festival is looking to raise $250,000 by Nov. 1 in order to ensure that next year’s festival will happen.
Heading into its 90th year, the festival is facing financial losses due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, reduced sponsorships, and increasing costs, according to a press release.
If the festival does not meet its funding goal and deadline, there will be no festival in 2026, according to organizers.
“Unlike some other events in Atlanta, we don’t receive any taxpayer dollars,” said Brian Hill, Atlanta Dogwood Festival executive director. “We’ve always raised that money through our own efforts. It’s been increasingly more difficult.”
According to the press release, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival Board of Directors is currently in conversation with Mayor Andre Dickens’ office for support from the city. The festival is also seeking donations and sponsorships from corporations, local businesses, philanthropic organizations, and past attendees.
The festival’s production costs have risen somewhere between 25-30 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily due to the rising costs of security, equipment rentals, and other support services. According to Hill, the income made from the festival has not been able to keep pace with the costs.
Other reasons for the increase include the rising cost of labor as well as a shift to digital marketing during the pandemic when live events, and therefore sponsorships of those events, became temporarily obsolete. When the Atlanta Dogwood Festival returned after taking a break in 2020, sponsorships returned too, but in a more constricted manner, said Hill.
“Nobody had any idea of how long the impact [of COVID-19] was going to last, especially economically,” he said.
The Dogwood Festival is free to attend and usually hosts 250+ artists from across the country. To offset rising costs over the past few years, the festival has introduced some fundraising efforts such as the Mimosa 5K Run, a VIP ticketed event, midway rides, and merchandise sales. While many of those endeavors have been successful and popular, they’re still not keeping pace with expenses.
According to Hill, scaling the festival down is not an option.
“In diminishing the festival, we’re diminishing the value to sponsors. We’re diminishing the value to the vendors and the artists. If it’s less people coming and it’s a smaller event, they’ve got other events that they can choose from from Fortworth to Chattanooga,” he said. “If those are on the same weekend, and if we aren’t the Dogwood Festival, then they will choose to go to those instead.”
