BUTTE – The Evel Knievel Day festival is not happening this summer in Butte.
However, there’s still a question about $25,000 in funding that was provided by the city to help launch this year’s festival.
“The money was paid for the festival,” said Bill Joyce, SARTA Chairman. “If there’s not going to be a festival then there’s certainly an issue that the Evel Knievel Days Committee’s going to have to at a minimum, explain.”
An 11-member board called the Superfund Advisory and Redevelopment Trust Authority, or SARTA agreed to give Evel Knievel Days $25,000 each year for 10 years to help fund the free, 3-day summer festival. This funding is part of a Superfund settlement between Butte and the Atlantic-Richfield Co. to encourage redevelopment in Butte.
“One of the specific earmarked items was to fund the festivals, two festivals, in particular, the Folk Festival and Eve Knievel Days,” said Joyce.
EK Days Organizers claim they were not able to raise the $200,000 needed to put on this year’s event slated for the last weekend in July.
“Well, if they got the $25,000 for the festival and there’s no festival forthcoming then they probably should give back the $25,000,” said Joyce.
Members of the SARTA Board haven’t had contact with anyone from the Evel Knievel Committee since last year, but they invite them to come out to their next SARTA Board meeting on May 22nd to discuss the $25,000.
“We would invite the Evel Knievel Days folks to come visit with us and let us know where they’re at,” said Joyce. “I would think that we would expect that for the $25,000 that’s been allocated that a festival would be put on.”
Organizers with Evel Knievel Days told MTN News they are preparing a statement to address the SARTA money issue.
Reporting by John Emeigh for MTN News
