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Wookiees, Ewoks, Jedi knights and Storm Troopers will descend upon Beachfront Park again this June in what city staff hope will be an even bigger blockbuster than last year’s Forest Moon Festival.

Crescent City Councilors on Monday agreed to allocate $7,000 to the festival, which is about $2,000 greater than the budget request for last year’s festival.

But though they supported a proposed partnership with the Del Norte Association for Cultural Awareness to start a summer concert series, Councilors held off on approving an additional $4,000 budget request, saying they wanted to see a formal agreement outlining who is responsible for what.

Despite the delay, DNACA Executive Director Stephanie LaTorre said she could begin researching potential artists who may want to kick off that performance series.

“It’s been a desire of ours to hold a summer concert series in Beachfront Park,” she said. “We see our community enjoying a great sunny day in Crescent City. They’re looking forward to a free, high-quality, family-friendly concert in Beachfront Park. And in addition to the concert, they are loving the food trucks and some adults are stopping in at the beer garden.”

DNACA is a nonprofit founded in 1981 to promote culture, arts and tourism in Del Norte County, Crescent City and adjacent tribal lands. It's partially funded by the California Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Since 1982, DNACA has held a winter concert series that has brought nationally and internationally performing groups to Crescent City. These concerts attract visitors from Roseburg, Humboldt County and Washington State, which contributes to the local economy, LaTorre said.

For its first foray into summer concerts in 2024, DNACA’s Board of Directors envisions performances being held at Beachfront Park’s soccer fields using the stage belonging to the Del Norte County Fairgrounds. In time, DNACA’s concerts would be held at the park’s new amphitheater, LaTorre said.

The first performance will coincide with the Forest Moon Festival which is scheduled to be held from May 31 through June 2. The concert will be held in the evening while everyone is waiting for it to get dark enough to screen “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi,” LaTorre said.

The second performance will take place in July or August and the third concert would take place around Labor Day or the first Saturday in September, LaTorre said.

Examples of potential acts include the Seattle-based soul band Marina and the Dreamboats, the Medford area-based duo Allison Scull and Victor Martin and Alice D. Micele, who is also based in the Rogue Valley, according to LaTorre.

“These are all award-winning artists,” she said, adding that their fees are also smaller and they have lighter technical needs. “They are small acts. They are professional artists and they also have a following. When we hosted Alice D. Micele earlier this year, she was the person who had people coming down [to Crescent City] from Roseburg.”

LaTorre estimated that it would cost about $4,000 per performance for a total of $12,000 for the entire concert series. This would cover artist fees, lodging, electricity for equipment, audio technicians and the use of the fairgrounds’ stage, she said.

Ashley Taylor, Crescent City’s recreation and economic development director, pointed out that launching the concert series in conjunction with the Forest Moon Festival ensures a built-in audience. It’s also a way to draw attention to the concert series as well as other summer events.

In addition to the initial $11,000 budget request Taylor made on Monday for the festival in June and DNACA’s first concert, she said staff would return to the City Council for the 2024-25 fiscal year to request $12,000 for the three DNACA concerts.

Councilor Kelly Schellong said she’s excited about seeing the Forest Moon Festival grow and become a regional event, but other organizations besides DNACA have expressed interest in holding summer concert series.

“I think we should open it up to hear proposals from other organizations,” Schellong said. “Maybe it [means] more concerts in the park, but I think it’s our due diligence that we need to do for the public.”

Crescent City Mayor Blake Inscore asked how much of that $4,000-per-concert cost would be the city’s responsibility and what would happen if the city was able to find sponsors.

LaTorre said she already put together an informal list of expenses and discussed them with City Manager Eric Wier and they both came up with the $4,000 price tag for the concerts.

DNACA would be looking for small acts that are largely self contained, cutting down on the cost of equipment and other performance-related expenses, she said. If the artist is regional that would also cut down on the need lodge them for more than one evening, LaTorre said.

“The idea is that we, DNACA, would pay for those items,” she said. “And in areas where the city can [help] — if there’s permit fees or being able to utilize some place to plug in sound equipment, things like that, and then there would be a reimbursement of certain expenses too.”

Inscore pointed out that Crescent City would be able to waive its permit fees since the concert is free. However, the success of the concert series hinges on that first performance, he said.

“I really want to knock this first one out of the park,” he said. “You set the tone with that first one that you do. We set it with the festival last year. While it certainly may not have been perfect, it set a standard.”

The inaugural Forest Moon Festival celebrating the 40th anniversary of “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi” brought more than 500 people to Beachfront Park last year, Taylor said.

Celebrating the region’s tie with the film, hundreds of children took place in the Rebel Challenge. There were costume contests and a marketplace.

This year, Taylor said, the city plans to partner with the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau to get more organizations and businesses to participate.

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