The Art of Survival

In 2021 the Coconut Grove Arts Festival’s future was in doubt. Lackluster ticket sales fueled by the pandemic forced organizers to cancel the long-running outdoor event that stretches along McFarlane Road, South Bayshore Drive and Pan American Drive every President’s Day weekend. 

To steady the ship, the 12-member board of the nonprofit Coconut Grove Arts & Historical Association, which oversees the festival, approved a major overhaul of its operational structure. 

Gone was Grove businessman Monty Trainer as the festival’s president and chief decision-maker, along with a small staff charged with running day-to-day affairs for the three-day annual show. 

To fill that void the board recruited Camille Marchese, former head of the Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival, to take over the curation of artists from around the world. The festival board also contracted with Loud And Live, a Doral-based events company, to manage the massive event that attracts upwards of 80,000 visitors in a good year.

“The pandemic was not something we could overcome,” recalled Nathan Kurland, a Coconut Grove resident and public speaking professor at FIU who has served on the festival board for 13 years. “It was one of the lowest points in our history. We had a long streak of consecutive shows but we had to close the gates [in 2021]. But we came back just as strong, if not stronger.” 

Indeed, entering its 61st edition this weekend, the festival is on better financial footing than four years ago, even turning a modest profit in 2022 and 2023, according to the association’s most recent tax returns.

Expenses continue to soar, however, creating some doubt about whether the festival can remain in the black without continuously raising admission prices. 

This year the festival is charging $30 for an online ticket, an increase of $5 compared to 2024. The price goes up to $35 if patrons pay at the gate. (A discounted rate of $20 per ticket is available to Grove residents). 

Across the board, Marchese tells the Spotlight, the festival is paying more for police details, to shut down city streets, to put up tents and metal barriers, for food and beverages that gets resold at the event, and other basic expenses. 

“Some people may think [the ticket price] is steep,” Marchese said. 

But, she added, “Twenty years ago, when the festival was free, eggs were 99 cents and my rent was $800 a month. Now, I am paying $7 for eggs and $3,500 for rent. The festival is a beast to put on. So that is why our ticket prices are the way they are.” 

The Festival’s Origins

In 1963, the late Miami publicist Charlie Cinnamon inadvertently created the festival as a promotional stunt for a production of the French musical “Irma La Douce” at the Coconut Grove Playhouse. 

At the time, Coconut Grove was a bohemian artist enclave and Cinnamon decided to create a Parisian-inspired “clothesline art show” that featured French poodles outside the theater’s front door. 

The festival was such a hit that locals created the nonprofit association to continue the event annually. Over the next six decades, the festival grew in stature and became a launching pad for some of South Florida’s most famous creators, including nature photographer Clyde Butcher and pop artist Romero Britto. 

This year, the festival features 285 artists who have gone through a juried process for the privilege of showing – and hopefully selling – their work. But that also comes with a price. The festival charges between $850 to $1,600 for each artist booth. 

The three-day event began to take on a more corporate structure in 1995, when the board hired Carol Romine Hawks as the festival’s president and CEO. 

Previously, she was an assistant athletic director at the University of Miami whose primary duties included securing corporate sponsorships. During her 10-year run with the festival, Romine Hawks recruited sponsors like Verizon, Coca Cola and Budweiser.

“It was lacking organization and needed an overhaul with someone who understood development and how to raise money,” Romine Hawks told the Spotlight. “Expenses were going up dramatically, and [the board] wanted someone with the ability to bring in sponsorships and grants.”

During her tenure, the festival had a full-time staff of four to five people, a couple of college interns, and an army of nearly 1,000 volunteers, Romine Hawks said. “The festival was growing and growing, and everything needed to be adjusted.”

Trainer – a Grove entrepreneur who opened the landmark restaurant bearing his name on South Bayshore Drive – took charge of the festival in 2005 when Romine Hawks retired. 

He transitioned from unpaid board member to being on the payroll as the new president and CEO. In recent years, his salary has fluctuated from $114,200 in 2020 to $81,000 in 2021, $50,000 in 2022 and $62,000 in 2023, according to festival tax forms. 

Trainer, who declined through his assistant an interview request, ended his involvement with the festival last year. 

“Monty became more active in the day-to-day [operations] and learned the business during my last three years,” Romine Hawks said. “When I was retiring, I didn’t see why [he couldn’t take over.] He was armed with all the skills one could ask for. And he knew everybody.” 

Pandemic troubles

In November 2020, with South Florida awash in COVID-19 cases, Trainer and the board cancelled the February 2021 festival. That decision was rooted as much in economics as public health. 

The event, which in the pre-COVID years was drawing upwards of 80,000 people, had been struggling to generate enough ticket sales and sponsorships to cover expenses of the three-day outdoor art show, Marchese explained. 

At the time, she had been having regular discussions with Trainer about the state of art fair circuit amid pandemic uncertainty. 

“Some other festivals across the country did happen, but they really weren’t that successful,” she said. “People were still hesitant to be in crowded places. It just wasn’t viable.”

The festival was also having trouble keeping up with rising cost of goods and services, said board member Kurland. “It was literally becoming untenable,” he said. “Miami is not an inexpensive city.” 

In February 2020, before the pandemic, the festival was a financial bust. 

The event generated $1.7 million in revenue that year, well short of the $1.9 million in expenses, including $359,385 in salaries, $181,265 for police, fire and security services, $180,600 for food and $71,642 for permits, according to the festival’s tax return. 

The following year, when the festival was cancelled, the association reported $252,802 in revenue but spent $202,745, including $110,791 in salaries and $18,617 in office expenses. 

To regain momentum, the board recruited Marchese to focus on the artist line-up and bring in Loud And Live to manage the three-day event, Kurland said. 

“Quite honestly, we were not able to keep up with the demands of running a show that was getting bigger in terms of attendance and the amount of [preparation] that has to be taken care of,” he said. “Seeing the writing on the wall, we knew we had to bring in a company that’s got expertise in getting food services, utilities, permits and all the requirements the City of Miami wants.” 

Festival’s Rebirth

So far, the arrangement appears to be working. 

For the year ending June 30, 2022, the festival generated roughly $2.4 million in revenue offset by nearly $2.2 million in expenses, which left the nonprofit association with a net income of $188,150, according to tax filings. 

That year, the 2022 festival collected $1 million in gate receipts, more than double the amount collected from the 2020 event. 

Expenditures included a $393,000 fee for Loud And Live, $501,220 for labor, $109,555 in salaries and $189,664 in police, fire and security services. The festival also handed out 17 scholarships to high school seniors totaling $53,000. 

The festival generated the same amount of revenue in the fiscal year ending June 2023, with a surplus of $91,861, tax records show. But expenses rose by nearly $1 million with advertising and accounting fees rising nearly three-fold to $49,517 and $37,000, respectively, compared to previous years.