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Saturday's concert was Albany's biggest
from: democratherald.com
by Cathy Ingalls, Albany Democrat-Herald
Albany's park and recreation staff has confirmed that rocker JOAN JETT drew between 23,000 and 25,000 fans to her concert Saturday night at the Oregon Amphitheater as part of the ATI Wah Chang Northwest Art & Air Festival at Timber-Linn Memorial Park.
Mayor Sharon Konopa gave the Democrat-Herald those estimates Monday, and now Katie Nooshazar, the city's recreation programs manager, has confirmed the numbers.
"That is a record for that event and that venue," she said. "We believe it is the largest concert ever held in Albany. The previous largest were 17,000 to 18,000 at River Rhythms concerts at Monteith Riverpark for the Dixie Chicks, Sugarland and Ladysmith Black Mambazo."
Jett concert fans traveled to see her from all over. Nooshazar heard about or talked with people who had driven down from Bellingham, Wash., or flown up from California.
"People love Joan. She has a lot of cross-generational appeal, and many of her songs have stood the test of time," she said. "Others came to support her for her causes: the military and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals."
Nooshazar was surprised by the number of gifts fans gave Jett after her concert. There were flowers, gift bags and stuffed animals. "There is a real sense of an international star quality to her," she said.
Despite the big crowd, relatively few security issues arose, Nooshazar said. There were a few drunken people who had to leave, and several fans were sitting in the aisles when they should not have been.
"We staffed for an audience of 15,000," she said. "Albany police and Eagle Security were out there. Next year, we'll position more security on the bridges, on the top of the amphitheater and along the aisles. We want to be able to respond as quickly as possible to any problems and we want people to feel safe at these concerts."
Donations during the three-day event are still being tallied. That figure will not be ready for a couple more weeks.
"We are estimating and budgeting for between $13,000 and $15,000," Nooshazar said. "All of that money goes to support the event. We don't have a total cost yet for the festival, and we don't disclose by contract how much we paid Jett."
About 53,000 people were at the festival, and that includes the people at the Jett concert.
The city hopes the festival at least breaks even. The city helps cover costs with sponsorships, hotel and motel taxes, and funds from the parks and recreation department budget.
Nooshazar and the parks and recreation staff already are planning next year's event.
They have decided the concert headliner will probably be a classic rock group and not someone who plays country. There are enough concerts in the mid-valley specifically for that type of music, she said.
Read more: http://www.democratherald.com/news/local/article_91d1f3f8-d3ef-11e0-8a15-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1Wdljfiml
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