KahBang organizer: Portland move is 'bittersweet'
The chief organizer of the KahBang Festival in Bangor said its last-minute move to Portland three weeks before it's set to begin is a “bittersweet” affair.
Joshua Gass, the six-year-old festival’s executive director, told Mainebiz the sudden change was a matter of survival. Otherwise, it might not have happened.
The KahBang Festival, which includes music, film and art portions, is still set for Aug. 7-10, but is now happening across various venues in Portland. Tickets that have already been purchased will be honored and can also be refunded.
The festival’s location change from the Bangor Waterfront, where it had been held for the past five years, to the State Theatre and other venues in Portland was first revealed in a Bangor Daily News report on Thursday, which caught organizers off-guard as they said were preparing for an official announcement today.
“We started this festival as an all-volunteer organization,” Gass said. “It’s been a labor of love in Bangor and not always the smoothest, but we love it being here — but really, the environment here on the waterfront has changed dramatically.”
Gass said the festival was having difficulty securing a campsite within the Bangor area for festival attendees, bands and artists. He said a site they had previously used was out of the question after owners declined a request, and the city of Bangor wouldn’t allow people to camp on the waterfront. That’s when he and others began thinking about an alternative, Gass said.
Festival attendees will now have access to the Wild Duck Campground and RV Park in Scarborough, with shuttle buses running to and from Portland, the BDN reported.
Gass also cited low ticket sales as another reason for the move, saying a lot of tickets have been purchased in southern Maine so far, which means “many people won’t have to travel as far.”
Despite this year’s move to Portland, Gass said that wouldn't rule out a return to Bangor in future years. Festival organizers will reevaluate the future by the end of the year.
While the festival’s move will be considered a loss for Bangor this year, there is a silver lining, Gass said. For one, it keeps the festival alive, but it also shows how fast changes can be made when organizers want to ensure that it does happen.
“I think bittersweet is a great way to put it,” he said. “I literally moved a festival in a matter of 10 days. It was a very easy transition.”
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