Weak economy forces festivals to rethink, cancel

For the first time in more than 20 years, the organizers of the Harbor Fest musical festival in Racine, Wis., were forced to cancel their seminal summertime event on the shores of Lake Michigan. Sure, attendance has dwindled in recent years, but rising costs and a 40 percent drop in corporate sponsorship dealt the final blow. "It boiled down to, if we can't do it the right way, let's just not do it," said Joe Mooney, the event's organizer for all but one year. Mooney's misery has company. From a hot air balloon festival in Jackson, Mich., to parades in Clearwater, Fla. to a seafood festival in Annapolis, Md., organizers grappling with the effects of a weakening economy are calling it quits. Or at least putting off their events until next year. Corporate sponsors are pulling out as they worry about their own financial... [read full story]