Uncertainty now surrounds the upcoming Perkasie Porchfest live music event, typically held on residents’ front porches throughout the borough after an apparent breakdown in negotiations between event organizers and Perkasie Borough officials late last week.
While organizers and officials issued somewhat conflicting statements regarding what went wrong, one thing is for sure — the May 11 event won’t go on as planned.
Some borough homeowners may independently opt to host bands on May 11, but event organizers seem to be working primarily to connect acts with potential venues located outside of the municipality.
Perkasie officials on Saturday afternoon posted an announcement on the borough’s official Facebook page that suggested Porchfest organizers had withdrawn a necessary special event permit application.
The Perkasie Porchest Facebook page fired off its own statement 20 minutes later accusing the borough of attempting to have the organization scale the event back significantly from what took place last year with fewer vendors, businesses and hosts, plus a much-shorter 4-hour run time.
“We would not budge on so many things being removed,” the Facebook post said. “It was not sustainable for the future.”
The borough’s official post, attributed to mayor Jeff Hollenbach, said the town was making an effort “to address numerous documented public safety concerns from the previous year’s event.
Porchfest organizers Corey and Heather Armideo put out an additional statement Saturday evening laying blame at the feet of borough officials for erecting “bureaucratic barriers” “in bad faith” in an effort to “wait out the clock.”
It characterized as “profoundly disingenuous” Hollenbach’s Facebook post, which effectively canceled the event.
“As recently as Friday evening, April 19, we were under the impression there was a possibility for a salvaged event in Lenape Park for May 11...,” it said.
But Hollenbach’s statement said the use of the Lenape Park amphitheater was limited to borough-sponsored events.
“It has been a privilege and a thrill to organize this event the past several years,” read the Armideos’ statement. “From the beginning, it was the appreciation and energy from the Perkasie community that kept us going. We are hopeful for a better relationship with Perkasie in the future and grateful for the support and interest from our neighboring municipalities.”
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