Plans for a massive history festival in Ludington have hit a massive snag.
History Prize is modeled after ArtPrize, the massive art competition in Grand Rapids. Instead of art, this 19-day event would celebrate history.
Small community, big event
The small lakeshore community of Ludington won a competitive bid process to host History Prize, which is still scheduled to launch in the summer of 2016. But if it does, it will move forward without the support of some key players – including the Ludington Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the local board that formed to build History Prize.
The Board of Directors is newly formed. It’s only met twice and it’s not yet a 501-c3 nonprofit organization. But it’s decision to pull out of the event was unanimous, says Board Chair Bill Anderson.
What’s missing
He says what’s working for ArtPrize is still missing for History Prize.
“What made ArtPrize so successful was the prize element of it,” he says. “So we knew that the prize part of History Prize was going to be a huge draw of participants in this endeavor.”
Ludington is a much smaller community than Grand Rapids, but the vision for History Prize is pretty big. The hope is for 1,000 entries competing for as much as $150,000 in prize money. But, as of yet, the event does not have one single multi-year, major benefactor.
“In the first two overtures at that effort we didn’t attract any interest,” says Anderson. “That doesn’t mean that maybe there might be somebody in the future but that gave us pause.”
Anderson says the community might have been able to pull off the event one time in 2016. Sustaining it over multiple years was a bigger concern.
“If we start this thing we better be willing to sustain it,” he says. “Otherwise we’re going to really pull out the rug from underneath our community.”
Anderson is retired and lives in Ludington. He was the founding director of the Department of History, Arts and Libraries for the State of Michigan. He says the community is generous, but this event needs big money from outside the area. He estimates it could cost nearly a million dollars to get History Prize off the ground.
Moving forward
This is a big blow for a much-anticipated festival, but founder Mara MacKay says there will be an event in Ludington in 2016. She says there’s still plenty of time.
“Being that we came into the community on October 24th, we haven’t actually implemented our fundraising initiative yet,” she says.
MacKay, who is an author from the Upper Peninsula, says she’s planning to move to Ludington this summer and she says there’s been a lot of support for her project in Ludington and also in surrounding counties.
“This is a major undertaking for a smaller community and so, with the funding being what it is, we are looking forward to reaching outside of Ludington and looking to our regional, state and national sponsors,” she says.
MacKay says the loss of support from the History Prize Board of Directors in Ludington is just a “small bump in the road.” She says there have been “differences in leadership styles” between her and members of the board. She plans to move forward with informational meetings in March and April.