Pandemic puts Fisherman’s Village Music Festivals on hold

The Fisherman’s Village Music Festival in Everett has been postponed indefinitely because of the pandemic.

Everett Music Initiative’s three-day festival, which was scheduled for May 14-16 in downtown Everett and would have featured nearly 60 acts, won’t happen as planned. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t take place — at a much smaller scale, or virtually.

While the seventh annual Fisherman’s fest is postponed, EMI founder Ryan Crowther said all other shows scheduled from May through September, as well as the third annual Wild Coyote Americana and Country Music Festival in October, will likely have to be canceled.

Crowther said he expects events of their size probably won’t happen for a long time because of the coronavirus outbreak.

“It’s just the social responsibility of bringing massive crowds together, even if we were allowed to do it,” he said. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it, given the data of how many people are still becoming ill.”

The Everett Music Initiative is waiting to see what Gov. Jay Inslee recommends before making any new festival plans. But there are talks of a scaled-back Fisherman’s Village, or streaming performances like the initiative’s HOMEBODIES series, where fans can watch video recordings of musicians performing on EMI’s Facebook page.

“We’ve all been glued to the press conferences and the news to figure out … what does the future hold for us,” Crowther said. “We’re all aware of just the amount of uncertainty that this has brought us.”

Whatever EMI decides to do, it won’t be as easy as rebooking nearly 60 local, regional and national acts. The postponed festival won’t have its original headliners, Surfer Blood and Night Moves, for example. But retaining performers like The Moondoggies, Jason Webley, TELLERS, Oliver Elf Army, SPHYRAMID, Clothing Optional, Sylvi, The Moon is Flat, I Will Keep Your Ghost, Weep Wave and Actionesse would be more likely.

The Everett Music Initiative has set up a GoFundMe campaign — its only community ask in eight years of operations — with a goal of raising $15,000. Donations will support the organization as it adapts in response to the virus.

“We have put hundreds of hours of work into a festival happening in May,” Crowther said. “We had a location, we had permitting done, we had a great line-up of bands. We’ve literally had to scrap what we’ve created thus far.”

Since its founding in 2012, the Everett Music Initiative has produced, promoted or partnered on more than 400 events. All of the events were funded entirely by ticket sales and sponsorships.

In eight years, Crowther said these shows brought 250,000 tourists and an economic impact of $20 million into the city.

Crowther said the Everett Music Initiative is looking for partnerships to help find innovative ways to continue to entertain Snohomish County during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re on the other side of it, and we’re excited about these new challenges,” he said. “They’re terrifying yet exciting because this is what we do.”

As it stands now, the city of Everett is the organization’s largest partner. EMI was awarded a $35,000 grant from the city to go toward the Fisherman’s fest. If the festival doesn’t happen, however, those funds must be returned.

The City Council recently approved about $2.5 million in cuts in every department except fire/emergency medical services and police. City-sponsored events like Sorticulture and Colors of Freedom Fourth of July have taken a hit.

“Everett is a very innovative city, and we always find a way to move forward,” said Julio Cortes, spokesman for the city of Everett. “We’re hoping we can support (Crowther) the best we can, taking into account our current situation.”

Cortes said the city is looking into whether the $35,000 grant could be applied toward next year’s Fisherman’s Village Music Festival.

“It’s one of my favorite festivals,” he said. “We have so much talent here, my hope is that we start using that creative energy to find ways to continue that vibe and prevent it from drowning in the sea of COVID-19.”

For more information, go to www.everettmusicinitiative.com and www.thefishermansvillage.com.