Madison House’s groundbreaking new festival in Buena Vista, Colorado, Vertex, will experience some growing pains in its second year. According to the Denver Post, the agency has had difficulties with the Chaffee County Commissioners that have pushed the planning timeline far past what it was originally intended to be.
“The recent approval of the permit for Vertex in 2017 is much appreciated, and displays the collective intentions to discover a great path forward. Buena Vista’s relationship with a world-class festival has amazing potential,” reads a statement. “Rushing forward could compromise the quality of the festival and is not in the best interest of Buena Vista or Vertex. We look forward to ongoing productive discussions with the community so that we can best plan the dream of what Vertex can become.”
However, the approval of the permit this year didn’t come without massive restrictions. Limits on noise and an earlier curfew, as well as rejecting Madison House’s request for a three-year permit have put a lot of stress on festival director Michael Sampliner. 
“We need a three year permit in order to make the investment that this festival requires to be successful, and hope to re-apply next year,” Sampliner wrote in an email to commissioners Tuesday morning.
Dozens of residents made their case at commissioner meetings, complaining of bass shaking their homes, drug arrests (of which there were only four), and strangers walking through their neighborhoods. Another cadre of festival supporters, on the other hand, pointed out the incredible economic impact of the festival.
The Denver Post remarks that, in July, “visitors and locals in the town of 2,700 spent an all-time record $10.21 million, up 16 percent from the previous July. In August spending reached $9.1 million, the second highest-ever mark and an 8 percent increase over August 2015, which was a 9 percent increase over August 2014.”
The door is still open for a 2018 installation, but that leaves this coming year wide open.
via Denver Post | Image via Vertex
