Please note: what lies below is a draft version of the 2010/2011 Burnsville Performing Arts Center Calendar. Decisions about future life events should not be created because of this information but instead should only be used for discussion.
Basic information: the inline Google Calendar widget below is fully functional and was populated by hand, by me. You can scroll through the months and click on events to see their full names. They are colored by event type (Envision Theatre, Chameleon Theatre Circle, Dance Competitions, Burnsville Civic Light Opera, and General Events) and you can use the little down arrow on the top right to turn on/off these filters as you see fit.
My comments:
1. From what I understand VenuWorks plans to mail out copies of the 2010-2011 Burnsville Performing Arts Center Season Guide to houses via USPS mail in a 6.5″ x 9″ ad-filled booklet. This booklet is larger than what was available last year and does not recognize the donors to the facility or FOBPAC.
2. It would appear that the majority of events on the schedule do not include ticket prices but some that do include Lorie Line’s 3:00 PM Christmas show for an astronomical $47.00, The Magic of Rob Lake ($24.50, $31.50, and $39.50), The Who’s Tommy by Chameleon Theatre Circle’s for $15 (adults), $13 (students, adults, seniors, groups of 8+) and Burnsville’s Civic Light Opera for $25 (adults), $15 (students, all balcony seats).
3. The event list has a heavy local focus with Envision Academy and Chameleon Theatre Circle taking up the majority of events and days. Those events which are not local are mainly repeated performances from last year (Lorie Line, Ralphie May, Church Basement Ladies, etc). Too bad the old adage, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” obviously does not apply to the BPAC.
4. The event listings are wrong for the Concert for Caring and Dakota Valley Symphony Young Artists Concert as they list “Friday April 30th, 2011 and Saturday May 1st, 2011″ when in fact they are on Saturday April 30th and Sunday May 1st. The page number for the April 30th event is also wrong but for the taxpayers’ sake hopefully they fix the problem before printing any large number of guides.
5. Overall I am totally unimpressed with the changing of the VenuWorks guard at the BPAC. We’re seeing very much more of the same and if they are confident enough in the schedule as it currently exists to put out a preview like this one you have to wonder how many additional events they plan to go after into the beginning of 2011. Too bad the new BPAC directly isn’t likely to even live up to part of his mantra of more interest in creativity and customers than money…
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After looking through the calendar of events and my notes about what appears to be a preview of the 2010/2011 Season Guide, what do you think about the BPAC’s future outlook? Did the changing of VenuWorks staff make any difference at all in what’s going to happen at the BPAC? Do you believe mailing this booklet out to residents and possibly the surrounding area will help bring more people into events which will be low revenue or even no revenue? How about the “bigger acts” simply being repeated from last year? Is that the ticket to the BPAC’s success? Whatever you have to say about the Unofficial 2010/2011 BPAC schedule go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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August 12th, 2010 at 9:08 am
Burnsville just isn’t a viable arts community. Seriously, I grew up there. It’s a hockey and football kind of town. The High School theater is very good, and that’s all they really need. If the council wants to live in Edina, they should just move to Edina.
August 12th, 2010 at 9:29 am
$47 for Lorie Line doesn’t seem outrageous.
Beyond that, my neck is exhausted from shaking my head in disbelief and disappointment at the PAC, VenuWorks and everything associated. I honestly can’t take it any more.
Maybe that’s some sinister tactic the Queen Mayor learned from a breakout session at the National Association of Empirialistic Mayors Conference or whatever it is that Kautz is the Supreme Commander of. Just have your Council, Staff, and associated fiefs make one embarrassing move after another until the citizens are in a constant stupor of disenchantment.
Then, as people voluntarily retreat to chain gangs, chipping rocks with pick axes and pulling weeds from the new brick boulevards in the HOC, you can rule unfettered.
Personally I have nothing left to give here but mundane comments on ho-hum local restaurants.
Uncle.
August 12th, 2010 at 10:32 am
There’s not much that’s more frustrating to me than getting snail mail from a government entity. I realize this works for some people but for me it just goes straight to recycling. There are enough of us connected electronically now that a simple postcard directing people to a website should be enough.
As for the calendar of events, there’s nothing that intrigues me. However, I do wonder if bringing the same acts back year after year will help to build a loyal following of those acts. Maybe that’s the idea there?
August 12th, 2010 at 10:39 am
In some ways I agree with Joey, however as a resident, I can tell you that I very rarely have any idea whats going on at the BPAC (nothing usually), so any type of communication is an improvement. I notice all sorts of garage sale type signs for the Art and All that Jazz, but nothing for any event really at the BPAC.
I think a much better idea would be a monthly postcard with a listing of events for the next month that is mailed out once per month. Dont know if it should go to a list of people who sign up, or start with a blanket of the area, or what. It would be far more effective in terms of keeping it top of mind, and replacing what people throw away each month. If the coupon people can send me a refrigerator magnet every month with pizza and tanning coupons, I would think they could browbeat some sponsors into doing the same thing and add an events schedule in the middle. This might actually turn a profit for them.
August 12th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Monthly calendar postcards…great idea! I could get behind that.
August 12th, 2010 at 10:58 am
Well as long as they are printed correctly and not like the calendar of events they have so far…
August 12th, 2010 at 11:10 am
Of course, being the Government, and biller of certain utilities, they could JUST INCLUDE THE INFO WITH THEIR UTILITY BILLS THAT ALREADY GET MAILED!!
What a great idea, Greg!
August 12th, 2010 at 11:12 am
Hard to please everyone, but I know for me, that would make it simple to see what is coming up. Easy to find contact info to call and get some tickets, etc. I put the magnet coupons on my fridge each month, or however often they come out. I know the company that does them is “for profit” so I would think the BPAC could do something similar. I am sure Subway would sign up………………..
August 12th, 2010 at 11:15 am
@Greg, Burnsville has an opt-out feature for those of us that have no need to receive our utility bill via snail mail since we pay them online anyway, so that wouldn’t cover everyone.
August 12th, 2010 at 11:46 am
But a lot of people do still get them in the mail, including most businesses.
Also, I believe their online billing service shows an image of the bill and any inserts that came with the bill. I’ve only just seen their online system, so I’, not 100% sure about that.
Either way, they could easily cover a large portion of the residents & businesses of Burnsville by utilizing the utility bill mailings.
August 12th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Maybe VenuWorks is using the same editor / printer for the BPAC Calendar as Paul Kurle used for his campaign signs???
4. The event listings are wrong for the Concert for Caring and Dakota Valley Symphony Young Artists Concert as they list “Friday April 30th, 2011 and Saturday May 1st, 2011″
If so, I would like to know so I can scratch them off of my list for potential printing needs.
August 12th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
MSPD $47 for LL tickets wouldn’t be too bad, but they’re about $55 dollars after the Ticket Master fees. I was just online and the total comes to $54.86 a ticket unless you buy 10 or more.
August 12th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
I’m sorry but $47 (before fees) for a matinee show is a ripoff.
August 12th, 2010 at 2:02 pm
No offense to Lorie Line fans, but — $47 before fees? You can see an awful lot of national touring acts and shows for less than that.
August 12th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Regarding utility bill mailings, it also wouldn’t do any good for people that don’t pay the bills directly. For example, my water and sewer are paid for by my HOA from homeowner dues; I never see a bill from the city for these. Even though I live in Eagan, I imagine it’s the same for a lot of people in Burnsville considering all the apartments and townhomes there, so it would miss a lot of people for that reason as well.
August 12th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Dont know for sure, but I am guessing you could avoid the fees by going down to the BPAC boxoffice? Dont know how many tickets you are looking for, but it might be worth your time.
Dont know if the price is reasonable or not. I dont want to see her, so I would not pay $10 or $100 for them. I understand she does have a pretty loyal fanbase though.
August 12th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
As a “forced investor” Burnsville taxpayer in this “money pit”, PLEASE, we don’t need any more city mailings that wind up in the trash. We are standing at a 5.5% city max tax increase. Of that increase, 2.2 PLUS% is slated for the operation of this disaster. What the public forgets is the amount that the Burnsville School District pays for PAC rental space for the magnet program Envision Academy. Another $190,000 in our tax money. ALSO additional money from District #191 Adult Education. An article in the June 26th Savage Pacer, http://www.savagepacer.com/news/school-news-burnsville-eagan-savage/district-191-students-are-slowly-attracting-magnets-106, go to the the bottom of web page and select page 37, then select the story “District 191: Students are Slowly Attracting Magnets”. This story shows problems with the Envision Academy program. Even with the addition of the senior class this year the planned enrollment drops by nearly 30%. The Burnsville taxpayer who resides within the Burnsville School District is paying one hell of a lot for one hell of a nightmare!!! By the way one Lorie Line ticket at $47.00 can buy a lot of “art”/entertainment from Red Box.
August 12th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
We’re not big on LL, but if we’re going to pop $100 on tickets to a show, we’re most likely heading for the Guthrie and dinner downtown…not to the BPAC.
August 12th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Ouchba!!
“The marketing piece will be key to the school as next year’s enrollment numbers, in spite of adding a senior class, has dropped from 77 to 54.”
I would understand if there was a Sr. Class last year and 30% were graduating and there was no interest from the incoming class but that was not the case. I wonder how many of these 54 Envision Academy students are new in 2011!!
This is sad.
August 13th, 2010 at 6:33 am
Will, its a great point about the money that we are paying to the school that then goes to the BPAC. That portion is really just a shell game. Its still another 200K of our tax dollars going to fund the BPAC.
August 13th, 2010 at 9:42 am
Went to the Zoo Concert last night my second this year and low and behold it was another near sold out event. It is clear to me that despite the economy people are still going to listen to good music.
If the City of Burnsville had any brains at all they would fire Venue Works and get on their hands and knees (this means knee pads for Queen Elizabeth) and beg Sue McLean & Associates to manage and promote the PAC for music and entertainment because obviously she knows her business.
Note to Queen Liz their website is http://www.suemclean.com
August 14th, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Just received my 40 page full color seasnonguide. Wow how beautiful, how professional and most of all how senseless and ridiculous. I mentioned the other day how I attended a sold out zoon concert for the second time this year and all I can say is that they too handed out a 4 page booklet and a black and white insert card with upcoming events. My guess is first it cost far less than the BPAC 40 page booklet, second it is filled with alot more professional performers, finally and most importantly I will bet the farm that Sue McLean and Associates makes one hell-a-va profit something we all know BPAC, Venue Works and Queen Liz no nothing about. I will not pay one dime to see an event put on by Chameleon Theatre Group who convinced (lied) to get three board members to about building this building. Had that not happened this second rate group would still be performing in Lakeville at the lJunior Highs where they belong.
August 14th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
On page 7 are the dates wrong for “Friday April 30, 2011″ and “Saturday May 1, 2011″?
August 15th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
Tom, the SueMcLean question has been brought up before, and the city has reached out to them. This was discussed here in a thread earlier this summer. Of course there would still need to be people to run the facility, since SMA can’t do that.
Regarding mailings, if some of you don’t think that’s a good promotional strategy, what would you suggest as a cheaper and more effective alternative? Serious question; not being snarky here.
August 15th, 2010 at 5:59 pm
Tim, every year the city of Bursnville requests bids from newspaper publications to be the official source of city notices. There is no reason why a PAC monthly calendar couldn’t be added to the bid winning newspaper. As was stated before we don’t need anymore separate mailings. Have you had the chance to read the latest ThisWeek newspaper? You may have noticed the front page story about the Burnsville Police Department STILL short $2,000 in Burnsville citizen contributions for the K9 Unit. Each PAC mailing costs a minimum of TWICE that cost. I personally believe that public safety comes FIRST before “art?” Too bad our city council/city hall has their priorities reversed. OR, maybe, the city manager should start managing.
August 15th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Tim, as noted above I would recommend monthly mailings of a postcard with the upcoming schedule and ticket office info, or some variation on the refrigerator magnet/coupon mailings that already go out monthly with coupons for local businesses and some real estate company’s ad across the top.
August 17th, 2010 at 12:36 pm
This is lame. I’ll say it again, please sell the PAC. Stop bleeding Burnsville residents.
By the way MSPD, if people volunteered to work on the HOC their services would quickly be turned away.
May 17th, 2011 at 8:49 pm
I came across this article on Google News and had to keep checking to make sure I wasn’t reading about Burnsville and the PAC:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/sports/a-companys-small-town-arenas-leave-cities-with-big-problems.html
The TL;DR version is that a company named Global Entertainment was hired to build and manage a number of arenas for sports and arts events across the country, only for (surprise!) the facilities to be seriously underused.