Raffi quits festival over advertising

[Gary Ruskin]

Commercial Alert		June 1, 2000

Following is an article from today's National Post (Toronto).
http://www.nationalpost.com/news.asp?f=000601/305185

Raffi quits festival over advertising; 
Children's performer objects to corporate presence at event he has
attended since '79
by Richard Foot

Raffi, the acclaimed West Coast children's singer and entertainer,
withdrew from this week's Vancouver Children's Festival yesterday to
protest the pageant's decision to allow commercial advertising. 

"It is with great regret that I am today announcing the cancellation of
all my concerts at this year's festival," he said yesterday. "This was
not an easy decision, but it is one that I feel compelled to make." 

Raffi, who has appeared as a feature attraction at the week-long
festival of musicians, clowns and jugglers since its inception in 1979,
says he was dismayed this year to see the products of a major corporate
sponsor displayed throughout the site. He said Kia Motors, a car
company, has been allowed to place more than a dozen automobiles as
advertisements on the festival grounds. 

Smaller sponsors -- including The Vancouver Sun and Alcan -- also have
signs up around the site, he said. 

"What has developed here is overt commercialization of the site and the
festival which is truly regrettable," he said yesterday. "It's wrong to
expose children to corporate advertising." 

Raffi, a Juno Award winner and recipient of the Order of Canada, said he
understands the importance of corporate funding for arts events, even
children's festivals. However, he said that in previous years, festival
sponsors were not permitted to display large advertisements and were
more discreetly acknowledged inside festival booklets and programs. 

That has all changed now, he said, with no warning given to festival
performers. 

"Corporations should do this for the community, not for the advertising
payback," he said. "Supporters of this festival can be acknowledged
tastefully and gratefully, but signage must be either zero or so limited
that you hardly see it." 

Raffi, who said this is the only children's festival he takes part in,
was due to perform from tomorrow to Sunday. 

"I would like to apologize in advance to those families and fans who
have purchased tickets to my concerts at the festival," he said. "I love
this festival and want more than anything to preserve its distinctive
spirit." 

Festival organizers declined to comment yesterday on Raffi's withdrawal
or on the advertising issue. A spokesman said only that he was
"delighted" to announce that Fred Penner, another children's
entertainer, had agreed to step in to fill Raffi's performance spots.

<---------article ends here--------->

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Gary Ruskin | Commercial Alert 
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