West Bend Sunrise Rotary cancels Kettle Moraine Jazz Festival

The West Bend Sunrise Rotary Club, producers of the annual Kettle Moraine Jazz Festival (KMJF) held annually on the weekend after Labor Day, announced that the club will no longer produce the event.

The West Bend Sunrise Rotary and its KMJF planning committee sent the following statement to its patrons: “During the past 15 years, the West Bend Sunrise Rotary Club has worked hard to make the Kettle Moraine Jazz Festival not only a world-class music and lifestyle event, but also one that supported Rotary’s objectives and provided funding for programs in West Bend, Washington County, and southeastern Wisconsin. Through ticket sales, sponsorship, and other revenue generating methods, KMJF has returned more than $380,000 in net revenue to the community and an assortment of programs in southeastern Wisconsin, nationally, and internationally. However, due to a variety of factors, the last two years of the festival have operated at a loss, with the West Bend Sunrise Rotary Club covering the expenses of producing the festival from its reserves. With a need to produce events and coordinate activities that raise funds to support community programs, the board of the West Bend Sunrise Rotary and Club members have made the difficult decision to stop production of the Kettle Moraine Jazz Festival. This choice was not made lightly, as the event is a labor of love not only for club members, but also for all that are involved in putting on the festival. A variety of scenarios were evaluated and after much discussion, it was determined that continuing was not fiscally responsible. For those of you that purchased tickets for 2013 at this year’s festival, a refund check will be mailed to you in the next week.”

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