Corn Palace Week today is nothing like it was when I first came to town in 1982. First of all, it was held in mid-September when the weather was cooler and it was more pleasant to be downtown in order to take in the sights and sounds as well as to enjoy the rides and entertainment of the festival. Second, it ran from 12th to 1st Street up and down Main Street. From 7th to 12th Street was all agricultural display type things; tractors, other machinery, farm product booths and the occasional mobile home etc. Of course with the advent of Dakota Fest, that portion of the Corn Palace Festival went away. Third, it was truly “Corn Palace Week”. The Festival began on a weekend, ran through the next week and ended on the following weekend. It was a ten-day extravaganza.
In 1982 there were, for lack of a better term, “circus freak show” acts in addition to the rides and carnival games; things like the man frozen in ice, the world’s smallest person etc. I suppose, in these politically correct days, those acts don’t exist anymore but it was a way for the unfortunate or the heavily tattooed (a rarity in those days) to make an honest living.
The Corn Palace shows were different forty years ago too. When I came to town the entertainment for Corn Palace Week 1982 was comedian Red Skelton, a staple of radio, television and the movies. He was it, there were no other acts – just Red and he sold out every show, every night. One entertainer for the week used to be the norm. The busses that showed up for when the Lawrence Welk Show folks came to play the Palace reminded me of a disaster evacuation; there were so many of them and they just kept coming and coming and coming dropping off boatloads of people in front of the Corn Palace. It was a sight to behold. I don’t remember when the change was made to “one and done” acts for each night of the festival but that decision was made for practical reasons – no one act could sell out the Corn Palace over multiple dates and touring schedules didn’t allow for a week in one place anymore.
We can argue about the best location and configuration for where the rides should go downtown or when on the calendar the festival should be held but there is no argument that something must be done about the actual Corn Palace shows. If changes aren’t made, there won’t be shows anymore.
The Corn Palace used to routinely sell out, or nearly sell out, for all shows. Entire sections of the building weren’t roped off in order to try and concentrate the few people in attendance closer to the stage, which occurred this year. The first show I went to was Danica Michaels opening for Randy Houser. Both entertainers put on a good show and were great performers. However, the crowd was the size of a Mitchell Kernel Boys’ Basketball Varsity game during a dismal losing season. It was pathetic. The crowds for Russell Dickerson and Night Ranger were better but still pitiful. Why is that?
There are several reasons for falling attendance at Corn Palace Shows, some are societal but some are within the power of the Corn Palace Committee and the City to address:
Inflation is a big issue right now and people are stretched to the limit on what they can spend. It’s been a tough summer for the farm community – too much wind and not enough rain. Those and other macroeconomic factors have limited the disposable income of folks who then made the rational choice that paying bills and eating were preferable to taking in a concert.
There is nothing local leaders can do about inflation or the weather and the farm economy. However, Randy Houser is the opening act for Cody Johnson (who had a recent #1 Country hit with “Til You Can’t”) up in Brookings on September 10th. Booking Randy Houser wasn’t a mistake per se, booking him when he will be in Brookings with a bigger draw so close to the Corn Palace Festival was a huge mistake. I’m guessing that lots of Randy Houser fans had tickets for Brookings and so didn’t double up with tickets for the Corn Palace show. By the way, the Johnson/Houser show in Brookings is a sell out.
Another reason for falling attendance at Corn Palace Shows may be the sound. The sound at the Corn Palace is terrible, as in – there is too much of it. I’m in country radio and know a number of Randy Houser songs. I recognized the music but couldn’t make out the words when he was singing. His opening act Danica Michaels was unintelligible and painful to listen to, not because of her singing but because of the volume. The Corn Palace is not US Bank Stadium. The volume should be loud of course but not unbearable or to the point of white noise. In addition, the balance between the instrumentals and the vocals has to be better. Whoever the Corn Palace hired to do sound mixing did the Corn Palace Committee and the attendees of the concerts a grave disservice.
Conflicts should be avoided. For example, who at the Area Community Theater thought it would be a good idea to have an Elvis Tribute act perform during Corn Palace Week and on the same day and time as the Night Ranger concert? The issue of parking alone should have been enough to dissuade this decision. Concerted efforts should be made to make sure that there are no competing local events with the Corn Palace shows.
It is my understanding that the Corn Palace Committee has approximately $125,000 to put on all the shows. That’s not enough. Alan Jackson for example, whose last #1 hit was back in 2003 with “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere”, commands around $200,000 for an appearance. So the Corn Palace Committee is stuck getting has beens, no names, geriatrics, up and comers or nostalgia acts for the shows. That’s fine but they don’t necessarily draw in the crowds. The strategy now appears to be use the available money to book the acts and then hope that word of mouth and social media will sell the shows and fill the seats. Even in the 21st century, more traditional advertising is necessary to draw in folks to sell a show. The money and effort just wasn’t there this year in terms of publicity and promotion, at least not until literally the very last week in a desperate attempt to avert total attendance disaster.
I have some suggestions. First, cut the Thursday show. It is an awkward night for an evening out. People have to work the next day and so are reluctant to attend a Thursday show, unless the entertainer is truly unmissable (say Garth Brooks). If a Thursday show is a must then get someone local to headline it. We have several regional entertainers who have a following who wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg that would bring in a decent sized audience to kick off the Corn Palace Festival. Even if the budget weren’t increased, that cut or change would free up extra dollars to pursue a bigger draw for the Friday and Saturday shows.
My second suggestion is the similar to Thursday’s, cut the Sunday show. The Festival organizers could do the same thing on Sunday with a regional entertainer to end the festival thereby turning $125,000 for four days of entertainment into funds available for just the prime concert days of Friday and Saturday. I realize there are ancillary “free stage” expenses but I think you take my main point. On Sunday, things are winding down and any show on Sunday is superfluous, in my opinion.
Great attendance at the shows is a must, in order to keep the shows. The City won’t support an activity that bleeds cash. A show that doesn’t sell tickets bleeds cash. Entertainers want to entertain. They realize the Corn Palace is a small venue but when a small venue has a miniscule audience it won’t be long until the word is out and entertainers will say “No Thank You” when we come to call. No one wants to go to the time, trouble, travel, expense and work to pour their guts out to only very few people.
There are lots of concert opportunities around here; The District and The Pentagon in Sioux Falls, the State Fair this time of year, the Swiftel Center in Brookings as well as the Corn Palace Festival to name just a few. City leaders and Corn Palace planners have to recognize that fact and do a better job of competing. That means not only in booking the acts but also mounting significant the publicity and sustained advertising campaigns that are necessary to promote them. Sometimes it is sad when things change. It is often tragic when they end. Let’s recognize reality, make some changes and long live the Corn Palace Festival and its stage shows.