In a major turnaround, Oregon Food Bank leaders said Tuesday the group will step down from its role of owner/operator of the Waterfront Blues Festival.
An announcement by the group said the events groups Waterfront Blues Production and the Fuller Events company will now oversee the festival, which attracts thousands to downtown Portland on or around the July 4 weekend.
An announcement issued by the Food Bank indicates that both groups have worked with the event for years. Fuller has also run the popular Cinco de Mayo Festival each spring along the same Tom McCall Waterfront Park spot as the Blues Festival.
The Food Bank has been involved with the event since 1988.
Oregon Food Bank CEO Susannah Morgan said her group wants to "concentrate its financial resources and staff energies on its core mission of eliminating hunger."
That said, the Food Bank will remain a beneficiary of the event, which has over the years generated $11 million-plus and 20 million pounds of food for the group.
"Our foremost responsibility is fighting hunger," Morgan said. "It's a big job that requires our full attention and commitment."
Waterfront Blues Production and Fuller Events have enlisted longtime festival artistic director Peter Dammann to work on the program, which this year takes place between July 4 and July 7. Dammann and Fuller Events are listed as associated names on the Waterfront Blues Production's corporate registration.
The event changed markedly in 2016 when attendees were, for the first time, charged a formal admission. Organizers used to charge one can of food and a suggested donation.
Its headliners have lately included the likes of Robert Plant, Gregg Allman, Steve Miller and Lucinda Williams.
