There will be no Kinetic Sculpture Challenge at Boulder Reservoir in 2008, presenting sponsor KBCO said today. And the popular, costumed boat race that has entertained audiences for nearly 30 years might have run its course entirely.
“All things have a life span,” said Scott Arbough, program director of KBCO 97.3-FM, “and it could be that Kinetics has reached it.”
Kinetics’ problems are typical of those in the wider world surrounding the annual, 28-year-old summertime tradition. Costs are rising, and attendance is plummeting. In the early days of Kinetics, when the event was free, it drew upward of 40,000 people, said Arbough, who has worked at the station since 1984. This year, as tickets ranged from $15-$25, around 6,000 people attended.
Arbough said he and his promotions team have been working to remedy the issues for several years.
“This year we made a lot of changes to it, trying to bring new life into it,” Arbough said of the event, which took over Boulder Reservoir on May 5. “We also rerouted crafts, bringing them closer to the audience and making it more interesting to the people out there watching. And we brought bigger name acts to play Kinetics, including Los Lonely Boys and Robert Randolph and the Family Band. We’ve changed a lot about what Kinetics is, but that hasn’t helped bring in more people.”
The 2007 attendance numbers were the same as the previous year’s.
Some Kinetics fans have complained in recent years about the admission charge, lamenting the free days. But Arbough notes that the entertainment provided makes it a good deal — and it matches up. Kinetics top price in 2007 was $25, a ticket purchased the day of show, which included the concert. Headliner Robert Randolph and the Family Band’s previous two Colorado headlining appearances were priced at $25.25 (at the Fillmore Auditorium, Oct. 2006) and $30 (Fox Theatre, this March).
“It’s a show, sure,” Arbough said, “but there’s also a crazy boat race with people in costumes.”
So instead of going forward with the same program, Arbough called for at least one year off to regroup and brainstorm. A week ago he sent out notices to the people who have worked with the event throughout its existence — kineticists, city employees, sponsoring businesses and charities — asking for their ideas to ensure a successful outing in future years.
“We’ve already started to get various ideas to make the event different and better,” he said, adding that anybody with streamlining ideas is welcome to email them to him at scottarbough@kbco.com. “I’m hopeful that it will be something that we can recreate. I fought hard to make sure that it’s continued as long as it has.”
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@denverpost.com
