MIM fest to be reduced in size, impact

The courtroom at the Cannon County Courthouse was crowded with visitors for Tuesday night’s County Commission meeting.

 Many of the guests were citizens attending to protest plans for a music festival at Short Mountain Distillery.  Distillery officials Billy Kaufman and John Whittenmore were on hand to address concerns about plans for the so-called MIM Fest.

 “There was talk of 10,000 to 15,000 people attending. We decided to reduce it to a maximum of 4,500,” Kaufman said. “There’s plenty of resources for that.

 “We’ve changed the nature of the event. Ticket prices have been reduced. Some of the bigger bands have been eliminated,” Kaufman said, adding that the concert event will be limited to one day instead of three.

 “We want to keep our good relations with the community. We appreciate our neighbors,” Whittenmore said.

 “We will be pre-selling tickets for a one-day concert that’s more of a local event,” Whittenmore explained.

 “This is not going to be a Bonnaroo,” Kaufman added.