Plans are underway by a group of Gillette residents to possibly revive the Donkey Creek Festival. The longtime local music festival was suspended indefinitely last fall due to a lack of funding and board volunteers. Since that time, there have been some reshufflings on the board.
“Funding was a big issue, so we formed a small group that was passionate about trying to bring it back and we filled out the board and board seats. And here we are currently looking for more funding to see if we can actually revive this and bring it back in a new way,” said Bob Hewitt-Gaffney, current president of the Donkey Creek Festival board.
The outdoor, two-day festival was launched approximately 18 years ago and was the brainchild of a community member. It was held each June at Gillette College and was initially a jazz festival before shifting its focus to a more all-around music one. It was funded by one percent sales tax monies from the city, county, and local businesses who helped to sponsor the event. There were other events such as a beer garden, local vendors, and events for kids, such as a bounce house.
“When I saw that it was canceled, I just realized [it was] such a fun event for the community, and [it was] so sad to see it go that I thought I've got a perfect spot for it here [and] thought we could just up and move it kind of keep it going,” he said.
But as the years wore on, volunteer and board interest began to wane. The county pulled its share of funding in 2018 due to a local economic downturn, with the city doing the same in 2021. The 2022 festival was able to happen because the board had money left over from when it was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Additional volunteer participation is essential for pulling off the festival, which cost a minimum of $45,000 to put on. But a revived festival would differ in format than what it’s been before.
“Our thoughts for that kind of a reimagined festival is a new location, kind of more already built-in structures for it and then try to bring in a lot of other arts from the state as well, so have kind of a whole artists row or something,” Hewitt-Gaffney said. “Any type of art you can imagine whether it's demonstrations and stuff for sale, exhibits, whatever we can do, but we kind of want to add that to the festival as well so it's more than just a music festival.”
A Wyoming-centric focus would also be a major part of any revival, hosting musicians and artists from the Cowboy State. So far, Hewitt-Gaffney has applied for one percent funding from the city and county that would amount to $10,000 as well as a few arts grants through the state from the Wyoming Arts Council and the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund. There are plans to begin reaching out to local businesses for sponsorship opportunities in the near future to get additional funding that’s required. Other changes would be to cut it down to a one-day event that begins in late morning and continues until late in the night and to host it at a less expensive venue.
If the festival is successfully revived, it would take place again in 2024.
