Main Street seeks grant to fund new musical festival for city
Published 12:00 am Thursday, June 16, 2005
The City of Greenville could become a star, but it could also be singing the blues.
How exciting would it be for the city of Greenville to be on national telvision? That could become a reality if the city is chosen as one of the locations for a new reality show.
Megan Miguez and Becky Lewis, with the ABC-TV Production Company, were sitting in at Monday's city council meeting.
They had been touring Greenville Monday afternoon as a possible location for a new television show the network is working on.
They were given the consent to do six shows, each focusing on the life and people of a particular small town.
The title of the show would be "This is My Town."
Miguez was quick to explain that these shows would not be a mockery of small towns in any way. Some people had expressed concern about being exposed to possible ridicule because of certain misconceptions surrounding small-town life.
She went on to say that she understood some people's hesitancy about being displayed to the eyes of America.
However, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for some Greenville residents.
If chosen, the production company would fly approximately 250 citizens to New York for the taping of the show.
Miguez emphasized the fact that the show would be a family-oriented variety show that should prove to be not only lots of fun, but also great exposure for our city.
"I think this would be great for us to have this type of national exposure," Mayor Dexter McLendon said after the meeting.
"Of course, we would only want to be a part of it if Greenville portrayed in a positive way."
Miguez and Lewis left city hall in the capable hands of Greenville's biggest cheerleader, Nancy Idland, of Main Street Greenville.
Miguez told the Council that they both liked the way Greenville felt to them.
"We both agreed that this seemed like a great place," she said.
As for the blues, it's not depression, but rather the musical type. Idland and her band of volunteers are working to transform the annual festival held in October into the Sweet Gum Bottom Blues Music Festival and Gospel Sunday to be held in Confederate Park on Oct. 15-16.
Idland was at the council meeting to ask for help in applying for a new grant from the Alabama Council on the Arts to help fund the new fall music festival.
She told the council that she has a dream of bringing an annual event into being that people from all over the area would want to attend.
"My fantasy dream is to have an event that is for everyone and that is not connected to one school or group," she said.
The council approved applying
for a total of $8,000 for Main Street to fund the festival and match the funds with in-kind services.
Reporter Regina Grayson contributed to this report.