Sisters Emily, Allison and Katie Reid of Hayden perform at the Magnolia Festival. The girls have been playing violin for about eight years. They were a crowd favorite on Saturday.

By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



The seventh annual Magnolia Festival is being hailed as a major success by one of its organizers.

Kathleen Phillips told the Gardendale City Council Monday night as many as 15,000 attendees were present at Saturday’s event.

Phillips gave credit to great weather and a variety of food vendors and live entertainment.

She said now the festival is over, it’s time to begin work on next year’s festival and invited the community to get involved.

“It is just so exciting to see so many in this community excited about an event and wanting to get on board,” Phillips said. “If anyone wants to volunteer, there are things to do starting tomorrow.”

Phillips said she and her husband, Scott Phillips, began looking at vendor critique sheets immediately after the festival. She said the vendor response was mostly positive. However, she said vendors inside the Gardendale Civic Center may not have seen as much traffic as those outside because of the weather.

She said next year’s festival may be more of a street festival and offer more outside vending area along Main Street and Mt. Olive Road.

She said comments from attendees was also positive, except for some concerns about the length of food lines.

“The lines were long at the food tents,” she said. “We just weren’t expecting this big of a crowd. We’re going to build on our mistakes this time and make it better for next year.”

Phillips said part of the festival’s success has to do with the amount of groups and organizations who participate in the festival.

The Gardendale Rotary Club sponsored the classic car show and the Gardendale Arts Council sponsored the first “Pooch Parade.” There were reportedly about 100 dogs at the festival.

The main goal of the festival is raise money for scholarships that will benefit north Jefferson County students. Each year, the festival gives 10 $1,000 scholarships.

Phillips, who is not on the scholarship committee, said the students are considered on the criteria of academic, need and volunteerism. She said if it comes down to a tie-breaker, the committee looks at volunteerism and which students volunteered at the Magnolia Festival.

“If we’ve got high school seniors who want to invest in the city, then the city wants to invest in them,” she said.

Students who wish to apply for the scholarships have until May 1. Applications are available at the Fultondale and Gardendale public libraries and on the Magnolia Festival’s Web site at www.magnoliafestival.org.

In addition to money being used for scholarships, the Phillips, who have organized the last three festivals, are paid a fee by the city for organizing the festival. The amount of the fee was not revealed by the city to The North Jefferson News prior to deadline.

The remainder of the money after bills are paid goes into the next year’s Magnolia Festival budget.

Mayor Kenny Clemons said the festival is set up similarly to other organizations in the city like the Gardendale Beautification Commission and the Arts Council and is monitored by the city.

Clemons said the fee paid to the Phillips’ is “not a tremendous amount” and is used to cover expenses incurred by them.

“It’s [the festival] done through the city and we monitor it,” he said. “They have to give us a reconciliation of what they do and how they do it.”

Additionally, Phillips said certified accountants handle the money brought in to the festival.

Clemons praised the Phillips’ efforts over the last three years in organizing the festival. Previous festivals had been organized by the city’s chamber of commerce and Rotary Club.

“When the chamber had it and Rotary had it, we would not even think about the festival until before it happened,” he said. “She’s already thinking about it for next year.”

Phillips has several ideas for next year, including the addition of a Euro-Bungee attraction. Additionally, she’s seeking sponsorship for more art-related events and a childrens’ village.

Despite the hard work and long hours, Phillips said she enjoyed organizing the festival and hopes it will be even more successful next year.

“You wouldn’t believe the hours that go into this, but I love it,” she said.