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Britt finishes �most successful season� Festivals break attendance record by 12% By Bill Varble The Peter Britt Festivals� 2000 season drew almost 70,000 people, setting an attendance record for the second year in a row. The season concluded Saturday with the second of two shows by San Francisco Bay area rockers Huey Lewis and the News. More than 69,000 people saw concerts this summer at the Britt Pavilion on county-owned grounds that were once the estate of Jacksonville pioneer Peter Britt. That�s up from 1999�s record attendance of 62,000. It�s an increase of almost 12 percent. The season had help from a stellar lineup, generally mild weather and the fact that Britt patrons could buy tickets online for the first time. About 15 percent of all tickets sold were sold online, Britt officials said. The season comprised 47 shows beginning June 9 with classic rockers Little Feat. Average concert attendance was 1,478 people, a 7 percent increase over last year�s average crowd. General Manager Ron McUne called 2000 "the most successful season in (Britt�s) 38-year history." "We are ecstatic," he said. "And we are grateful to Britt�s many contributors, patrons and volunteers who make this level of success possible." He thanked Jacksonville residents and business people, "particularly our closest neighbors." A number of those neighbors made news last year complaining about the noise of amplified concerts and other issues associated with the festival. The complaints led to sophisticated sound-measuring equipment being used to monitor concerts this season. The results are still being analyzed, but complaints during the season were down. Sold-out performances in addition to those by Lewis included concerts by Motown great Smokey Robinson, country legend Willie Nelson, country diva Mary Chapin Carpenter and singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin, singer Boz Scaggs, country stars Clint Black and Kathy Mattea, the women�s music duo Indigo Girls and a national tour of the musical comedy "Grease," with Cindy Williams. Other highlights were performances by pop singer Natalie Merchant, Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart and classical music legend Marilyn Horne. A new wrinkle was a concert exploring Gustav Mahler�s famed Fifth Symphony using large-screen multimedia projections similar to those at rock concerts. The concert was produced with the help of Southern Oregon Public Television, which plans to air a special on it later in the year. Britt officials plan to announced the 2001 season March 3 at its annual fund raiser at the Rogue Valley Country Club. For information, go to www.brittfest.org or call 773-6077. Jacksonville parking program proves a hit JACKSONVILLE � Five months and 1,000 parking tickets later, city leaders have declared the new residential parking permit system implemented this summer a success, city leaders said. The parking system prohibited parking May through September in a 10-block area near the Britt grounds and required parking placards for the 75 residents in the zone. The system was designed to keep visitors who descend into town for the Britt Festivals summer concert season from taking all the parking spots in front of Jacksonville homes. "Overall, it was a success," said Paul Wyntergreen, city administrator. Jacksonville Police agreed that the permit system successfully protected neighborhood parking spaces. It also kept officers busy writing about 1,000 tickets, although not all were handed out in the permit zone. "We ordered 1,000 citations thinking it would get us through a couple of years and it didn�t," said Jacksonville Police Chief David Towe. However, Towe may ask the City Council to increase the $10 parking fine, he said. "I�ve had officers tell me that a driver will park, ask a police officer what the fine is and then say, �Just leave the ticket on my windshield�," he said. "For someone coming from Portland or San Francisco, $10 is cheap. People are willing to pay for the convenience of parking a block from the Britt Festivals." The permit system is valid May through September, coinciding with the concerts held each summer at a hillside amphitheater in Jacksonville. On sold-out nights, 2,000 people attend Britt, which is the Pacific Northwest�s oldest concert series. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA