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Country USA Holding Its Own Against Milwaukee's Summerfest
by Bob
Lowe
June 24, 2004
Every
summer for the past nine years, Dan Liebhauser has had the
unenviable task of staging Country USA outdoor concert in
Oshkosh around the same time as the larger, more established
Summerfest in Milwaukee.
While the country music festival at the Winnebago
County Fairgrounds lasts five days and will attract about
130,000, Summerfest lasts for 11 days, today through July
4, and pulls in close to a million people. Summerfest also
brings in more big name entertainers, garners more state and
national media attention and makes a lot more money than Country
USA.
Be that as it may, Liebhauser, Country USA
promoter, said he has nothing to be embarrassed about. He
is proud of the festival’s track record and the loyalty
that fans have demonstrated over the years. Besides, this
year Liebhauser can boast that all the big names he booked
will be showing up.
Summerfest has had to deal with the fact
that two of its biggest stars, Britney Spears and Christina
Aguilera, cancelled their appearances. It still has some big
names like Prince (7 p.m. today), Kid Rock (Friday), Big Boi,
Ludacris, and Twista and I-20 (June 27), Jessica Simpson (June
29), Cosby Stills and Nash (July 2) and Tim McGraw (July4
).
Meanwhile, Country USA is holding its own,
thank you, with such major acts as Brooks & Dunn (10 p.m.
tonight), Lonestar (10 p.m. Friday June 25), Martin Myriad
(8:30 P.M. Saturday June 26) Montgomery Gentry (10 P.M. Saturday
June 26) and Alan Jackson (10 P.M. Sunday June 27). Liebhauser
calls this year’s entertainers “a monster talent
lineup,” which he said cost about $1.2 million.
Admission
to Summerfest is $11 a day or $30 for a three day pass if
you don't get a discounted ticket. For more information and
tickets, log onto www.ticketmaster.com
or call 920-731-5000.
Tickets for Country USA are $60 or $120 for a four-day weekend
pass. Log onto www.countryusaoshkosh.com
or call 1-800-326-7469. Check-in times are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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Two vacancies on the artistic scene were
filled in recent weeks. C.J. Washington took over as executive
director of Appleton’s Attic Theater and Joseph Ferlow
was appointed executive director of the Grand Opera House
in Oshkosh.
Washington, 47, comes to the Attic from the
Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Longview, Wash.
She previously worked with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival
in Montgomery, Ala., and the College of Santa Fe in Santa
Fe, N.M.
She holds a master’s degree in theater
management/arts administration from the University of Alabama
in Tuscaloosa and a bachelor’s in mass communications
from Texas Woman’s University in Denton.
Washington takes over the Attic at a time
of transition. The organization just started performing in
its new home in the Kimberly Clark Theater in the Fox Cities
Performing Arts Center. Attic also is searching for a new
building to replace its cramped headquarters on State Street
in downtown Appleton. The theater also needs storage room
for costumes and props.
“The physical challenges of this organization
are pretty serious at this point,” she said.
Ferlow’s most recent position was executive
director with the Green Bay Symphony Orchestra. He replaced
Bob Destocki, who resigned earlier this year.
Prior to assuming the symphony post, Ferlow
served as executive director of the Capital Civic Center,
a historic theater that, like the Grand, underwent a major
restoration. He began his duties on June 7.
“He
was by far the best fit in terms of qualifications, experience
and his love of historic theaters,” said Susy Vette,
president of the Oshkosh Opera House Foundation Board, which
oversees the Grand. “We had a lot of great candidates,
so it was a hard decision but overall his range of programming
and producing and his excitement about this job and the community
won out.”
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