Oswego Village Board members are taking a close look at community-sponsored events, in particular those held at the relatively new Venue 1012 outdoor amphitheater in the village.
Staff recently presented a summary of the village’s 2025 special events fund to trustees which is projecting a profit of about $9,000, driven in large part by the success of the annual Wine on the Fox festival.
“Wine on the Fox always does well as our most profitable event,” Oswego Assistant Village Administrator Jean Bueche said in the report to trustees.
Wine on the Fox, held each spring, generated approximately $62,000 in revenue for the village’s special events fund this year, down slightly due most likely to colder weather during the event, village officials said.
The village established a special events fund with the idea it would be self-supporting. However, event-related costs, mainly for entertainment and part-time, seasonal and overtime pay for workers associated with Venue 1012, have raised some issues in recent years.
Venue 1012’s first full season began in the summer of 2022.
This year’s Venue 1012 events program had an overall decrease in attendance from the previous year, likely due to periods of very hot weather this summer and the cost of tickets, village officials said.
The average attendance at Venue 1012 in 2023 was approximately 300 per event and in 2024 approximately 750, while this year the average attendance was approximately 450.
Survey results about Venue 1012’s concert series are generally positive, officials said. However, the most frequent comments the village receives is a request for free concerts or low-cost concerts at the site, Bueche said.
Staff is requesting direction from the Village Board on the village’s special events programs and Venue 1012.
Special events can be an asset to the village’s reputation and residents’ way of life, plus draw visitors to Oswego, officials said. However, staff believes those same goals can be achieved through a pared down schedule of events, Bueche said in the report to trustees.
Staff is recommending focusing on the village’s most popular events, including Wine on the Fox and the Christmas Walk, while reducing time spent on the Venue 1012 concert series.
Staff presented four options for the board’s consideration.
The first proposes to revert Venue 1012 to its original intent to allow the community to use it for free or at a low cost. The village would not run any events there, plus Movies under the Stars would move from the site to Village Hall.
“Staff is happy to host events and we love to have the ability to provide these amenities to residents, but we want to do them well while balancing our traditional village duties with events,” Bueche said. “We want to emphasize quality over quantity.”
A second option would be to reduce concerts from four ticketed and one free show to three free weekday shows at the site.
A third option would be to host one, post-Labor Day event at Venue 1012.
Lastly, the village could post a request for proposals for a vendor to run the amphitheater.
“I like the idea of potentially doing one event as long as it makes financial sense,” Trustee Rachelle Koenig said.
Others were supportive of having one event at the venue as well.
“I like the idea of the village hosting one post-Labor Day event,” Trustee Karen Novy said.
Several trustees expressed a preference for allowing the community to use Venue 1012, but also for the village to host one late summer event there.
No formal decision has been made yet on the proposals.
Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.