Kudos to Dogwood Festival board chair Andrew Porter, long-term senior volunteer Jackie Tuckey, and the many residents and volunteers trying to save and preserve the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival for future generations.
This has very little chance of happening if Dogwood leadership continuously ignores the apparent tenets of success. Their newly hired Executive Director, Jim Long, tendered his resignation on October 9th after only ten days on the job. This should have been a wake-up call to the DF board that "all that glitters is not gold. "
Long lasted longer than I predicted and should never have been hired. Obviously, minimal vetting was done on this candidate's talent, capabilities, and successes.
I'm not Mr. Obvious; on Oct. 1, the Dogwood Festival committee announced the hiring of Long as their new executive director and touted with exuberant enthusiasm his qualifications as a promotions and events manager with a wealth of knowledge of the entertainment industry and the Fayetteville community. He may have provided the Dogwood board with a resume complete with a long, impressive list of experiences, but it's doubtful that a long list of successes accompanied it.
And, if Long's tenure with the Fayetteville Motor Speedway, with its history and local reputation as an entertainment venue, is his primary connection to the Fayetteville/ Cumberland County community, a red flag, not a checkered flag, should have gone up immediately.
Moving forward, there is a path to success if the Dogwood Festival committee focuses on returning to the basics. I've been involved with, participated in, and have knowledge of the Dogwood Festival since it was Sunday on the Square in the '80s, and our major annual DF fundraiser was Cowchip Bingo. This was decades ago, and yes, Fayetteville has changed, but the people have not.
For the Dogwood Festival to succeed, it must return to the basics. It needs:
Leadership. They need to hire someone with enthusiasm, dedication, personality, knowledge of the industry, and integrity.
Someone who can navigate the community, exuberate excitement, and restore confidence in the community's longest-running, free, fun, family outdoor entertainment event.
The Board. The Festival needs a robust and dedicated working board emphasizing the word, working. This board should have representation from all municipalities in Cumberland County, including Fort Liberty, with volunteers who are motivated, willing, and able to support the Executive Director while ensuring all aspects of the Festival are inclusive and diverse.
Lastly, but no less important is that we, as a community, must make an exerted effort to dismantle those legendary and crippling self-centered silos that are maintained and fortified by the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County, the Convention & Visitors Bureau (Distinctly Fayetteville), Chamber of Commerce, the Arts Council, Downtown Alliance, and Cool Spring District.
These organizations have to unite for the betterment of the community and start working together, communicating and collaborating. Otherwise, the Dogwood Festival, and any other major local initiative with the intent of creating a positive image of Fayetteville or contributing to a higher quality of life, will be challenging to achieve.
Last year's Festival was successful with a redefined definition of success. By any standard, it was Dogwood Festival lite. Hopefully, the Festival's management can return it to its former prestige as North Carolina's number 1 FREE Outdoor Festival.
However, it will be determined by the people, businesses, and organizations that care about this community more than they do about themselves. The Silos must go! Jus sayin.
Thank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly.

(Photo: The 2022 Dogwood Festival saw people from all over Cumberland County and beyond visiting downtown Fayetteville. Photo courtesy of the Dogwood Festival's Facebook Page)