When people walk past the Vietnam Veterans of America booth at the ViVa! Vienna! festival, conversations start, said Leonard Ignatowski.
Men who served point to the map of Vietnam and begin to tell family members stories about the war that they have never shared before. "You can't put a dollar amount on what we do," said Ignatowski, president of the Vienna chapter of the group.
This year, however, Ignatowski's organization may not be able to have a booth at the festival. The Vienna Rotary Club, which sponsors the festival, has raised the price of renting a booth to $165. In 2004, nonprofit groups paid a fee of $50 per booth.
This fee, Ignatowski said, is too high for nonprofit groups such as his. "I don't think its right that we're being charged the same rate as the vendors that are there to make money," he said.
While he acknowledged that some nonprofit organizations have budgets sufficient to afford the fee, he fears that the smaller, local groups will be squeezed out of the festival.
"We're just simplifying things," said George Chaplain, registration chairman for the Vienna Rotary Club. The festival is run by volunteers, and charging one flat rate cuts down on bookkeeping.
This year's festival, scheduled for May 29-31, will have vendor booths on the last two days. The fee, Chaplain said, covers having a booth on both of those days. "I decided it's a reasonable fee," he said.
Chaplain expects to have approximately 180 vendors at this year's festival, including many nonprofits, and said he has had only one complaint about the pricing.
OTHER FESTIVALS in the region have pricing structures that give a break to some nonprofits. Centreville Day charges $50 for businesses and $25 for groups that are just going to distribute information. "We sort of differentiate if they're trying to make money,” said Brian Hunt, treasurer for Centreville Day.
The City of Fairfax's Fall Festival is primarily a venue for crafters, explained Leslie Herman, special events coordinator for the city. Crafters are charged $125 for a booth. Service organizations, such as the Lions or Rotary, as well as political parties, and businesses in the Old Town area where the festival takes place, are allowed one booth for no charge, said Herman.
Both of those festivals are for only one day, however.
Celebrate Fairfax charges a bit more, but the festival runs for three days. Rates vary depending on the vendor, said Paul Clarke, managing director for Celebrate Fairfax.
Food Vendors pay a base fee of $1,000, commercial vendors $700, arts and crafts $200, and nonprofits $350, Clarke said. Clarke added that organizers have not yet determined what sorts of amenities will be included for the nonprofit rate.
Ignatowski said he understands that the festival takes money to run and does not object to paying something. "We have no objection to a nominal fee. We've been paying a nominal fee for a number of years," Ignatowski said.