By all accounts, Newbo Evolve was a success...so why has its creative spearhead already been fired?

A three-day weekend festival that brought concerts, speeches and seminars to town to spotlight Cedar Rapids' NewBo District, "newbo evolve" had a budget of nearly $5 million. The event featured appearances by the likes of Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, Carson Kressley, Olympian Adam Rippon and many more.

No information has been released on the revenue generated, or lost, and despite being a nonprofit organization, Go Cedar Rapids isn't in any hurry to release those numbers.

Yet one week after it concluded, Scott Tallman has been dismissed from his position, according to The Gazette. Tallman was hired by Go Cedar Rapids, the city's travel and tourism bureau, in 2016 to organize just this type of event to generate buzz around Cedar Rapids.

What prompted his dismissal is anyone's guess, as the organizers involved are not talking. Firings happen all the time, even in the midst of seemingly positive and ideal conditions. But, it would seem something is up here.

One point of contention might be lack of communication. People seemed initially unaware that individual tickets to the concerts were available, hearing mostly about the nearly-$400 all-encompassing, three-day passes Go Cedar Rapids seemingly chose to tout more heavily. Many may have thought that was the only option. By the time they rectified that issue, was it too late?

Whatever the story behind this move is, we wish Scott Tallman the best, and GoCedar Rapids success with future NewBo Evolve events and other endeavors, and will keep you updated on the news of one of its major architects exiting.

[Via Gazette]

 

 

 

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