Bastrop City Council OKs funding for Yesterfest in May

Mia Abbe
·2 min read
Joe Weathersby shows a display of pioneer-era muskets and rifles at last year's Yesterfest in downtown Bastrop, which returned after a five-year absence. The City Council approved $20,000 to again fund the event this year.
Joe Weathersby shows a display of pioneer-era muskets and rifles at last year's Yesterfest in downtown Bastrop, which returned after a five-year absence. The City Council approved $20,000 to again fund the event this year.

The Bastrop City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to spend $20,000 from the hotel occupancy tax fund to sponsor Yesterfest this year.

Yesterfest is a daylong festival celebrating Bastrop’s pioneer spirit and will take place on May 25 at Pine and Water streets. Yesterfest was a yearly tradition that took over four blocks of Main Street but had not been held in recent years. Last year, the city brought back the festival at a reduced cost. According to a staff report, former Main Street Manager Nancy Wood and the Bastrop Old Town Visitor Center are working to make this year’s festival a bigger affair.

“Yesterfest has a unique history with the city of Bastrop. It’s almost 30 years old,” Wood said at the meeting. “We’re pretty excited about … growing it and looking at what we can do next year.”

City Manager Sylvia Carrillo said that Yesterfest will be funded by hotel occupancy tax funds allocated by the city to Visit Bastrop, which markets the city as a tourist destination. Visit Bastrop is typically given $75,000 in HOT funds.

Visit Bastrop is reworking its HOT fund distribution system toward a reimbursement system. In a staff report, Carrillo said the reimbursement system would prevent events like Yesterfest from happening.

Visit Bastrop board member Shawn Anthea-Pletsch suggested during the council meeting a system that involves direct city funding for events like Yesterfest. She said large grants from Visit Bastrop’s HOT funds make it difficult to fund smaller events.

Carrillo said the $20,000 requested was needed as seed money to get the event started.

Mayor Pro Tem John Kirkland said that if Visit Bastrop does run out of money, its funds can be refilled by a vote from the City Council.

Despite the questions surrounding funding, Yesterfest fans can still breathe easy. The event is happening no matter what.

“These (events) are what make Bastrop authentic,” Council Member Cynthia Meyer said. “It’s so important to keep this and grow this and fund this.”

The City Council also unanimously approved $1,300 of HOT funds for the Corvette Invasion, a corvette car show happening July 19-20. The event's website bills the car show as “the biggest Corvette car show in Texas.” The Corvette Invasion will be funded by HOT funds directly from the city.

In other action, two Bastrop homes received historical landmark status. The council unanimously approved granting landmark status to 1301 Church Street and to the Willis O. Miley House. The council also unanimously voted to remove the requirement of a public hearing before the City Council for historical landmark considerations.

After meeting in executive session, the council also approved an addendum to Carrillo’s employment agreement that extends the amount of time that a city manager can live outside of Bastrop by eight months. During this time, the city manager is expected to look for a home in Bastrop.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bastrop City Council OKs funding for Yesterfest in May