Festival is no longer a local event

I'm sorry to see that a long-time icon has truly gone from Sandpoint.

I went to the Grand Finale concert, and while the local orchestra lived up to its name with the showing of "The Princess Bride" and the wonderful music in the background ... the Festival has changed so much.

They didn’t have the courtesy to introduce the orchestra, for starters. They used to always have a local someone sing the "Star Spangled Banner" to open the festivities. The wine tasting was a disaster, and they actually charged you this year to stand in long lines to taste wines that were, to say the least, mediocre. In the past, they were from some really great wineries in the Pacific Northwest area.

I was so let down by all their rules about what you can and cannot do. One person in our party was taken aback that we could bring a bottle of wine in but not bottles of beer, which were taken. While he was assured he’d get them back after the concert, only to find out afterward that they were nowhere to be seen. I'm sorry, but this is inexcusable.

I will never go back and am sorry the Festival is no longer a local event.

LINDA HESS

Hope