Future of holding X-Fest in downtown Modesto challenged

The future of one of Modesto’s signature music festivals is up in the air as dueling petitions have been circulated to keep or move the event out of downtown this year.

This summer would mark the 17th annual Xclamation Festival, known as X-Fest for short. The outdoor party regularly attracts more than 15,000 people each year to the streets of downtown Modesto. But late last year, the management at fine-dining establishment Galletto Ristorante, which sits within the festival grounds, began collecting signatures from other affected businesses in an effort to get it moved out of downtown. Then, earlier this week, X-Fest founder and promoter Chris Ricci began his own counterpetition online in support of the 21-and-over event, which is held on a Saturday in late summer.

The two sides are expected to state their cases at a Modesto City Council meeting in April, when the festival’s permit will be up for discussion and approval. At odds appear to be casual dining places and bars that benefit from an event that draws a large, diverse, young crowd to listen to music and to dance and drink, and those that do not benefit, such as upscale eateries and some retail businesses.

Galletto has collected 15 signatures, including its own, and presented the petition to the city, said restaurant head chef Michael Goularte, who has spearheaded the effort to move the festival. More than 50 private businesses and several large government buildings sit within the festival’s 10-block radius, which stretches across 10th to 12th streets and I to H streets. Ricci, who launched his online campaign via Facebook on Tuesday, said he has more than 1,000 signatures on his “Keep X-Fest Alive!” petition.

Goularte said the restaurant started talking with other businesses last year about moving X-Fest. He said his goal is not to shut it down, but to relocate it away from downtown, where he said it hurts profits for some of the businesses. Last year, Galletto shut down for the day during X-Fest, but the eatery has remained open all other previous years.

“We’re not against the event at all; we think it’s great for Modesto. We’re against the location,” he said. “It affects our business.”

Goularte said he did not have an estimate for how much the business has lost because of X-Fest, but the restaurant has canceled at least one wedding party in the past that conflicted with the festival date. Galletto’s management has complained before to the city of Modesto about lost income from special events that have closed off downtown. In 2014, the restaurant received $7,500 after its management approached government officials about its losses from the three-day Superkart racing event called the Modesto Grand Prix.

Galletto’s management has not suggested an alternate location for X-Fest.

Veteran area promoter Ricci, who started X-Fest in downtown Modesto in 2000, a year before Galletto opened, said he would not consider moving the event out of its current location. He said the sprawling festival, which features more than 150 bands playing on 20 stages spread over several city blocks, would not work in another setting. He also said having it downtown is integral to its appeal.

“There’s no moving X-Fest. That’s not an option. The fact that Galletto says we can move it out of downtown, well, there’s nowhere else to move it,” he said. “Downtown is the soul of X-Fest. Without downtown, there is no X-Fest.”

Over the years, Ricci said, he has worked with businesses within the festival grounds to minimize the impact of the event. He has given businesses tickets to hand out to customers and encourages others to stay open to capitalize on the crowd that floods the area each year. Indeed, most eateries within the festival grounds remain open during the festival and sell food and drinks to customers.

He said he purposefully starts X-Fest preparation and street closures at midnight before the event so businesses can be open all day Friday, and then has the streets cleaned and reopened by no later than 8 a.m. Sunday morning. Last year, 17,000 attended the massive street party and the streets were reopened before 7 a.m. Sunday. For the past 10 years, Ricci has hired the Beyer High School Band to handle the street cleanup as a fundraising activity for the group.

Ricci said the one-day event’s overall economic impact on the city is overwhelmingly positive. In addition to increased traffic for some downtown businesses, he said, about 90 percent of the contractors he hires to help put on the festival are local. A report released from the Stanislaus Business Alliance commissioned by city officials seems to back up that claim. Last year, the August event contributed $1.76 million to the city, according to information provided by city of Modesto spokeswoman Amy Vickery.

Indeed, many restaurants that remain open during the event have reported booming sales for the day. Tokyo Express and Rancho Fresco Mexican Grill, which sit along J Street, said sales increase by at least 50 percent and 75 percent, respectively, during X-Fest compared with an average Saturday.

Rancho Fresco Assistant Manager Maxine Martinez said the restaurant specifically opened on X-Fest day in 2014 to take advantage of the increased traffic.

“We love having it here. We’re totally busy. We wouldn’t want it moved,” she said. “It’s our anniversary day and we’ve never had a problem.”

Gina Rossi, who co-owns Che’Root Cigar Lounge and Speakeasy Lounge, both of which are within the festival grounds, has stayed open for the event for several years and said she sees a surge in customers at both places. She said her businesses weren’t approached by Galletto about signing the campaign to move the event.

“I think it brings a lot of people downtown. It’s like the good old days before all the bars got shut down,” she said. “I wouldn’t be opposed to it moving to a different day. But I don’t want to be left out of the (festival grounds). I want to support downtown things as much as possible, but I see pros and cons to every single one. It’s all different depending on the event.”

Some of those opposed to having it downtown are retail shops that don’t necessarily see an increase in traffic that day. Galletto did not provide a full list of the 14 other businesses backing the petition, but said they include places such as art gallery The Chartreuse Muse and collectibles seller Central Stamp & Coin. Both shutter for the event.

The Chartreuse Muse co-owner Ellen Roehne said she signed on because the gallery loses business and trash is left behind afterward. Still, she said that Saturdays, when the 10th Street gallery is open for a limited four-hour day, are not typically one of its busiest days of the week.

“I don’t think X-Fest benefits downtown businesses, it doesn’t really help downtown businesses in any way. I just think another location would be better for everybody, including X-Fest itself,” she said. When talking with other downtown owners about the event, she said it’s considered a “nuisance more than anything else.”

Yet others, including Norma Reed, whose family owns downtown Modesto’s prominent Beaty Building (at J and 11th streets) and Reed Center (at 12th and J streets), said X-Fest has proven to be more than a nuisance. Reed has signed on with Galletto through her company Basic Resources and said she has hired additional security to protect her buildings during the event.

“It’s too many people, 14,000 people, for that area,” she said. “People that bring problems.”

Reed said nothing specifically has happened to her properties during the event’s 16-year history.

According to Modesto Bee records, arrests during X-Fest have progressively dropped over the years, with the vast majority stemming from alcohol-related offenses. When it began in the early 2000s, Modesto police reported anywhere from 30 to 40 arrests per year, which fell to about 25 arrests in the late 2000s. From 2012-14, there were 10, 15 and 11 arrests, respectively. According to police, there were a “handful of arrests” for 2015, when 17,000 people attended.

But the event has not been entirely without incident. Over the years, there have been scattered reports of vandalism, including broken windows. In 2014, an attempted rape was reported when a female security guard was accosted by a man as she had left the event and headed to her car.

Ricci has paid for Modesto Police Department and Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department overtime during the event since its inception. Last year, that totaled about $43,000. In addition, he hires 200 private security staffers.

The festival has attracted rock, reggae, pop, country and rap national headliners, and has provided a showcase for hundreds of local bands large and small from the Moonshine Bandits to Grandaddy and Flying Blind. In the past few years, the event’s lineup has become more hip-hop heavy, which Ricci said reflects the times and the area’s demographics. The street party attracts a diverse crowd of mainly ages 21 to 34. It draws largely from Stanislaus County, but also from as far away as the Bay Area, Sacramento and Merced.

“X-Fest is the most diverse festival in the county. X-Fest is the night out for young adults in Modesto, the majority which are young Hispanics who make up 61 percent of the youth demo in this area,” Ricci said. “I think it’s the standard young person versus old person conversation. One thing that X-Fest has done really well is to stay relevant with younger demographics. And you can see that in the genre change. A lot of (older) people have preconceived notions in genres we choose and feel those genres are more violent or bad than other genres.”

Ricci said X-Fest represents a $500,000 investment and risk for his company each year. For most of the event’s history, he has gone to the city’s Entertainment Commission for permit permission, but since 2013, due to a conflict of interest and vacancies, he has gone before the City Council for approval. This year, because of Galletto’s campaign, Ricci said he is going to the council several months earlier than usual.

City spokesman Vickery said the city’s staff is compiling a report on X-Fest to present at an upcoming council meeting, on either April 5 or 12. She said the report will primarily look at the event’s fiscal impacts, but will not give a recommendation one way or the other. Council members are then expected to vote on whether to approve or deny the permit for this year.

This story was originally published March 19, 2016 at 8:14 PM with the headline "Future of holding X-Fest in downtown Modesto challenged."