A major portion of the inaugural KUT Festival, which Austin's NPR station has billed as a springtime community celebration featuring live music, author talks and panel discussions, will have to change its location following a decision by the University of Texas at Austin.
Citing safety concerns, university leadership announced in an email to attendees and staff on Tuesday evening that all of Saturday's events — panels, musical performances and a street fair — will be moved off campus.
The university announced that much of the Friday portion of the festival, including a keynote event with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, will continue as planned at the LBJ Presidential Library. Saturday's events will be moving to Central Machine Works and East End Ballroom — two venues within walking distance of each other in East Austin.
In a staff-wide email, KUT Public Media General Manager Debbie Hiott said the university first raised its concerns last Wednesday afternoon, adding that the station had begun planning the event in the fall.
"On Friday, the university ordered KUT to cancel the outdoor portions of the events citing a safety analysis that they have yet to provide us," Hiott said, noting that the university's order took the station by surprise. "In our months of planning, we have agreed to every health, security and safety request that has been made of us and our production company, which has produced the Texas Tribune Festival and many other major events over the years."
Hiott said the station "would have been happy to sit down with the appropriate officials and go over their concerns and any remedies, but have not been provided that opportunity."
UT Austin accuses KUT of 'insufficient planning for safety measures'
Anita L. Vangelisti, interim dean of the Moody College of Communication, which includes KUT and its sister music station KUTX, said in an email to festival attendees and staff that "our analysis has identified key areas where KUT provided insufficient planning for safety measures, including security, health, fire, and emergency services."
A UT spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment or a copy of the analysis.
The interim dean continued to say that "KUT is reducing the footprint and relocating portions of the festival to avoid disruptions to end-of-semester academic activities and to ensure festival activities have the appropriate level of safety and logistical support."
Vangelisti said, due to the changes, that paid badges will be refunded, while still allowing registered attendees access to "the reduced festival." The dean said speaker panels scheduled for Friday will now be moved to Saturday.
In a separate email to attendees that followed the university's communication, KUT's general manager shared reassurances that the festival would go on, emphasizing that the event is now free to attend. Hiott said that people interested in attending should register for a pass.
"If you choose, we can also convert the cost of your ticket to a tax-deductible donation to KUT and KUTX to support the event and more news and music like it," she said.
As of Wednesday morning, the festival website reflected the change of venue for the festival but did not provide a schedule of events.
The scheduled speakers include NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher, as well as Democratic Congressman Greg Casar and Republican Congressman Michael McCaul. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Travis County Judge Andy Brown are also scheduled to take part in a panel discussion.
KUT's offices are located on campus and its staff are all university employees, but the station's funding comes almost exclusively from members and business donations.
KUT general manager says she is 'confused' by UT's decision
In a phone interview Tuesday evening, Hiott said she was baffled by the last-minute change in plans. She said the first time she heard of any concerns from university leadership about the festival was last week, when Vangelisti told her that there were "questions" about the festival.
Hiott declined to discuss the specifics of the conversation, saying only, "I was confused and [Vangelisti] was confused."
Two days later, Vangelisti sent Hiott a letter stating that the university would shut down the outdoor portion of the festival. She declined to share a copy but said it cited "deficiencies" and also claimed that the festival's organizers had been unwilling to accept certain staffing and security recommendations made by UT.
To date, Hiott said she has not received a list of those deficiencies or recommendations, nor did the Panacea Collective, the Austin-based company that was hired to produce the event, she said.
Hiott said the company is well-known for producing events featuring "much, much larger crowds than we were going to be having."
Hiott credited the Panacea Collective, known for working on events such as South by Southwest and Lollapalooza, with being able to quickly find another venue for the Saturday portion of the festival.
"We're happy to still be able to do it," she said.
Editor's note: This story was not reviewed or edited by the station's executive leadership or any university official before publication.
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