After Meghan McCain mention on 'The View,' Wisconsin music festival draws backlash
Melissa SieglerA Wisconsin rock music festival originally named COVID Herd Immunity Fest is getting pushback from residents after a mention on ABC's "The View" last week.
The event, now called July Mini Fest, is planned for July 16-18 at the Q&Z Expo Center in Easton, Wisconsin, a town of about 1,100 people. The outdoor venue can hold 10,000 people, although organizers said they will limit ticket sales to 2,500 people to allow for safe distancing.
The event caught the attention of "The View" co-host Meghan McCain, who asked U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin,D-Wis., about her position on the festival during an episode of the ABC talk show last week.
"The concert is still going on as planned, and (singer) Sammy Hagar is going on TV saying how excited he is," McCain told Baldwin during last Thursday's episode of "The View." "What do you think of this idea? Do you think it's as irresponsible as I do?"
"It came as news to me," Baldwin responded, calling it a "risk" to have people coming from all over, particularly areas of the U.S. where coronavirus cases have spiked. "Even though it's an outdoor venue, I think it's dangerous."
After the segment aired, complaints from Easton residents came streaming in, said Arnold Schlei, town of Easton chairman and Marathon County Board supervisor.
Schlei said the "View" episode was the first time town and county leadership had heard of the festival and the first time many residents heard about it, as well.
Residents from all over Marathon County have raised concerns, worrying about people from around Wisconsin — and possibly from out of state — flocking to the area for the festival, he said.
Schlei said the town is not in favor of the event being held, but said the permitting process goes through the county.
In Marathon County, events of 3,000 people or more must abide by the county's public assembly ordinance, which requires organizers to seek a license from the zoning administrator. Rebecca Frisch, director of the Marathon County Department of Conservation, Planning and Zoning, said the ordinance doesn't apply to the event since attendance is limited to 2,500 people.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Marathon County had 174 confirmed cases of COVID-19. One person in the county has died and 90 people have recovered. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services rated Marathon County as having a high level of COVID-19 activity.
Wisconsin also recorded a record number of new confirmed cases Wednesday, bringing the total in the state to more than 29,000.
Judy Burrows, program director for the Marathon County Health Department, said the agency encourages organizers of any mass gathering to make sure the environment is safe by asking people to wear masks and providing hand-washing and sanitizing stations.
The department encourages event-goers to follow the same guidelines to protect themselves. Burrows said anyone with symptoms or who is under isolation or quarantine should not attend.
In a Facebook comment, Q&Z Expo Center owners said they have taken measures to ensure safety. In the post, organizers said that meet-and-greets with band members likely won't happen. Each band will have its own greenroom that will be cleaned and sanitized after each use. Organizers will provide hand sanitizer and have ordered twice as many portable toilets as the state recommends, with hand-wash stations. Organizers also asked that sanitizer be inside each one. The toilets will be cleaned often and pumped out daily, the post said.
Organizers also encouraged people to wear masks and practice social distancing.
The owners of the expo center did not immediately return a call from a reporter Tuesday requesting an interview.
After facing backlash for the name "COVID Herd Immunity Fest," organizers at the expo center renamed the event and said on its Facebook page that the name was no longer associated with any of its promotions.
At least two of the acts originally scheduled to perform — Nonpoint and Kaleido — dropped out. In several tweets, Nonpoint members said they decided not to participate because of the festival's name. Kaleido said in a tweet that the band did not "want to put our fans at risk in a county with rising infection rates."
Contact USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin reporter Melissa Siegler at msiegler@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Marie2Melissa.
Contributing: Patrick Ryan