In St. Petersburg, just because it rains doesn't mean you shouldn't drink.
Especially at Localtopia, where organizers counted on beer and Keep Saint Petersburg Local merchandise sales to defray the $50,000 bill for the beloved annual event.
If you recall, although Mayor Rick Kriseman may insist "the sun shines here," we do, on occasion, get some rain. One such day was February 6, which also happened to be the day of Localtopia. Now the parent organization, Keep Saint Petersburg Local, is feeling the clouds. According to Localtopia's GoFundMe page, "we were counting on shine in the 'Sunshine City' to aid us in covering the costs associated with organizing such a massive festival."
The fundraising page has a goal of $20,000.
"The event costs over $50,000 to put on, it's a massive festival, because we walk our talk. We can't really go out there and secure sponsorship for the full cost of the festival, because there are not many indie businesses out there who can donate or sponsor to the tune of 50 grand," Keep Saint Petersburg Local founder and executive director Olga Bof told CL. "We were hoping to double what we had last year, and we didn't get to what we got to last year."
That's where the booze and merchandise comes into play.
