The Gadfly is a series of letters offering commentary on local issues and published in the Warrensburg Gazette.

Warrensburg and Johnson County will host several big events this weekend. My favorite, of course, will be Saturday's Blind Boone Music and Culture Festival on North Main Street, in conjunction with the Historical Society's Old Drum play. There will be a circus at the County Fairgrounds to benefit the Lions Club and Powell Gardens has the grand opening of a big display. Each of these in its own right is a significant event for the weekend; taken together they could make us a major tourism draw. And there's the rub.

A major event weekend takes some coordination and publicity. With each group working hard on its own event, there has been no coordinated discussion of the events' conflicts or synergy. There has been no coordinated advertising to bring outside money to Warrensburg. And there has been no effort to help arrange the events in a manner to encourage overnight stays in the motels that provide the bulk of the Greater Warrensburg Area Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center's (GWACC&VC) tourism funding.

This is precisely the sort of thing that should fit the tourism charter that the GWACC&VC collects room tax money for. As a friendly suggestion, perhaps after this year's events are over, the GWACC&VC could take the lead in finding out what events are scheduled and putting organizers of potentially conflicting (or complementary) events together. They could help to resolve the conflicts and work out a joint advertising plan for the complementary events, perhaps using state cooperative tourism marketing funds available for such projects.

In the absence of coordinated marketing of our events this weekend, most of their support must come from local folks. If you can only choose one, come out to Main and Market for some FREE music at the Second Annual Blind Boone Music and Culture Festival. The schedule is on the internet.