Beginning Monday, this summer's James Dean Fest will have a presence in downtown Marion - a local event headquarters, 502 S. Washington St., where residents can buy tickets or merchandise and inquire about vendor and volunteer opportunities. The event marking the 50th anniversary of the actor's death is scheduled for the June 3 through 5 event at the Marion Municipal Airport on Ind. 9 in south Marion.
"It's really the focus now of the whole event in Marion," said John Goldstone, executive producer and CEO of the James Dean Fest. "It's important because everybody has been wanting to know a lot of things about this festival and they can come here and get that information."
Festival organizers, including Goldstone and officials from Warner Bros. Studios, were in Grant County earlier this week to meeting with Marion city officials, vendors and other residents involved in the event. Officials made the trip to talk with local vendors and residents about their needs and to get an idea of the Grant County market, said Israel Baron, producer and CEO of the event.
This summer's festival will include photography exhibits, motorcycle and car shows and the screening of Dean's three movies and a new documentary on a 90- to 100-foot-wide digital screen. Organizers are planning to announce in the coming weeks the names of the mostly classic rock bands that will play the festival.
"We're just finalizing that now," Goldstone said. "We wanted to get a balance and it took a while to understand who the audience was and I think we've got a pretty good fix."
Another group looking for local input on the James Dean Fest is the Community School of the Arts, which will stage an original show to honor the Marion-born and Fairmount-raised actor.
Auditions for the show will be April 9 at CSA headquarters in the Centrum Mall, 428 S. Washington St., executive director Mark Fauser said. Residents are encouraged to prepare something original they would like to contribute to the finished product.
"Don't wait for somebody to hand something to you," Fauser said. "Make something happen for yourself, and we can incorporate it into the show."
The former location of Brandt Jewelers, the headquarters space was empty save for tables and glassed-in display cases Wednesday night. Festival organizers have asked Jennifer Seybold, wife of Mayor Wayne Seybold, and Stacy Henderson, Seybold's chief of staff, to man the headquarters location. Jennifer Seybold, who will be paid as an independent contractor, will be there during the day and Henderson will be on hand nights and weekends, after completing her duties for the city.
Jennifer Seybold said she is talking with local businesses about donating furniture or other items to the festival headquarters, which will also contain a Ticketmaster machine. She is also seeking volunteers for the June event.
"Volunteers, volunteers, volunteers - we'll have applications for people who want to help with the event itself," she said. "I don't think we'll have any problem with that."
