The newly hired executive director of the Fayetteville Dogwood Festival resigned last week, leaving the job just 10 days after he started on Oct. 1.
The sudden departure on Thursday of Jim Long Jr. is the latest twist in a challenging and drama-filled period for the city’s major spring festival, which reported over the years that it draws as many as 250,000 people downtown.
“I was there a week, had my first board meeting. By all accounts, the board meeting went well. But I just realized that it wasn’t going to be a good fit for me,” Long told CityView on Tuesday. “And so that was on Tuesday [Oct. 8], and on Wednesday afternoon, I tendered my resignation and … told them that they probably need to find someone else.”
He declined to discuss why he felt the job would not work out for him.
The board held another meeting on Thursday and accepted his resignation, Long said. “I wish them the best,” he said.
Dogwood Festival board chairperson Andrew Porter said on Tuesday that Long’s resignation was unforeseen. He also declined to comment on why it happened. The festival is preparing to advertise to hire a new director, he said.
“It doesn’t change our game plan for the festival going forward,” Porter said. “We’re still going to go forward and do a spring festival, and we’re just going to have to do it with a different executive director.”
Long said board member Jackie Tuckey and former Executive Director Sarahgrace Mitchell provided him with insight during his short tenure, and he wanted to publicly thank them.
Tempestuous times
The Dogwood Festival has had challenges since Mitchell resigned in spring 2023 and became a land use planner for the Cumberland County government:
- The festival organization was without an executive director until Long started this month.
- Last year, the City Council agreed to pay for a study of the festival’s future. This study recommended major changes, such as implementing an admission charge for a festival that historically has been free.
- As the Dogwood Festival board prepared to hold this past spring’s event, the festival organization was in debt. The board scaled back the musical entertainment (which usually is a significant expense), paid off its debts, and said it was revenue-positive by the end.
Meanwhile, two other former executive directors of the festival are in a lawsuit against each other. Former director Carrie King sued former director Malia Allen in April for defamation after Allen made numerous TikTok videos in which Allen accused King and the festival board of wrongdoing.
Cumberland County court records say a trial is scheduled for March 17. However, a mediator has been appointed, suggesting that the case could be resolved out of court before the trial.
Senior reporter Paul Woolverton can be reached at 910-261-4710 and pwoolverton@cityviewnc.com.
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Obviously there is more to this story than is being reported.
Wonder why Mr. Long only needed 10 days to know the job wasn’t for him?