City, art fest no place for big box sponsor

The Grove First recently learned that Home Depot had become one of the sponsors for the 2006 Coconut Grove Arts Festival, donating $25,000 worth of ''in-kind'' kitchen equipment for the festival's use in return for the use of Home Depot's name as a sponsor. The Grove First requested that the Arts Festival Committee reconsider this sponsorship in light of the vigorous opposition by the overwhelming majority of Coconut Grove's residents to Home Depot's attempt to place an industrial warehouse in their village.

Monty Trainer, President of the festival, immediately contacted The Grove First to advise that he had been completely unaware of Home Depot's involvement . Monty immediately instructed the outside agency to inform Home Depot that they are not a welcomed sponsor of the Coconut Grove Arts Festival and that their logo should be removed at once from all advertising, banners, displays, television and radio ads that are currently on display.

The festival's actions were prompt and responsive and in complete support of The Grove First's opposition to the Home Depot's attempt to place a commercial warehouse in our village. For that, we are truly grateful. We can't thank Monty Trainer and the Coconut Grove Arts Festival enough for their promptness in understanding that neither Coconut Grove nor its celebrated arts festival should ever be the place for an industrial warehouse big box.

MARC SARNOFF

THE GROVE FIRST

Link (long URL)