Settlement ends rift over Lima blues events

1/9/2003

LIMA, Ohio — A battle of dueling blues festivals in this Allen County city was resolved yesterday in Common Pleas Court.

Attorneys for both sides settled the matter before Judge Jeffrey Reed when they agreed to allow the two blues festivals to go on as planned this year, but with some stipulations.

Jerry “Pickle” Felter, who helped to establish the Greater Limaland Blues Festival, an annual fund-raising event for the local arts organization Artspace/Lima, will be allowed to promote his own blues festival for late February at Memorial Hall. The Artspace event will be held the following month, officials said.

Because of Mr. Felter's earlier involvement in organizing the Artspace/Lima event, the judge said Mr. Felter must turn over a list and database of customer information. The agreement also limits the name of Mr. Felter's event to Pickle's Blues Extravaganza to set it apart from the other blues festival.

The issue ended up in court after attorneys for Artspace/Lima filed a suit against Mr. Felter, claiming they believed Mr. Felter could hamper their festival's success.