A major portion of the inaugural KUT Festival, which Austin’s NPR station has billed as a springtime community celebration featuring live music, author talks and panel discussions, will have to change its location following a decision by the University of Texas at Austin.
Citing safety concerns, university leadership announced in an email to attendees and staff on Tuesday evening that all of Saturday’s events — panels, musical performances and a street fair — will be moved off campus.
The university announced that much of the Friday portion of the festival, including a keynote event with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, will continue as planned at the LBJ Presidential Library. Saturday’s events will be moving to Central Machine Works and East End Ballroom.
In a staff-wide email, KUT Public Media General Manager Debbie Hiott said the university first raised its concerns last Wednesday afternoon, noting that the station had begun planning the event in the fall.
“On Friday, the university ordered KUT to cancel the outdoor portions of the events citing a safety analysis that they have yet to provide us,” Hiott said, noting that the university’s letter took the station by surprise. “In our months of planning, we have agreed to every health, security and safety request that has been made of us and our production company, which has produced the Texas Tribune Festival and many other major events over the years.”
Hiott said the station “would have been happy to sit down with the appropriate officials and go over their concerns and any remedies, but have not been provided that opportunity.”
Anita L. Vangelisti, interim dean of the Moody College of Communication, which includes KUT and KUTX, said in an email to attendees and staff that “our analysis has identified key areas where KUT provided insufficient planning for safety measures, including security, health, fire, and emergency services.”
The interim dean continued to say that “KUT is reducing the footprint and relocating portions of the festival to avoid disruptions to end-of-semester academic activities and to ensure festival activities have the appropriate level of safety and logistical support.”
Vangelisti said, due to the changes, that paid badges will be refunded, while still allowing people to attend “the reduced festival.”
“We will continue to allow a limited number of badge registrations,” she said. “Those who signed up for the free event will now obtain a badge.”
The scheduled speakers include NPR President & CEO Katherine Maher, as well as Congressmen Greg Casar and Michael McCaul.
The dean said speaker panels scheduled for Friday will now be moved to Saturday.
KUT’s offices are located on campus and its staff are all university employees, but the station’s funding comes almost exclusively from members and business donations.
This is a developing story.
Editor’s note: This story was not reviewed or edited by the station’s executive leadership or any university official before publication.