OJAI : Festival Organizers Schedule Forum

Organizers of the Ojai Festival, eager to mend fences with their neighbors after years of uneasy coexistence, have scheduled a public forum for Oct. 16.

Joan Kemper, president of the annual festival’s board of directors, said the meeting will be held to solicit comments from Ojai-area residents and merchants.

In recent years, local critics have complained that the three-day summer event concentrates on music that appeals to only a few listeners, largely overlooks the surrounding community and caters almost exclusively to out-of-town visitors. Festival officials face an unprecedented deficit of nearly $100,000 after this summer’s event.

The forum is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. in the Ojai Playhouse. Christopher Hunt, recently hired as consulting director of the festival, is expected to lead the discussion.