Is Atlanta using the drought as an excuse to get major festivals and events out of Piedmont Park?

No, says Dianne Harnell Cohen, the city's commissioner of parks, recreation and cultural affairs.

But for some the answer is much more murky.

The city has not given its major festivals any indication of when, or if, they could return to Piedmont Park. And that cloud of uncertainty threatens the long-term viability of these festivals and events that bring character and life to our city.

Back in January, the city passed a drought policy ordinance related to festivals and events that led to four major happenings being moved out of Piedmont Park with little advance notice.

Events attracting 50,000 attendees or more had to find alternate sites. There was the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, the Peachtree Road Race, the Atlanta Pride Festival and the Atlanta Jazz Festival. All used Piedmont Park as a central base.

The reason given was that the wear and tear of major festivals on city parks during a drought would damage the turf, and watering restrictions would make it difficult to replant or repair the grass.

Those are valid concerns. But where the city's motives come into question is that officials will not describe what factors will determine whether festivals can return to Piedmont.

"The state's Level 4 drought restriction still exists," Cohen says. "We would look very carefully at whether the state had lifted its drought restrictions. But the city can have its own restrictions."

So can the festivals return to Piedmont Park in the future?

"I won't say they never could come back to Piedmont Park," Cohen says. "But I would advise them to have an alternative, a Plan B."

For Charles Green and Brian Hill, chairman and executive director of the Atlanta Dogwood Festival respectively, such an answer makes planning complicated.

"There are no provisions in the ordinance about when it would expire or what criteria would be considered to revoke the drought ordinance," Hill says. "We are going to have to know when there will be a decision."

(Meanwhile, Cohen hopes a special events venue at Fort McPherson will become a spot for festivals, but that is years away. Plus, it does not have the festival tradition of Piedmont Park).

The Dogwood Festival has quite a legacy in Atlanta as the city's longest running festival.

It began in 1936 when retailer Walter Rich wanted to bring the community together during the Depression. The thought was that a citywide festival would lift up people's spirits and perhaps make them more prone to shop.

In addition, dogwood trees were planted throughout Atlanta as a way to beautify the city.

Until this year, the Dogwood Festival's home was Piedmont Park. Because of the drought ordinance, the festival had to relocate to the Lenox Square shopping mall for its three-day festival run, April 4-6.

Ironically, two out of the three days of the festival were dampened by rain, which hurt attendance.

Green said the festival lost up to $200,000 this year alone.

If the Dogwood Festival can't return to Piedmont Park in 2009, Green says "it certainly threatens our future. This will be our 73rd festival. We deserve to have support from the city in recognition of our contributions to Atlanta's cultural landscape."

The festival now as an online petition at www.dogwoodfestival.org where people can voice their opinion about returning to Piedmont Park.

The reality is that festivals are fragile. By their very nature, they are vulnerable to the elements. Sponsorships often are hard to secure. And if local governments pass onerous restrictions, a festival's ability to survive is challenged.

Look at all the festivals we've lost, to just name a few: the original Atlanta Arts Festival, First Night, Music Midtown, and most recently, WSB's Salute 2 America Parade, a 47-year-old tradition.

And yet it's often festivals and events that define a city to the outside world. Washington's Cherry Blossom Festival. New York City's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The Boston Marathon. New Orleans' Mardi Gras.

"Festivals add personality to a city," says Steven Wood Schmader, president and CEO of the International Festival and Events Association. "Festivals drive tourism. Economically, they drive an awful lot of business. And the really important issue is quality of life. Festivals bring communities together."

Chicago probably does the best job supporting festivals in the country. It has a department of special events, which helps facilitate, coordinate and support festivals. As a result, Chicago has 88 neighborhood festivals and numerous major festivals that bring life to the city throughout the year.

An unfortunate outcome of Atlanta's policy is that the city's legacy festivals are at the greatest risk.

"The oldest festivals are being evicted and kicked out while the new festivals are allowed to stay in Piedmont Park," Hill says. But he adds that the city's festival regulations also put smaller festivals in jeopardy.

It comes down to whether Atlanta is a festival-friendly city.

"We are not anti-festival but we are pro-park," Cohen says. "Parks are supposed to be used by people everyday."

Agreed. But festivals bring thousands of people to a community where they can enjoy the city's parks, celebrate the outdoors, the arts and their neighbors.

Our city should not remove the "public" from our public parks. And the city should welcome its festivals as a way to bring life to Atlanta.

msaporta@ajc.com