Chesapeake Energy tries to buy children’s love at Mayfest

by Bernie Scheffler of West and Clear

If you went to or read about Mayfest this year, you’ve probably heard that the festival’s main sponsor this year was Chesapeake Energy. Chesapeake is on a tear this year, throwing money at any event that will have them, and making sure the outdoor advertising companies are swimming in Barnett Shale cash too.

On the surface, Chesapeake’s desire to sponsor a family event like Mayfest seems innocent enough. (I won’t get into whether the sponsorship was a good idea for Mayfest, whose stated goal is to promote the Trinity River as a resource for the city. Should they really have take a big check from a company who has shown zero regard for the river corridor environmentally? We’ll save that question for another story.)

But what I found most interesting, and a bit disturbing, about Chesapeake’s appearance at Mayfest was their blatant attempt to buy your kids’ favor.

The Chesapeake “Kids Zone” tent was a study in contradictions. Here you’ve got a company who is bankrolling an event that is supposed to get people outside and enjoying our natural resources. Then the presenting sponsor proceeds to set up a giant tent in which kids can play VIDEO GAMES! What the hell kind of respect for the river is that? Who ever says to their kids, “hey, you’ve been inside all day… you need to go outside and play Guitar Hero!”

What I think Chesapeake proved at this year’s Mayfest is that while they are willing to spend lots of money to tell people they are good neighbors and good for the environment, the simple fact is that they have no idea what Fort Worth is all about, and they don’t care about being a part of our natural environment.

It’s been said here before, but it bears repeating: They are here to make as much money off our city as they can, and then they’ll be gone, leaving us with the environmental tab. When that happens, I hope it will have been worth it. Unfortunately, I have my doubts about that.