9-2-03

Could someone please pass the salt? Because it appears that I have to eat a little crow today.

The festival's ticket lottery isn't rigged.

In fact, it's a rather public event for anyone who happens to be around when it's taking place.

While waiting in line at the box office this morning (to see about getting tickets to some alternate films), I chatted with a fellow line-dweller who was actually present for the draw this year. She outlined how it's done, so now I'll share the process with you:

At 10am on the drop-off deadline day, festival staffers wheel some kind of bin/receptacle out into a public area—this year, it was the courtyard outside the box office. Then, one by one, they drop numbered chips representing the collected-box numbers into the bin, calling out each number (and holding it up for all to see) as it's dropped in so that everyone witnesses that ALL box numbers DO go into the draw.

Once they reach the final box number (this year, 81), they select a member of the public to reach in and pull out a chip, which is then shown and announced to the gathered masses. Nothing is done in secret or behind closed doors so as to ensure everyone knows what goes on.

And that's how it works.

So, as much as I wanted to believe the fix was in, apparently it isn't. The system as a whole is still horribly flawed, but at least it's not corrupt.

— Vickie

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