Who Gets the Blame for Poor Attendance at Olympic Festival?

Don’t place all the blame for the failure of the Olympic Festival on L.A.’s disinterest. My family would have attended if it hadn’t been such a monumental effort.

Early during the Festival, I attempted to find a ticket order form. Wanting to avoid Ticketmaster because of their surly, bored operators and $3-per-ticket surcharge, I called the number provided in The Times’ special Festival section. From a recorded message, I learned that forms were available from AM/PM mini-marts, ARCO and Wells Fargo Bank. I took time out from work to stop at several such places and received blank stares from their employees. In frustration, I called the Festival to complain, only to be told again by the same recorded message, “Press 1 if . . . , press 2 if . . . “ You can imagine my feelings about participating in the Festival after that.

If events such as the Olympic Festival are to be a success in a city the size of Los Angeles, easy access to tickets should be the No. 1 priority, and definitely not delegated to the monster of Ticketmaster, part-time retail clerks or impersonal answering machines.

MARVEY CHAPMAN

Culver City