Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lucy Ivins has sent a letter to Sparks city officials threatening a lawsuit if they use the slogan "City of Festivals."

Former Pahrump Chamber of Commerce President Dan Rodriguez developed the name "Valley of Festivals" for Pahrump, after a series of meetings on branding Pahrump, the letter claims.

"It is our intent to seek an injunction to prevent you from using what we considered a pilfered concept and/or further promoting Sparks as Nevada's Festival City," Ivins wrote.

Pahrump Town Attorney Rick Campbell has been reviewing whether to sue Destination Development, which Ivins claims received $25,000 from the Town of Pahrump and $114,000 from Sparks for developing branding concepts.

Former chamber Chief Executive Officer Kari Frilot signed a contract with Roger Brooks, president of Destination Development, in July 2007 to develop a branding focus, identity, key marketing message and tagline for Pahrump.

Ivins wrote in her letter, dated March 5, "The mission of the agreement was to assist the town of Pahrump in distinguishing itself and provide a mechanism for attracting tourists."

Destination Development made a PowerPoint presentation to the town in April 2008, and requested input. On April 18, 2008, Tim Lockinger, a member of the Pahrump Tourism Advisory Board, sent an email to Destination Development with his branding ideas, Ivins wrote.

Lockinger suggested several ideas, including holding a large festival each month, to make Pahrump the festival capital of Nevada.

The chamber implemented the festival plan this year. Last month the chamber held a Mardi Gras celebration at the Nevada Treasures RV Park, this month a classic car show and a Rock Around The Clock Sock Hop is planned at Pahrump Valley Auto Plaza. The chili cookoff in May will be combined with the cowboy theme of the Wild West Extravaganza and renamed Pioneer Days. A dog show is planned in August, capitalizing on the dog days of summer. The Pony Express Ride will be combined with the Inter-tribal Powwow in November.

The Pahrump Tourism Advisory Board suggested a number of ethnic festivals: a Chinese New Year, Juneteenth Day and a Greek festival.

Ivins wrote: "Due to the lack of a response from Destination Development on their findings and/or results of their work, the Pahrump Tourism Advisory Board undertook work on its own to develop a tourism strategic plan. Numerous private and public meetings ensued at which time the festival concept was exhibited and discussed. The president of the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce, Dan Rodriguez, developed the name 'Valley of Festivals' and we also developed several logos for that name. These were shared publicly."

"It is our contention that we paid $25,000 to Destination Development and Destination Development then sold our idea to you for $114,000," Ivins wrote Sparks officials.

The slogan isn't seen as being anywhere near as successful as the "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" promotion. "The Heart of the New Old West" has been used in the past for Pahrump.

Adam Mayberry, Sparks community relations manager, said his city has been working with Destination Development for about a year. The city of Sparks adopted a draft plan but hasn't taken action on it yet. He estimated it could be several months to a year before a slogan could be adopted.

"They have produced a draft branding development and marketing action plan. It's a fairly comprehensive plan on ways that we can begin to create a brand and our own unique identity for the city. The festival city is certainly a concept that's in that draft document. It's just a name and names are a very small part of any brand," Mayberry said.

While admitting Sparks has the nickname Rail City, after the railroad depot, the brand name "Festival City" would help market the city to visitors, he said.

"Our downtown is very conducive to special events and activities, that sort of thing. So the festival concept or whatever related theme, imples there's always something taking place in the city of Sparks," Mayberry said.

He said Sparks has a wide range of festivals, attracting over a million visitors each year. They include a large barbecue and cookoff and a farmer's market. But he admitted the colder weather limits special events after the Christmas holidays until Mother's Day.

Pahrump Chamber President Mike Selbach said only that chamber board members are aware of the letter and approved sending it. Chamber board members met Thursday afternoon to discuss the letter. In a brief statement after the meeting, Selbach said, "the chamber board has been working with the city of Sparks to investigate the situation and we will keep everybody posted as we come to a conclusion."