CHARLESTOWN - "Calling Planet Earth," a three-day music festival that took place at Ninigret Park in late September, was a disaster.

The festival wasn't advertised properly, said Paul Silva, one of the event's two promoters, and, as a result, almost no one showed up, he recently told the Town Council.

Silva apologized to the council for the flop, which he said has left him thousands of dollars in debt. He promised to pay the town the $7,500 he owes for the use of Ninigret Park the weekend of Sept. 25 through Sept. 27, but asked if he could spread out the payments over time so they would be more manageable.

"He said, ‘I'll pay whatever I owe,'" Town Administrator William DiLibero said Wednesday, recalling Silva's appearance before the council on Oct. 13, just two weeks after the festival tanked.

"He was not trying to get out of it," DiLibero said.

It turns out Silva needn't have worried about the money he owes the town. Last week, the council unanimously approved a motion to waive the promoter's fee, saying they admired Silva for being so forthcoming with them after the festival failed, and for not asking them to cut him a break.

Councilman Forrester Safford made the motion to wipe out Silva's debt, which was seconded by Richard Hosp. In a brief discussion that followed, council members noted that the town hadn't lost any money as a result of the festival. Further, they would like to see Silva try to hold another event at Ninigret sometime in the future and helping to erase his past mistake might help him do that, they said.

"I see this somewhat as an investment," said council member Candace Dunn.

Silva wasn't there to witness the council's largesse and he couldn't be reached Wednesday, nor could his former business partner, Robert Callender. Silva has blamed Callender for the festival's failure since Callender purportedly was responsible for promoting the event.

Before voting on the motion, the council asked Dan Alves, chairman of the town's Parks and Recreation Commission, if he thought it was the right thing to do. Alves said he did, accepting Silva's explanation that his former partner was largely to blame for the fact that very few people attended the event.

"Unfortunately, it didn't go the way he wanted," said Alves.

In other business, the council approved licenses and permits for four events that plan to return to Ninigret Park next summer: The Rhythm & Roots Festival, the Seafood Festival, the Big Apple Circus and an antique car show sponsored by Primer Events LLC.

Under a three-year agreement reached with the town earlier this year, the promoters of the three-day festivals will pay a flat fee of $8,500 to the town for the use of the park, which is $1,000 higher than what they have paid in recent years. Before, the fee was simply $2,500 a day. Primer Events, a smaller, two-day event, will pay a flat fee of $750 for 2010.

Calling Planet Earth was billed as a three-day, family-oriented music and environmental festival. The festival's Web site described its mission as promoting "social responsibility of the environment through collective entertainment and education."

This was the first year that Silva and his partner held the event. So few people showed up that the festival ended early, noted DiLibero.

"I don't think over 100 tickets sold," he said.