Organizers of the Cantaloupe Festival and Country Fair are calling this year a “massive success,” with nearly 20,000 tickets coming through the gates, in addition to the vendors, volunteers, and staff of the various events. Despite the huge attendance, the festival ends the year in a weaker financial position because of strategic investments made to improve the festival for the future.
“We really tried to put a lot of things in place for the long run. Big picture investments,” said Adrienne Snow, the festival's Executive Director. “We’re positioning the festival to take advantage of the improvements the county is making to the grounds. We’ve invested in safety: cooling tents, extra lighting, extra golf carts so people not as mobile could get around.”
In addition to those investments, there is a long-standing tradition of supporting volunteer organizations that bring groups of volunteers to help at the festival with contributions to those “sister” non-profit organizations.
“To have the caliber of human beings there helping with tickets, driving the carts, helping out, we could not have had better folks,” said Snow.
She also explained that there is still a perception that the festival is a county event, like in neighboring communities, such as the Lyon County Fair in Yerington, that is county-produced and supported. “Because of that, there is an expectation of services that any municipality would provide, but we are a small, private non-profit with most of the people involved being volunteers.”
Organizers are still in the process of collecting feedback and are in the process of responding to valid complaints on their limited budget. One area of improvement will continue to be more services to and from vehicles in terms of parking and more lighting in the back lot.
Snow said there was one rowdy situation handled by the sheriff’s office very quickly, and Troy’s Double Shot team was very good at cutting people off if they had too much alcohol consumption. “We really don’t want to get a reputation of being a party event,” said Snow.
From the festival board's perspective, this year's country fair was amazing. Snow said the intake teams, who have been volunteering for years to register the exhibits, said the lines were out the door. “They said they’ve never seen anything like it. If we continue to grow at the same rate as in the past two years, we will have to find a bigger space for the exhibits,” she said.
Board members also saw an improvement in parking, which has occurred in the gravel lot for years with very little sense of order. They will continue improving the parking process, but this year, having the paved lot on the west side of the festival, north of the 3-C Arena, was a welcome feature.
Snow also recognized the hard work and dedication of board members Todd Moretto and Kim Klenakis, who have volunteered their time and efforts for nearly 20 years.
“Those two have put so many years and so much time,” said Snow, “they really go unseen and undervalued by our community. It’s mind-blowing what those two do. If they stepped down tomorrow, it would darn near cripple the event. They work year-round as volunteers, and the number of things they handle, I don’t know what I would do without them. I want the public to know how much of the success of the event lies on their shoulders. And the entire board would back that up.”
Other successes from the weekend came from feedback from the vendors, who were delighted with the organization and the attendance. There was also a high turnout for the car show and great feedback on events like The Birdman.
Snow also recognized the success of the cantaloupe crop in the farmer’s market, but they did hear that more people want Hearts of Gold melons, so that adjustment will be made. “Part of the success was a partnership with Isidro Alves. None of the farmers have cold storage, so the ability to store melons before and during the festival is severely limited. Still, Isidro at Sandhill Dairy was able to turn on his cold storage unit, and without that, there wouldn’t have been enough melons.”
Organizers will focus on better scheduling between the rodeo and the concert for next year so attendees don’t have to choose between those events.
Cantaloupe Festival President Zip Upham said one concern of the committee was their efforts not to raise ticket prices significantly. “Because of that, we probably have the cheapest concert tickets anywhere, but with rising prices for everything with the current economy, almost everything costs us more, so I’m not sure how much longer we can do that,” he said.
Upham also said organizers are looking at a trailer-mounted stage for concerts they could rent to events throughout the year. “The festival was very well attended and, from what I heard, very well received. We tried to keep all the traditional pieces in place, expanded the vendors, and put the beer garden way in the back to draw attendees all the way through the vendors,” said Upham.
“We could not have been happier with the overall success of the event,” said Snow. “We will close the gap created with the investments. It will be a little more work, but worth it in the long term for the future of the festival. It’s really cool seeing volunteers like Assemblyman Koenig show up and take tickets at the gate for hours.”
“We could not put on this event without all our dedicated sponsors and volunteers,” said Upham, “They are what makes the festival happen.”
Comment
Comments