Photo Credit: Dragon Fly Studios
On September 26, 2009, the town of New Windsor, located in Orange County, N.Y., had its first Community Day. The event had limited funds, which meant limited attractions. Approximately 2,500 people attended; they were greeted by live music, a small fireworks show, two food vendors, two bounce houses, and around 40 to 50 craft/retail vendors.
Fast forward to August 23, 2015, for the sixth annual Community Day with a slew of attractions: 200-plus craft/retail/promotional vendors, 20-plus food vendors, two entertainment stages with live music, including a performance by Tim Urban from American Idol, a dance demonstration, a clown, a juggler, a magician, three matches of professional wrestling, a car giveaway, a zipline, a stunt jump, a climbing wall, a pie-eating contest, pony rides, 10 bounce houses, a Tumble Bus, a carousel, an arcade trailer, a traveling petting zoo, a mechanical bull, various characters, including super heroes and princesses, and a huge fireworks show. More than 30,000 people attended the event, making it the largest crowd to date—an increase of 10,000 people from the previous year. The event is virtually free—no charge for parking or admission. In fact, there is no charge for any of the attractions except for the zipline and stunt jump. People attending only have to open their wallets if they want to buy something from one of the vendors or to purchase food. It is truly a great event that also generates a profit every year; the money goes right back into a fund that finances special events such as the summer concert series, Memorial Day parade, Easter egg hunt, Halloween party, summer camps etc.
Running a successful event is not easy, and much can be learned from the previous year’s mistakes. I hope this article can be of assistance to other professionals who would like to run such an event; learn from our mistakes instead of having to make your own, and learn from our success as well.