CATEGORY: BEST SPECIAL EVENT
SEDONA MAIN STREET PROGRAM
In light of these economic times, the community of
Sedona pulled together to continue to demonstrate their solidarity &
commitment for the continuation of the St. Patrick’s Day Festival
held March 14th, 2009, on Jordan Road in the Sedona Main
Street District. With generous donations of time, talents, raffle
prizes, children’s activities, tents, a stage and grandstands,
water, food & transportation, the event flourished despite economic
challenges. Due to the crisis that
our community was feeling, it was imperative to have this fun, free
and uplifting event, even if sponsorship dollars never came in.
The projected costs for the Festival were $16,000.
Main Street merchants, local businesses & community members
got creative and made this happen for a price tag of $1000. Thanks
to the many small mom and pop store owners, who were hard hit by
this crisis, pulled together to create the St. Patrick’s Day
Festival. The festival received $8,800 in donations of in-kind
services and products, $7,300 in media coverage along with $1000
(one thousand dollars) in hard cold cash to make this Festival
spectacular.
The 2008 NFL champions, The Arizona Cardinals, were
contacted and drew in great numbers of local fans as well as those
from surrounding cities. They generously donated raffle items and
spent the afternoon signing autographs along with their mascot &
cheerleaders. Horizon Air was contacted to donate 2 pairs of
round-trip airline tickets to the raffle, which was held as a
fundraiser to benefit the 2010 event. Every raffle item donor got
free advertisement for their business in print & via announcements
that ran throughout the day. Many merchants donated items from
their stores and took advantage of the extra promotions. The local
Oak Creek Brewing Company donated the beer for the Beer Garden &
Arizona National Bank handled the cash sales while the Arizona
Rangers of the Verde Valley Company provided security. The proceeds
from that went to the Main Street Program.
Local business owners, employees and residents made
up the most of the volunteer staffing for the festival alongside
Main Street Green Team members. The Cowboy Club & Barking Frog
Restaurants provided & staffed the food booths while sponsorship
from A Day in the West allowed for the Festival activities including
a Bouncy Dragon, face painting, knighting ceremonies, fishing pond
with prizes and a 8ft long Irish mural to color. Free entertainment
from local schools, entertainers and dancers ran throughout the
afternoon.
The outcome was unbelievable. On a small budget, big
crowds were drawn. Main Street District merchant sales were up for
that time of year and attendees eagerly put into the raffle, hoping
for big prizes. The monies raised to benefit the Sedona Main Street
Program for future free community events exceeded expectations.
The volunteer hours the community put into this event
showed us how important gatherings like these are to local
families. Drawing people from all over Sedona into the Main Street
District gave residents an opportunity to re-visit an area of the
community that tends to primarily be tourist based. Attracting out
of area visitors gave the locals a chance to extend their hometown
hospitality. This annual event continues to bring together the
young & young at heart, even in an economic crunch. The 2009 St.
Patrick’s Day Parade & Festival deserves statewide recognition for
the strong camaraderie & teamwork that made this possible.
View Photos - download pdf file below
2009/azms2009awards/Festival photos.pdf
