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3a. 4th of July Celebration Evaluation CITY OF CHANHASSEN 7700 Market Boulevard PO Box 147 Chanhassen, MN 55317 Administration Phone 952,227.1100 Fax: 952,227.1110 Building Inspections Phone 952,227.1180 Fax: 952,227.1190 Engineering Phone: 952,227.1160 Fax 952,227.1170 Finance Phone 952,227.1140 Fax 952,227.1110 Park & Recreation Phone 952,227.1120 Fax 952,227.1110 Recreation Center 2310 Coulter Boulevard Phone: 952,227.1400 Fax: 952,227.1404 Planning & Natural Resources Phone: 952,227.1130 Fax 952,227.1110 Public Works 1591 Park Road Phone: 952,227.1300 Fax 952,227.1310 Senior Center Phone 952,227.1125 Fax 952,227,1110 Web Site www.ci.chanhassen.mn.us 6a- - MEMORANDUM TO: Jerry Ruegemer, Recreation Superintendent FROM: John W. Stutzman, Recreation Supervisor j L.-5 DATE: July 14, 2009 SUBJ: 4th of July Celebration Evaluation OVERALL SUMMARY The two-day event was successful once again. This year the celebration continued to expand with more carnival rides, more activities, and additional seating in the Taste of Chanhassen area. Overall, staff believes the total attendance for all aspects of the celebration increased in comparison to past years. Below you will find a breakdown summary of all events that took place during the two-day celebration. Recommendations are also included with the individual summaries. An expense/revenue sheet for the celebration is attached. JULY 3rd Kiddie Parade Approximately 300 kids participated in this year's Kiddie Parade. Katie Hoen, Mitch Ulrich, and Lake Ann concession staff coordinated the logistics of the parade. They did a great job ensuring the safety of the participants and kept the parade running smoothly. The Fire Department and the Carver County Sheriff's Department were of great assistance in helping to ensure a safe route for all involved. Candy and Toy W orId Coupons were handed out to all parade participants. Numbers for this event were similar to last year. Business Expo The Southwest Metro Chamber of Commerce Business Expo had 42 participants this year in a separate tent. The Business Expo continues to promote local business and it is our hope that the event is to be continued in the future. Chanhassen is a Community for Life - Providing for Today and Planning for Tomorrow Jerry Ruegemer July 14, 2009 Page 2 Face Painting/Caricatures/Air Brush Tattoos/Up-Dos/Makeovers These are fun family activities, and while they are no longer a main attraction, they are still a fine addition to the celebration on both days. Also, I will continue to try to find the best available location for this vendor. With the current layout of the ever-growing celebration, it is becoming harder to find the perfect location. The City retained 20% of all sales with these activities. This attraction consists of very little setup and maintenance for the City. Water Wars Water Wars was a nice addition to the celebration again this year. We had one Water Wars apparatus this year and, with the expansion of the carnival rides, this appears to be the correct number of units. For the first time this year, Water Wars participated in both days of the celebration. While the weather was slightly undesirable on the 4th for participants to utilize Water Wars, extending an invitation to them to come back next year for both days is recommended. The City took in 20% of their sales. This attraction consists of very little setup and maintenance for the City. Kiddie Games The Kiddie Games continue to be a fun aspect of the celebration. The playground staff, along with the Lake Ann concession staff, operated the games. They did a wonderful job and were, as always, an asset to our celebration. Profits were down from last year which is most likely due to the expansion of the carnival, which brings their own games. While this allows more options for children's activities, the energy and enthusiasm that the playground leaders bring as well as the great rapport they have with the kids continue to make this an enjoyable activity at the celebration. Speedway Racing This is another enjoyable family event and involves very little setup. The City took in 20% of their total sales. I would invite them back next year. They were in the same location as last year, which is east of the Chamber tent. Looking for opportunities for this vendor to set up in other locations for the future is recommended so this activity is not overlooked when seeking other family entertainment options. Pony Rides/Camel Rides These continue to be very popular attractions. New this year was the camel rides which were a huge hit. The camel rides, combined with the covered eight-pony ring, had constant but manageable lines all day. This was also the first year the city did not pay for these services, instead the vendor collected $3 per ride. A new company, Vogel's Exotic Animals, provided these services this year after our prior company moved out of state. Vogel's was a easy to work with and provided very professional service. I look forward to working with them next year. Jerry Ruegemer July 14, 2009 Page 3 Summer Skateboard Series This event continues to be a great event at the celebration for participants of all ages. 3rd Lair Skate Park came to Chanhassen Skate Park and put on the entire competition as part of a summer-long series. They reported a very high attendance total for this summer series at our event. Chalk-It-Up Contest This event was successful as well this year. It was a lot of fun to see the creativity that people use in drawing their designs. The contest had two categories-most creative and most difficult-for two age groups (12 and under and 13 and up). The two age groups seem to work well. This was event was judged by playground staff, and maintains its popularity throughout the night The Medicine Show This is an entertaining group to have intermingled with the business fair crowd before the Street Dance. The hours were rescheduled to 4 - 6pm to broaden the times that musical entertainment is offered throughout the evening. They will be welcomed back again next year. Tae Kwon Do Demo Jeff Engel and his staff provided the audience with an entertaining demonstration. His students seemed to enjoy performing for our event and it is also a great opportunity for the City to promote our Tae Kwon Do program at the Rec Center. Jeffbrought a smaller demo team this year which kept the group from getting to large and overtaking to much space. This attraction consists of very little setup and maintenance for the city. Baby Changing Station A non-profit organization offered a privacy area for parents to change or feed their infant children and toddlers. There was no cost incurred by the city for this added feature. Service was provided at City Center Park for both days of the celebration. I would highly recommend having them back again next year as they provide a well-appreciated service. First Aid Tent This year the BrightStar staff sponsored and hosted a First Aid Tent on July 3rd. Their involvement in the festivities was a great addition to our community celebration, and we greatly appreciate the services they provided. I would highly recommend having them back again next year as they provide a well-appreciated service. Jerry Ruegemer July 14, 2009 Page 4 Chanhassen Historical Society Prize Board This year the Chanhassen Historical Society organized and supervised the Prize Board during the July 3rd tent dance. Overall this was a very successful event and I would invite them back again next year. Assisting them in developing a new system to stagger the prize drawing at the end of the evening would be beneficial as it was very difficult for the volunteers and participants to collect prizes all at one time. Chanhassen Rotary Taste of Chanhassen and Beer Garden Overall the food vendors had a very successful night. The celebration appears to have an appropriate number of vendors with a good variety of food available. This year the City did not bring in any vendors as the Rotary contacted all of the vendors for the Taste of Chanhassen. This added to the "community feel" ofthe event and was well received. The Taste of Chanhassen a large success with a new layout this year, including all the tents in two straight rows to create more room for the tables and chairs that were placed in the "taste" area. This worked well and accommodated the larger crowds. The food vendors were set up just north of the trail past the main tent. Pedestrian traffic was directed through the middle ofthe two lines into the carnival and games area, allowing for maximum exposure for the Taste of Chanhassen food vendors. This also provided a nice transition into the carnival area. The beer garden had an J.D. check this year and handed out wrist bands to those of age. This year, patrons continued to be more aware that there would be active J.D. checks and those doing it were moved farther out in line to allow for more exposure. Other considerations to continue to add to the success of the Taste of Chanhassen and Rotary Beer Garden would be to consider ways to limit the amount of outside alcohol that is brought into the celebration. In addition, we should look for ways to get additional lighting around the large tents to allow for more visibility as the night goes on. Carnival The carnival rides and games seemed to be a huge hit and a great addition to the celebration. This was the first year of a three year agreement with Midwest Rides and Concessions and it was larger than ever with thirteen rides, ten games and six food booths. The carnival continues to add a new dimension to the celebration. This year the unlimited ride wrist band sales hour were expanded, which allowed participants who were in attendance early to still receive a deal on rides. This worked well and I would recommend continuing to work with the carnival company to keep these extended hours in the future. Overall, the carnival was professional and easy to work with and look forward to working with them next year. Jerry Ruegemer July 14, 2009 Page 5 ChanJam Champions: "The Full Hand" Performance The Full Hand gave a wonderful performance! The idea of having a local band open for a local event is great. It is a wonderful way to enhance a home town celebration and a good thing to continue again in future years. Street Dance Yet again Casablanca Orchestra provided Chanhassen with an outstanding show for the twelfth year. This year we continued to rent the stage for the band, which really seems to work well. With the ChanJam band on stage prior to CBO, we had an additional four-foot section at the front of the stage. I would definitely recommend renting the stage again next year and booking CBO. This year Mayor Tom Furlong gave CBO a formal introduction and was in turn presented with an autographed poster from the band featuring a picture from last year's concert with the Key to the City. JULY 4TH Adult Fishing Contest There were a total of 51 participants registered in this year's contest. This year we extended the contest by thirty minutes to the hours of 7 - lOam. This additional time was well liked by the participants. Everyone that participated had a good time. The entry fee for the contest was $20. Every participant that registered also won a door prize. This continues to be a popular tradition and a great activity to offer our adult population. Kid's Fishing Contest Approximately 100 kids participated in this year's fishing festival. All kids received a grab bag with fishing items. We also gave away trophies and other prizes to the winners of the largest fish, longest fish and smallest fish in two age categories. In addition to the top fish prizes we also had all preregistered kids entered into a door prize drawing. The contest was run by our playground staff, Charlie Eiler and Mitch Ulrich. This event consists of very little setup and maintenance for the city. Sand Sculpture Contest The contest was run and judged by the playground staff. This is a fun family activity that encourages people to enjoy our wonderful parks on this holiday and this should included again in next year's celebration. Jerry Ruegemer July 14, 2009 Page 6 Treasure Hunt This is a fun and simple event and should be included in next year's celebration. The clues were organized by John Stutzman and Mina Weber. Mina was a great asset in the planning and organization of this event. Disguising the medallion within its hiding place to make it more difficult to see, would allow for more participation in this popular activity. Parade The parade had a one of the largest crowds seen in recent years. The Chanhassen Rotary took the lead again, but was offered support as needed from the City of Chanhassen. We appreciate the service of the Chanhassen Rotary Club and look forward to continuing to work on this event with them in the future. The parade consisted of approximately 80 entries. This number appears to be a good amount of entries with considerations for variety, parade length and community pride. The parade continues to flood the downtown area with viewing patrons. Once again the Rotary's volunteer parade marshals were a asset as they patrolled the crowds and kept the pace of the parade entries. This year the garbage truck was used to assist in clean up of the downtown at the end of the parade and was followed by a city truck picking up the blue barrels. This worked extremely well as it encouraged people to pick up trash around them and made cleanup a lot easier than in the past. Once again the Chanhassen Rotary Club is a great partner organization to work with and their support is greatly appreciated. Taste of Chanhassen and Car Show The Chanhassen Rotary also took the lead on these events, with support from the City of Chanhassen. Both events continue to be popular and located on the north side of City Hall. Continuing to work with the Rotary to find new ways to attract more people to the Taste of Chanhassen on this day is something that will benefit the celebration. Streets, roads, and parking lots were blocked off for these two events ahead of time to maintain a safe participant area. If possible, working with the Rotary to explore ways the City of Chanhassen 4th of July T-shirts can be sold during these events would be something to consider in the future. Live Music: ChanJam Runners-up Performance The two bands invited to play during this time slot were The Open Mic Knights from Chaska High School and The Wandering Bartletts from Minnetonka High School. Both did a nice job in their performance. The idea of having a local band open up the local celebration is great. Having additional music such as this is a nice attraction near the food on this day, but staff should continue to look for ways to draw a large audience after the parade to make this an event an even better experience for these local students. Jerry Ruegemer July 14, 2009 Page 7 Glow Sticks and Bracelets An outside vendor was brought in to sell glow-sticks and bracelets. We accepted bids from two vendors and gave the contract to David Rochlin since he gave a higher bid. I recommend having the same product sold next year and continue having the vendors bid for the contract. Fireworks This year's fireworks show was again contracted through Melrose Pyrotechnics. I thought they put on an excellent display. The staff at Melrose continues to do a great job coordinating all the logistics of the display. I look forward to working with them again next year as they have one year remaining on our current contract. SUGGESTIONS FOR 2009 1. Continue blocking off Audubon Road after the fireworks are complete. This will allow us to keep traffic moving down to Galpin Boulevard. 2. Be sure to spray for mosquitoes again next year at both City Center Park and Lake Ann. We received several positive comments from festival attendees. Coordinating and spraying with Metropolitan Mosquito Control seemed to be well worth our efforts. 3. Continue to mark the physical layout of City Center Park and vendor locations prior to arrival of any vendors. This will help to show the exact location of the carnival and other vendors at the celebration. 4. Continue to partner with the Chanhassen Villager to produce a high-quality color brochure to be distributed in mid-June. 5. Try to generate more t-shirt sales by starting to sell t-shirts earlier in June. 6. Find ways to add additional lights on the outsides of the large tents to help add visibility to the event. In addition, look for ways to make the tent stakes more visible to ensure the safety of all participants. 7. Order additional tables and chairs to allow for more seating in the "Taste of Chanhassen" area as well as look for areas we can add seating areas throughout the event. 8. Investigate ways to restrict the amount of outside alcohol that is brought to the event. 9. Continue to invite Vogel's Exotic Animals to provide the camel and pony rides as they were wonderful additions to our celebration. g: \park\4 th \2009\evaluation. doc 2009 4TH OF JULY REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE REPORT REVENUE Adult Fishing T-Shirt Sales Maund Entertainment Night Light Novelties Carnival Rides and Games Speedway Racing Kids Games Water Wars All about Girls $ 1,020.00 $ 1,275.00 $ 350.00 (est.) $ 350.00 $ 3,500.00 (est.) $ 180.00 $ 520.38 $ 110.00 (est.) $ 85.00 Total $ (7,390.38) (est.) EXPENDITURES 101-1613-4130 Target Office Max Cabin Fever Sporting Goods Toll Oriental Trading Domino's Executive Ocean Party City Sam's Club Cub Foods $ 324.24 $ 143.75 $ 861.41 $ 66.53 $ 517.19 $ 113 .00 $ 166.41 $ 76.85 $ 21 7.46 $ 42.47 Total $ 2,529.31 101-1613-4300 Melrose Pyrotechnics MJM Productions/Casablanca Orchestra P & J Promotional (T-shirts) Medicine Show Music 3 rd Lair Skate Park Partners in Entertainment Deb Kind (Logo) Sign Source $23,000.00 $ 5,500.00 $ 4,437.50 $ 675.00 $ 500.00 $ 350.00 $ 63.75 $ 194.91 Total $34,721.16 101-1613-4340 Southwest Suburban Publishing F edEx Kinko' s $ 2,540.31 $ 239.63 Total $ 2,779.94 101-1613-4400 Imperial Porta-Thrones 101-1613-4410 Skyway Event Services Festival Sound & Lighting Waste Management Total Expenditures Total Revenue BALANCE $ 5,035.61 Total $ 5,035.61 $ 10,245.20 $ 1,450.00 $ 1,344.90 Total $ 13,040.10 $58,106.12) $(7,390.38) (est.) -$(50,715.74) (est.)