5c July 4 EvaluationCITYOF
690 Ci0, Center Drive, ?O Box I47
C/;a~zhasse~, Minnesota 55317
Phoebe 612937.1900
Gc, e~d ~ax ~12.937.5739
E,gi~eeri~g Fax 612 93? 9152
h~b& Sari? E~x 612 934. 2524
MEMORANDUM
TO:
Todd Hoffman, Park and Recreation Director
FROM:
Tracy Petersen, Recreation Supervisor
DATE: July 14, 2000
SUB J:
2000 4th of July Evaluation
,JULY 3m)
Kiddie Parade
Approximately 800 kids participated ih this year's Kiddie Parade. Rachelle
Tungseth and the playground staff coordinated the logistics of the parade. They
did an excellent job in making sure the parade ran smoothly. The Fire
Department was of great assistance in helping to ensure a safe route for all
involved. Pokemon fruit snacks were handed out to all parade finishers.
Trade Fair
The Chanhassen Chamber of Commerce Trade Fair had 30 participants this year.
Although this event is popular with the participants, it is in need of some
management and direction. The Chamber needs have someone in charge of all
logistical arrangements on the day of the event. There were too many major
changes and additions that occun'ed without the City's knowledge July 3rd that
could have been dealt with prior to the event. We also need to evaluate their
location at our festivities as their demands for space, supplies, etc. continues to
grow. Overall, this is probably the most disorganized portion of our celebration.
Kaptain Kirby Train Rides
This is a great event for our young kids and families! The kids seem to have a
wonderful time with this activity. I would recommend having the train rides
occur next here but would look at moving them to a different location to free up
that "prime" library space for other events or food vendors.
Senior Center Open House
From all reports, the open house was a success. This is a nice addition to our
celebration and should be continued in the future.
Face Painting/Caricatures
This year, we added additional face painters and two caricaturists. These are
popular activities and remain to be a success at our celebration. The City retained
20% of all sales with these activities. I would recommend continuing these
activities for next year. I would even recommend adding two additional
caricaturists.
Carnival Games
The carnival games were a huge hit!! The playground and concession building
staff operated the games. They did a wonderful job and were a huge asset to our
celebration. The Chan/Chaska Hockey Association operated their hockey game.
From all reports, they had a successful and fun night. I would still recommend
more family/kid activities like this for next year. The lines were extremely long
at times and it would be nice to have more options available for people to choose
from. Unfortunately, these games are only as good as the number of staff we
have available to run them!
The Medicine Show
This is an entertaining group to have intermingle with the tent and trade fair
crowd before the Street Dance. I would invite them back next year.
Water Wars
What a perfect weekend for this event! Water Wars had two successful days both
at City Center and at Lake Ann. They continue to enjoy coming to Chanhassen
and I would continue to invite them back in the future. The City took in 10% of
their two-day sales. I would recommend that we look at their location at our
celebration at City Center as we continue to grow.
Speedway Racing
The crowds loved this event! The cars were racing around the track until we
closed! This is a great family event and involves minimal setup. The City took in
$125.00 as a 10% portion of the sales. I would invite this event back for next year
if they were interested. I would recommend that we look at their location at our
celebration at City Center as we continue to grow. The City Center Drive street
space continues to get smaller and smaller and we may need to make use of the
entire block for future food vendors.
Food and Beer Garden
Overall, the food vendors had a very successful night. Many of the food vendors
ran out of food! I would recommend that we re-think our food vendor operation
and not only look to add additional vendors but also look to make better use of
City Center Drive and possibly the library parking lot for space. I recommend that
the Boy Scouts concessions move so they are together with the other food
vendors. The food selections seemed to be satisfactory and I would continue with
the same types for next year. We could also look into adding smaller vendor-type
food like cotton candy, kettle corn, etc. that would not require large amounts of
power. Our space and power continue to be issues we need to be aware of.
The Rockabilly Boys
This teenage band was once again a hit! I think that everyone attending thought it
was great that we had involved our local youth in our event. I appreciated
Casablanca Orchestra's willingness to let us use their sound system for this group.
I will continue to invite this group back to our celebration.
Tae Kwon Do Demo
Jeff Engel and his staff provided our audience with two entertaining
demonstrations. I think that his students enjoyed performing for our event and it
was also an opportunity for the City to promote our Tae Kwon Do program at the
Rec Center. I would invite them back for future celebrations if they were
interested.
Pony Ride/Corral
This new event was very successful. I would recommend having them back next
year and add another pony ring. This is a great activity for small children and it
also makes great use of City Center Park.
Basketball Free Throw Shooting Contest
This new event was quite successful too! We gave away trophies and basketballs
for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners. I would definitely recommend running this
event next year. It is easy to run and makes good use of City Center Park.
Chalk It Up Contest
This chalk drawing contest was a huge hit at the celebration! It was amazing to
see the creativity that people used to decorate their square. Next year, I will
continue with the same categories but divide the participants up by ages so that
both youth and adults may participate. A great new event for the whole family!
Street Dance
What can you say? They are the best! I have already booked them for next year.
Their only request is that we get a different stage for them. They had a couple of
sprained ankles from the stage and the stairs.
JULY 4TM
Adult Fishing Contest
There were a total of 48 participants involved in this year's contest. Those that
participated seemed to have a fun time. Although we do not draw a large number
of participants for this event, it is a nice, low-key activity we can offer our adult
population. I would recommend that we include it in next year's activities.
Kid's Fishing Festival
A total of 130 kids participated in this year's fishing festival. Participants fished
from the fishing pier, the boat access and the rental dock. All kids received a grab
bag of fishing items and candy. We also had a successful prize drawing which the
kids and parents just loved! Our playground staff along with some hardworking
volunteers did a great job in running the event.
Sand Sculpture Contest
There were some creative entries again this year! With the warm weather and
crowded beach area, there was a captive audience for this event. This is an easy
activity to offer and I will include it again in next year's celebration.
Treasure Hunt
An adult found the medallion at about 12:30 p.m. This is a fun and simple event
and should be included in next year's event lineup.
Hula Hoop/Limbo Contest & Duck Pond
Thanks to our playground staff, these contests were successful again this year. I
think that all who participated had a great time. These activities will continue for
next year.
Music in the Park
Bradley Joseph entertained the 4th of July crowd at Lake Ann Beach! His new
age music seemed to "soothe" all the hot and sunburned beach goers. I would
recommend that we continue to provide some type of musical entertainment at the
beach on the 4th. If possible, it would even be nice to have some kid's music and
then slate another musical group as well. It appears that non-structured activities
seem to be the most successful on July 4 at Lake Ann.
Fireworks
This year's fireworks were contracted through Melrose Pyrotechnics. Overall, I
was impressed with the display. The staff at Melrose Pyrotechnics continues to
do a great job in coordinating all the details and logistics of the shoot. The extra
Carver County personnel on duty that night were instrumental in securing a safe
environment for all spectators. The added budget for this year's fireworks was a
bonus. The City Council will have to determine if our fireworks budget will go
back to its original amount or if it will stay at $20,000.
Final Comments
After organizing two 4th of July Celebrations for the City, I would like to offer the
following comments: I think that we need to utilize the tent/City Center
Commons and City Center Park more on July 4th. The tent gets wasted on July
4th and I would like to utilize it more on that day. I would also like to have the
food vendors continue to sell on the 4th as well. These vendors could also provide
a great addition for the parade. It is my belief that we should provide games,
music, activities, etc. at City Center Commons on July 4th. We can take
advantage of the huge crowds that gather for the parade. It seems like such a
waste to get all these people downtown and then have them leave after the parade
is completed. I would still recommend keeping the fishing contests, music and
fireworks at Lake Ann on the July 4th date. All events on the July 4th could work
around the parade, fishing contests, and fireworks but could also enhance our
celebration by taking advantage of our space, food vendors and our crowds from
the parade.
Suggestions for 2000
1.) Re-evaluate our activities for the day of July 4th.
2.)
3.)
4.)
5.)
6.)
7.)
8.)
9.)
10.)
Re-evaluate our food vendor situation/space issues.
Incorporate more volunteers and/or paid personnel to assist with the
celebration.
Continue to look for new and exciting activities.
Continue to add more family oriented games and/or activities.
Continue to seek donations, gift certificates, etc. from sponsors to assist in
keeping the costs of the celebration to a minimum.
Re-evaluate our tent space and the City Center Commons area.
Continue to use City Center Park for July 3rd activities.
Work with Chamber of Commerce on trade fair issues.
Provide new and safer stage for Casablanca Orchestra.
2000 4TM OF JULY
REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE REPORT
REVENUE
Food Vendors
Prize Board/Kids Games
Adult Fishing Contest
Maund Entertainment
Water Wars
T-Shirt Sales
Speedway Racing
Night Lights Novelties, Inc.
Total
$1,180.00
$2,34O.00
$480.00
$402.60
$120.00
$210.00
$125.00
$350.00
$5,2O7.60
EXPENDITURES
101-1613-4130
Sam's Club
Cabin Fever Sporting Goods
Target
Oriental Trading Company
Festival Foods
Real Gem Jewelry & Awards
McDonald's
Paper Warehouse
Frankie's Pizza
Sally
S & S Worldwide
$148.19
$ 452.57
$750.04
$120.60
$228.67
$79.49
$60.00
$22.33
$33.81
$177.67
$57.99
Total $2,131.36
101-1613-4300
Melrose Pyrotechnics
Casablanca Orchestra
Signature Concepts
Elliott Blaufuss
Medicine Show Music
Company
Bradley Joseph
Kaptain Kirby Train Rides
Andon
Candyland Pony Service
Total
$20,000.00
$3,3O0.OO
$3,214.96
$250.00
$600.00
$375.00
$365.00
$216.40
$985.0O
$29,306.36
101-1613-4340
Kind Design
Southwest Suburban
Publishing
Victoria Gazette
Kinko's
$1,195.63
$1,304.10
$90.00
$1,436.10
TotalS4,025.83
101-1613-4400
ImpefialPoa Thrones
101-1613-4410
Skyway Event Services
$1,062.30
Totals 1,062.30
$4,934.07
Total Revenues
Total Expenditures
BALANCE
Total $4,934.07
$5,207.60
$ 41,459.92
$36,252.32