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HomeMy WebLinkAboutADMIN-22-00 " '. .L. THE CORPORATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF CLARINGTON REPORT Meeting: General Purpose and Administration Committee File #iJ!J;, ;;;L Res. . -~ g-g- ---tI 0 FILE: - By-law # Date: September 5, 2000 Report #: ADMIN-22-00 Subject: CLARINGTON BACKYARD FESTIVAL RECOMMENDATIONS: It is respectfully recommended that the General Purpose and Administration Committee recommend to Council the following: 1. THAT Report #ADMIN-22-00 be received; 2. THAT Council endorse, in principal, the presentation of a fireworks display and complimentary activities on the Victoria Day, Monday, May 21sT, 2001. 1.0 BACKGROUND: 1.1 On May 22, 2000 (Victoria Day) the Municipality of Clarington hosted the first "Clarington Backyard Festival." This event included a variety of community-driven events plus an "awesome" fireworks display. 1.2 The intent of the Backyard Festival (BYF) was to highlight and promote the "hometown" community pride that exemplifies life in our community. Few communities can boast a similar level of "unsolicited" enthusiasm from their residents. The BYF started with the 30th anniversary of the Clarke Museum & Archives (April 29, 2000) and finished with the Municipality's fireworks display on Victoria Day. From start to finish a total of 22 community events were incorporated into this promotion. 1.3 Before continuing, it is necessary to draw Council's attention to Attachment 1, which lists all of the individuals, groups and businesses that contributed to the Clarington Backyard Festival presentation. Without their participation, support and efforts, the Backyard Festival would not have been - a continuation of the Municipality's public-private event program (previous events include Clarington Day at the CNE, Clarington Rodeo Days, etc). Ontario Power Generation Inc - 1 L 16 " '. REPORT NO.: ADMIN-22-00 PAGE 2 Municipality's public-private event program (previous events include Clarington Day at the CNE, Clarington Rodeo Days, etc). Ontario Power Generation Inc - Darlington was a significant sponsor and partner in the organization and presentation of the Backyard Festival and was the site of the 2000 presentation. 1.4 The month long celebration achieved a remarkable level of success (evaluated by public participation) given that it was a first-run event. Many things have been learned and new ideas created that are intended to grow interest and participation in this type of public-private partnership-driven event. 2.0 Grand Finale 2.1 The Grand Finale, which included the fireworks display, was planned and coordinated by the Municipality through its Marketing, Tourism & Communications Office. The staff of the Public Works Department - Operations Division and the Clarington Fire Department were of tremendous assistance in preparing the site and throughout the event day. 2.2 The following is an overview of the components of the Backyard Festival. . The Site - One of the most difficult aspects of the event plan was to find a site that was centrally located, accessible to large numbers of the public and suitable (safe) to the site requirements for a large fireworks display. A number of sites, both municipally and privately owned, were investigated and evaluated. The Darlington Sports Fields- Ontario Power Generation site was selected as it fulfilled the majority of site requirements as provided by the fireworks company - Concept Fiatlux. The Municipality worked with Ontario Power Generation and the Darlington Soccer Association to ensure the site was not damaged as a result of our usage. . Event Promotion - A general consensus among the comments received by the Marketing, Tourism & Communications Office was the need for a stronger marketing (promotion) strategy. Time constraints and insufficient manpower were contributors to this problem. The lack of a strong marketing strategy was that the message was not delivered to the target audience effectively and in time. The result was a lower attendance and a significant amount of confusion Ul/ " '. REPORT NO.: ADMIN-22-00 PAGE 3 relative to the busing schedules and routes. Those who commented provided their ideas of possible solutions - Breakfast with Jeff (CTV - Canada AM), on- air interviews with local radio stations, CHEX TV, Breakfast Television (CityTV). These suggestions will be investigated and, where possible, incorporated into future event plans. . ParkinQ - As there was little on-site parking available at the selected site, the event plan included off-site parking areas belonging to the Municipality as well as private businesses. Valiant Property Management, through the efforts of Wayne Clark, stepped up and indicated that they would be willing to provide more than 1,000 spaces for our use. These were located at the Clarington Centre (Bowmanville) and at Townline Centre (Courtice). Other parking areas included - Courtice Flea Market, Garnet B. Rickard Recreation Complex, Darlington Sports Centre, Newcastle Public School and the Orono Fairgrounds. . BusinQ - Given the site and the parking requirements, it was decided that it was required to shuttle the public from the 7 identified parking areas to the site. A local provider was contacted but declined participation so it was necessary to contact an outside provider. For the Backyard Festival, Trentway-Wagar (Peterborough) agreed to provide this service. Bruce and Allison from Trentway-Wagar created the bus schedule (including all related timings) into and out of the site. Although having to bus the public to the site was not the ideal situation, Trentway-Wagar exceeded our expectations in the efficient transportation of those attending the event. . Entertainment - On site was a variety of activities ranging from a full-scale petting zoo to inflatable amusements to Elephant Rides (courtesy of the Bowmanville Zoo) to on-stage performances by local musicians and entertainers. Fred Horvath was the on-stage Master of Ceremonies. The quality of the performances presented by our local community of entertainers exemplifies the "hometown" pride the event was intended to highlight. . Volunteers - The requirement for volunteers was greater than it has been for other events. Through various community and service organizations we were 1i I 0 '. '. REPORT NO.: ADMIN.22.00 PAGE 4 able to have volunteer staff at each of the parking areas and on site to assist the public throughout the event. The Rotary Club, Girl Guides and 1st Courtice Cadets looked after the majority of parking areas and some of the on site requirements. Clarington staff volunteers assisted the public on site. . The Fireworks - As this was a new endeavour for the Marketing, Tourism & Communications Office, many contacts with other communities were made to identify quality fireworks display providers. A list of 3 providers was developed and each company was invited to submit a proposal for review. For the most part the proposals appeared to be similar in the caliber of the individual fireworks to be used and the overall presentation. To make a good decision, each company was asked to provide references. The references for Concept Fiatlux were not only positive but also enthusiastic. This was the company that provided the fireworks on Monday May 22, 2000 and from the comments of those who attended, the display was "awesome!" The Municipality's experience with this company was positive from start to finish and should a fireworks display be approved for 2001, it is recommended that Concept Fiatlux be contacted for a proposal. 2.3 The ballot box for the $3,000.00 Signature Vacation Voucher, a dividend of the Municipality's radio campaign with CFRB, was present at each event on the Clarington Backyard Festival's listing of events in May. Hundreds of ballots were collected and delivered to the site of the Grand Finale. Mayor Hamre made the draw for the winner at the Grand Finale and the prize was presented to Kathy Wheeler of Bowmanville at the Council meeting of June 26, 2000. 2.4 The 2000 Clarington Backyard Festival would not have happened if it hadn't been for the contribution of many individuals, community organizations and bl;lsinesses. One partnership that has not yet been duly recognized for their contribution is the Crago family - Keith and Shirley. This report has recorded that the Backyard Festival was on the Ontario Power Generation Inc - Darlington property but it was Keith and Shirley who agreed to allow the Municipality to launch the fireworks display from their property. The launch site on the Crago property provided the L:: i 'j '. '. REPORT NO.: ADMIN-22-00 PAGE 5 highest degree of safety for both the fireworks launch team and those of us watching the display burst across the sky. 3.0 CLARINGTON BACKYARD FESTIVAL - 2001 3.1 Although the attendance, not including those who viewed the fireworks from the 401 highway or the areas to the north of this highway, was not as high as was anticipated, many positive comments were received from the community and the event partners that would suggest a second presentation would be well received. At this point, it is too early to request approval to move forward with this project from a budgeting perspective. Given the many facets that this event entails it is necessary to start event planning as early as possible so that adequate time is available to promote the event to the public and to potential community partners (heroes). By way of this report the Marketing, Tourism and Communications Office (MTC) is seeking Council's permission to begin planning of the 2nd Clarington Backyard Festival. No decisions requiring a financial commitment of the Municipality of Clarington will be made until a full event plan and budget have been submitted to Council for consideration and approval. 3.2 In planning the event for May 21, 2001 much of the learning from the first year will be evaluated and applied to this event. The first action will be to contact local organizations, such as our tourism partners and the Clarington Board of Trade, to confirm their interest in participating again this year. A special invitation will be extended to Ontario Power Generation - Darlington to ask them to, again, partner with the Municipality in presenting this event as both a sponsor and as the site host. As a back up, should Ontario Power Generation be unable to provide the site, staff will investigate and short list altemative sites within the Municipality. In the first year, the Darlington Soccer Association was not brought into the event as early as it should have been. To ensure that their concerns are addressed and resolved in the event plan, representatives of this organization will be invited to attend an early planning meeting. The first meeting of 2000 partners is to be called the last week of September to initiate the planning process. 3.3 The 2001 event plan must consider all aspects of the event prior to the fireworks Uiu , . , '. REPORT NO.: ADMIN-22-00 PAGE 6 display. Attention will be focused on length of the event, public transportation requirements; on-site amenities; on-site entertainment based on the information collected from this year's event operation. Specific attention will be focused on promoting the Clarington Backyard Festival to Clarington and to our surrounding communities. Initiating the planning phase for the event now, will enable the Marketing, Tourism & Communications Office to do the necessary research to present a complete and detailed outline of the event plan and budget, at the earliest possible opportunity, to Council. The goal is to ensure that adequate time and resources are allocated to the promotion of this event to potential business partners, sponsors, community event hosts and, of course, the residents of Clarington. 4.0 SUMMARY: 4.1 Given the public response to the 2000 Backyard Festival and fireworks display, the Marketing, Tourism & Communications staff recommends that this event is a venture worth perfecting. To this end, it is further recommended that the planning of the 2001 proposal be allowed to proceed. By starting now, the goal is to have the complete and detailed event plan - including budget requirements and promotional/marketing plan - prepared for Council's review and consideration in early January 2001. Respectfully submitted, Reviewed by, CJ~-~ , Manager Communications Franklin Wu, Chief Administrative Officer JMC:JJC:sa 1L~ I ...~ J , , REPORT NO: ADMIN-22-o0 ATTACHMENT #1 Clarington Backyard Festival EVENT SPONSORS PARTNER Ontario Power Generation Inc - Darlington COMMUNITY HEROES Dom's Auto Parts Deighton Associates Conveyor Splicing Frontier RV Blue Circle Cement Optimal Health Chiropractic Clinic Pine Ridge Auto Supply A & R Flooring Noone's Restaurant Syvan Developments Bowmanville Wood Roy Nichols Motors Products The Marskell Group Bowmanville Veterinary Archibald Orchards & Clinic Estate Winery Tim's Rental Canadian Waste Evergreen Farm & Garden Bon Apetit Catering J. R. Frethy Architect The Co-operators - Sciore & Associates Veltri Group - Marianna Morris Funeral Chapel Newcastle Golf Course Developments Valiant Property Royal Bank of Canada - Royal Bank of Canada - Management Bowmanville Courtice M & M Meats Williams Communications Courtice 15 Cadets Fire House Youth Big Brothers of Clarington VOLUNTEERS - Organizations Girl Guides - Darlington Rotary Club of Bowmanville Clarington Board of Trade Bowmanville Zoo INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTEERS Catherine Eisan" Lou Ann Birkett" Nancy O'Flaherty" Tony Cannella" Sheila Roman" Larry Taylor" Elizabeth Taylor" Dave Boyd Jane Pascoe" Gord Weir" Jamie Bullock" Fred Horvath" Jennifer (Chaffey) Stycuk" Charles Taws Lee Stycuk Sandy Archibald Penny Waghorne Victoria Greene Harold St. Croix Valerie St. Croix Sandra Keast Kyle Arends Greg Chaffey Althea Chaffey Gary Chapman Christine Chapman Paul Scherbak Carol Gonder" Bill Gonder Sandy Black" . (") Municipality of Clarington staff . In all there were more than 90 volunteers working this event. Unfortunately the Marketing, Tourism & Communications Office does not have all of their full names. 1L~L