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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4.04 Splatter Festival Format Changesor 19 82 /ii � 111 DATE: TO: FROM: SUBJECT STAFF REPORT CITY COUNCIL June 7, 2016 Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers Christopher L. Foss, City Manager " Splatter Festival Format Changes Prepared by Tegan McLane, Cultural Arts & Heritage Manager EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: CITY CLERK File #950 -40 City Council will receive a report on planned format changes to the 2016 Splatter food, art and wine festival, scheduled for September 17, 2016. FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed modifications to the format will likely be negligible in terms of fiscal impact. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends City Council receive the report and provide direction. `Reviewed By Assistant City Manager DESCRIPTION: The City of Dublin's fifth annual Splatter food, art and wine festival is slated for Saturday, September 17, from 12 noon to 9 p.m. at Emerald Glen Park. In response to community feedback received following the 2015 festival, Staff is proposing some modifications to the format in an effort to improve the experience for visitors and participating local businesses. Staff is proposing to replace the large Tasting Pavilion tent with two to three open -air Tasting Gardens, with smaller serving tents clustered around large, open -sided shade canopies. (Attachment 1) The large Pavilion tent has proved very difficult to cool on hot days, and because it is enclosed, traps the gasses from the grass, so it can develop an unpleasant odor. Thirty percent of survey respondents who visited the Tasting Pavilion in 2015 complained about inadequate air Page 1 of 3 ITEM NO. 4.4 circulation inside. The extremely large tent also causes collateral turf damage because of the length of time it is up and the heavy equipment required to erect and decorate it. Staff believes the open -air Tasting Gardens format will provide more accessible seating and shade, better serving festival -goers for the entire duration of the event. Because it is open, there will be no limit on the number of people who can participate in the tasting portion of the festival. While Staff anticipates some Tasting Pavilion regulars may miss the exclusivity and unique look of the enclosed Tasting Pavilion structure, Staff is confident the Tasting Gardens can be made attractive in other ways. With the layout change, Staff is also proposing a change to the ticketing structure. In past years, the Pavilion has been an "event within an event," open for only four hours in the afternoon. Guests have purchased a "tasting pass" that allowed them a fixed number of food and wine /beer tastes. The City has sold the passes and secured mostly donated wine, beer and food. It has become increasingly difficult to persuade restaurants to provide tastes and serving staff at no charge. There were fewer participating wineries and restaurants in 2015 and several `no- shows.' As a result, 17 percent of survey respondents visiting the Pavilion complained about lack of variety in food and beverage tastes and 22 percent complained about reduced portion sizes and prices being too high for what was provided. Staff is proposing to invite participating restaurants to have individual booth space and sell their food directly to the customers, rather than offer tastes for free. The City would charge a booth fee similar to what is charged for St. Patrick's Day. Staff would encourage, but not require, food vendors to offer a free taste samples. Vendors would also be encouraged to offer appetizer - sized servings of upscale food options, especially items that would pair nicely with wine and craft beers. This format will allow customers an opportunity to have larger tastes of the foods they find most appealing. Staff also believes this will give participants who were previously deterred by the high Tasting Passport prices — including parents who were reluctant to purchase a passport for children who were unlikely to enjoy the upscale foods -- an opportunity to purchase tastes at a lower price point. With the new open -air format, the restaurants and wineries would be able to interact with more guests and for the duration of the festival. We believe it will give restaurants more exposure and an opportunity to earn revenue. Wineries and breweries will also have an opportunity to have individual booth space. However for alcohol sales, Staff is proposing to have a non - profit organization operate alcohol sales, similarly to the models currently used for the Dublin Farmers' Market and for this year's St. Patrick's Day Festival. The nonprofit organization will be responsible for checking ID and issuing wristbands, selling tasting tickets and glassware, and monitoring to make sure the wineries and breweries are adhering to established alcohol server instructions. Trained staff from the wineries and breweries would be pouring their own products and collecting tickets. Wineries and breweries will invoice the nonprofit organization after the event for the amount poured. Nonprofit organizations that are able to meet the requirements to handle alcohol operations (insurance, ABC license restrictions, sufficient volunteers and cash -on -hand) may apply for the opportunity. Splatter would operate similarly to the Farmers' Market; however we suggest the Page 2 of 3 group pay a booth rental fee to the City, like with St. Patrick's Day Festival this year with Rotary. If multiple nonprofit organizations meet the qualifications, the operator will be chosen via lottery, similar to the way fireworks booth permits are assigned. Using wine /beer tickets, rather than a passport, Staff envisions a single ticket would be redeemable for a taste and five or six tickets would be redeemable for a full glass. Customers would have the option to purchase just the number of tickets needed. Again, the open -air format will allow customers who were previously deterred by high passport prices or the enclosed Tasting Pavilion — including parents of young children who did not want to pay to bring children into the Pavilion — to partake. With the Tasting Gardens format, Staff anticipates each winery or brewery will have more business and there will be less need for volunteer- staffed beverage bars. If we have sufficient participation from the wineries and breweries, and space them in several locations, we may be able to do away with the volunteer- staffed bars entirely. If we do not have enough participation from wineries, we could have one volunteer- staffed bar at the Emerald Glen concession stand, which would operate similar to the volunteer- staffed bars at St. Pat's. Finally because of the lackluster response to last year's laser show and continued concerns with fireworks, Staff proposes to end the evening with a nighttime musical concert that would include rock - and -roll lighting, but no lasers and no pyrotechnics. Survey respondents indicated that a closing concert with music having broad appeal is consistently popular. NOTICING REQUIREMENTS /PUBLIC OUTREACH: None. ATTACHMENTS: 1. 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