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HomeMy WebLinkAbout8.3 16th Annual St. Patrick's Day r ,'~v ~ ,. CITY CLERK File # DC2JG][Q]-[iJ1Q] . AGENDA-STATEMENT CITY COUNGIL MEETING DATE: May 18, 1999 SUBJECT: Evaluation of 16th Annual 51. Patrick's Day Celebration Report Prepared by: Paul McCreary, Recreation Supervisor ATTACHMENTS: None RECOMMENDA TION: 1) Provide recommendations on the various components of the Celebration for implementation next year Determine the dates for the 2000 festival Appoint a representative(s) from the City Council to serve on the S1. Patrick's Day Liaison Committee 01,. iL..~ 2) \ 3) FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None DESCRIPTION: The 16th Annual St. Patrick's Day Celebration was held the weekend of March 12-14, 1999. Following is a summary of the activities that were conducted. . GREEN AND WHITE GAU The Dublin Sister City Association's annual Green and White Gala was held on Friday, March 12, at the Best Western Monarch Hotel in Dublin. The evening began with Irish Happy Hour and was followed by dinner and a comic magician. Dancing followed the magician's performance. The Dublin Citizen of the Year Award and the Order of the Shamrock were presented during the evening's festivities. The gala was attended by 140 people, which was 44 more people than last year. COMMUNITY PANCAKE BREAKFAST The Alameda County Firefighters hosted a pancake breakfast for the community on Saturday, March 13, from 7:30 A.M. to 10:00 A.M. at Firehouse #16 on Donohue Drive. Over 850 breakfasts were served and the proceeds from the breakfast benefited the Alicia Ann Rouche Burn Foundation. Firefighter Steve Hunter performed as Sparky the Clown and the firefighters had a variety of items to give away. PARADE The Dublin 11on's Club annual St. Patrick's Day Parade was held on Saturday, March 13, beginning at 9:30 A.M. The Lion's Club reports that there were over 70 entries in the parade including four bands and ten floats or novelty entries. The bands that participated received stipends in the amount of $400, which were funded by the City to offset the costs of uniform cleaning, and transportation. The parade route was the same as last year. Parade entrants assembled on Amador Plaza Road and proceeded south to Dublin Boulevard, east to Village Parkway, north to Amador Valley Boulevard, and west to Regional Street. Although youth groups were encouraged to ride in vehicles as opposed to walking, there were still a large number of groups walking in the parade. e ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPIES TO: St Patrick's Day Liaison Committee Terry Pimsleur and Company, Inc. ~ Q ~ ITEMNO.~ G;\COUNCIL\cc518stpats.DOC \"'${~I~".IE'ri'~i' , . 4'1' The City held its first float building workshop, however only three organizations participated this year. ,., The Liaison Committee suggested holding the workshop in September next year. This would give groups more time to get donations, and design and build a float. Holding the workshop in September will also be a benefit to the High School classes as they prepare to build their homecoming floats. . . A grandstand provided by Camp Parkl was located on Amador Valley Boulevard between Lucky Pizza and Oil Changers. A public address system was set up near the bandstand for Parks and Community Services Commissioner Chapman who provided "color commentary" on the parade entrants. Channel 30 also taped the parade from this location. This is the first year the City rented portable toilets for the staging area and parade route. Restrooms were located near the grandstand, in the Credit Union parking lot at the corner of Amador Valley and Amador Plaza, and in the Shamrock Village Shopping Center. FESTIVAL The St. Patrick's Day Festival was held on March 13 and 14, from 10:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on Regional 'Street in downtown Dublin. In addition to Regional Street, the Automatic Rain and Almond Plaza parking lots were used for food and beverage booths as well as the main stage of entertainment, the community stage of entertainment, children's activities and non-profit booths. Fine art vendors, crafters, food booths and sponsors lined Regional Street. Following is a breakdown of the vendors: Arts and Crafts Booths Dublin Business Booths Sponsor Booths Restaurant Booths Food Carts Non-Profit Fundraising Booths Rides Children's Attractions TOTALVENDORS 118 12 13 13 2 13 3 6 204 . Local service organizations provided 445 volunteer hours at the festival and it is estimated these organizations netted $2,605 from the festival. It is estimated that there were 30,000 people who attended the festival over the two days. The owners of the Almond Plaza Shopping Center have indicated to Staff that a majority of their merchants do not want to have the festival in the parking lot. The merchants complained that they did not get enough foot traffic in their stores during the festival. Therefore, next year there will be no festival activities or vendors in the Almond Plaza Shopping Center. Staff will be working with Terry Pimsleur and Company to identify other space along Regional Street that can be used for the festival. Food and Beverage Five garden cafes were located throughout the festival (three on Regional and one in each parking lot). Each cafe featured several food booths and one beverage booth. Next to each cafe was a seating area with round tables. patio chairs. astroturf and hedges. Four of the cafes also had entertainment. Dublin Police Services reported that there were not any adverse incidents related to the consumption of alcohol nor was there a problem with people attempting to leave the festival with alcohol. Advertising At The festival was promoted in several ways. KKIQ, KFRC, and KYCY were the official radio sponsors for . the festival. Each of the radio stations ran hundreds of commercials prior to the event and were in r<~.. ;;~,. ... attlmdance at the festival on Saturday and Sunday. In addition Z95.7 paid a corporate sponsorship to attend the event and promote the festival to their listeners on Saturday and Sunday. . The Tri-Valley Herald was the official newspaper sponsor for the festival and they produced a color pullout, which was included in their newspapers and also mailed to non-subscribers in Dublin (total circulation of 53,000 households). In addition, advertisements were also included in all of the ANG newspapers in the east bay. The festival tab section was combined with the Chamber of Commerce spring tab section. Although this arrangement gave good exposure to both organizations, the Liaison Committee felt it was missing important festival information. The Valley Times was the official newspaper sponsor for the fun run and they also produced a color tab section which was distributed in the Valley Times and mailed to non-subscribers in Dublin. Additional advertising was included in all of the Contra Costa Newspapers including the Valley Times, San Ramon Valley Times, Contra Costa Times, and West County Times. 'Banners with specific event information were hung on the light poles in downtown Dublin in conjunction with the traditional St. Patrick's Day banners. Full color posters were placed in businesses throughout the Tri-Valley. The event was also advertised on the electronic marquee at Dublin Auto Center along futerstate 580. Sponsorships Corporate and local sponsors donated $11,900 this year for the S1. Patrick's Day Festival. In addition to these monetary sponsorships, the City also received significant in-kind donations from local businesses. . Parking, Traffic and Shuttle Service Wheels ran a shuttle service from the BART station to the comer of Regional Street and Dublin Boulevard and the round trip cost was $0.60 per person. Additionally, most of the parking lots in the general vicinity were used for parking; Staff did not receive complaints from the merchants of the adjacent parking lots. FUN RUN The City's first Shamrock 5K Fun Run & Walk was held on Sunday, March 14, 1999. There was an overwhelming response to this first year event with over 570 runners registered for the race. Other fun runs in the Tri- Valley area averaged 200 runners the first year. Pre-registration fees were $15.00 per person, or $10.00 per person for a family of three or more. Race day registration was $18.00 per person. Fees included a T-shirt, goody bag, entry in the raffle and post-race activities and refreshments. Pre and post race activities were held in the Shamrock Village Shopping Center. The flat 5K-loop course began on Amador Valley Boulevard at Regional Street. Runners headed west to San Ramon Road; north to BeIina Street; east to Deervale Road; south to V omac Road; south to Landale A venue; east to Donohue Drive; south to Hillrose Drive; west to Starward Drive; south to Amador Valley Boulevard; then west to the finish line at Regional Street. Over 70 volunteers worked at the race either in the registration area, finish line or along the course as intersection monitors. Local service organizations provided 147 volunteer hours for the Fun Run. It is estimated that local non-profit groups netted $1,290 from the event. This includes the stipends earned by the volunteers for the following organizations: . Soroptirnists Job's Daughters $221 $172 "'t~~~~"';~ . Local elementary schools also won cash prizes, distributed by the Alameda County Firefighters - Local 55, for the school registration competition. Following are the results of the school competition: Dublin Partners in Education Dublin Senior Center Foundation Dublin High School Interact Club Dublin High School Junior Class TOTAL $98 $103 $43 $52 $689 ~'. u 15t Place 2nd Place 3rd Place 4th Place 5th Place 6th Place 7th Place TOTAL Dublin Elementary St. Raymond's School Murray Elementary Nielsen Elementary Frederiksen Elementary Valley Christian School Fountainhead Montessori $200 $150 $100 $50 $50 $25 $25 $600 The City received $1,600 in corporate sponsorships for the Fun Run. The City also received significant support through in-kind donations from local businesses. The Fun Run was heavily advertised in the Tri- Valley area. The City printed 5,000 registration flyers that were distributed to Dublin schools and mailed to a mailing list of 1,000 runners in the Tri- Valley area. KKIQ aired advertisements for the three weeks prior to the race. The Valley Times printed the registration form in the paper for three days and advertised the event for the week prior to the race. The Valley Times also produced a color tab section that provided information on all of the St. Patrick's Day events. The race was also publicized in the Runners Schedule and on their website. DATE AND LOCATION OF 2000 CELEBRATION 51. Patrick's Day will be on a Friday in the year 2000. Traditionally the City has held the Celebration the weekend prior to St. Patrick's Day. The St. Patrick's Day Liaison Committee and the Parks and Community Services Commission have both discussed the possible dates for the 2000 event. It was the consensus of the Committee and the Commission that the event should be held the weekend after St. Patrick's Day, which would be March 18-19,2000. . CONCLUSION Based on the positive comments received from people who attended and participated in all aspects of the St. Patrick's Day Celebration, Staff would declare the 1999 celebration a success. However, as with all events of this magnitude, there is always room for improvement. Consequently, Staff would recommend that the City Council review the various components of the celebration and provide recommendations for implementation in next year's celebration. Additionally, it is recommended that the City Council: 1) determine the dates of the 2000 celebration; and 2) appoint a representative(s) to serve on the St. Patrick's Day Liaison Committee. .