News: Sandusky hopes to have downtown's name in lights

The problem DJ is that the best of these festivals pull in more than just locals (see Coastguard Festival and Muskegon Summer Celebration). Having it in the fall after school has started might hurt those chances.

However, it could also help pull people in on some of those September weekends. I know I'd be likely to head there for a long September weekend if it meant less kids getting in the way because they had to be in school.

Very good point. I suppose the principal issue is trying to find a way that would allow Sandusky to "offer" very reduced admission to CP, while gettting CP to agree to it. Bonus Weekends just seemed the ideal time. Perhaps they could allow reduced (free?) admission with a festival package that would allow starlight entrance to the park for 2 or 3 days.

Free??? Your talking about cedar point ;) They know not of the word Free.

Well, there would be some sort of revenue sharing between Sandusky and CP. Maybe a festival pass would provide 2 Starlights and one Funday as well as access to some cool pay attractions at the festival all for one price. I don't know - just my rambling thoughts.

This wouldn't be a Cedar Point event, though. A festival doesn't need to have a promotional tie-in with the park.

True. I was just going with the thought that a tie-in would have two benefits. First, it would increase attendance, theoretically. Second, it would potentially generate more profit.

It would even need to be a Sandusky thing. Anyone could do it as a for-profit festival. Of course sponsorships would be made available. :)

-Tambo

Conventions geared to young crowds(18-40). Comic Book,card,Star Wars, video games etc. Even gay events. Concerts could also be held. A profit maker all year round. All it takes is one big hotel.

As much as we all love CP and coasters, I think we overestimate the general appeal. And, like it or not, Sandusky isn't going to be an attractive magnet.

Take Orlando for instance. There is a LOT to do in Orlando, even downtown, outside of the Disney/Universal/Sea World parks. They have had mixed success with things such as Church Street Station. And, there must be an issue of getting people to visit areas outside of the parks proper because the entire 'bullet train' was held up when the Convention/Visitors Bureau and Disney fought over the route. The City was demanding a stop in/near downtown for fear that people would never leave property.

If Orlando continues to deal with those issues I don't know what hope there is for Sandusky to draw park visitors into their parks and events.

My thought was more a theme for a festival that appeals to locals. Placed and advertised right, it could bring some of the tourist crowd. But I was thinking more along the lines of Milan's Melon Festival or Huron's Riverfest. Like I said earlier, it's just a name. It just might be crazy enough to tap into something a little above the "local crowd."

We're not talking about a all-summer thing here. And Sandusky will not be a all-summer draw until they go Put-In-Bay style downtown. Resturaunts, cool shops, bars, hotels, and marinas all along the water, etc.

Now a 3 or 4 day coaster festival I can totally see drawing big crowds after a few years of establishing. Hell the Milan Melon Festival (Milan, Ohio, population about a couple thousand people) draws around 50 to 70 thousand over a weekend. The WoolyBear festival in Vermillion draws almost 100,000 + on their weekend.

It can work, if done properly for all attendees.

-Tambo

There is a general decline in attendance at festivals and so forth and I'm not sure what that is attributable to. I have family that are members of St. Peter and Paul's and another local church in Sandusky and they have seen their festival attendance decline in recent years. Lack of disposable income? Interest in other entertainment?

It is hard to say.

The Sts. Peter & Paul Festival has never been a big festival. I think that relates not to a general decline in festival attendance but rather a general decline in church attendance. These festivals are only locally advertised and are rarely attended by people other than church members.

-Tambo

Well, as far as church festivals go the St. Peter and Paul festival was pretty good in it's heyday. And, it was attended by more than members.

My church here in Florida does a carnival every year that is highly anticipated. Of course, it does include carnival rides but it nets nearly $400,000 a year for a 3 1/2 day event.

I know, let's get a carnival to come to town! ;)

Downtown Sandusky's landscaping is really nice..and they do have some nice little stores. But they DO need more than that-- more attractions or places to see.

For examply, the lake. The lake is pretty much blocked off by warehouses/factories or marinas. If they could change this, I'm all up for it.

They just need to be more like a bigger city, I think. Bring in more restaurants-- fancy smancy ones, and some small theaters.

Perhapts a colisuem.

=)

Might have a hard time getting Christians to go to a place called the coliseum. Didn't work out so well for us the last time.

Sandusky is never going to be a "big city" because of the nature of the City. In the winter it is like a college town in summer. Many of the restaurants barely stay alive during winter so they need to make their money, as does CP, for 4 or 5 months a year. The new jobs coming to town are low paying service jobs while the blue collar jobs (like at Delphi) diminish.

All of that does not support building a big entertainment district that would struggle for attention during the cold, blustery winter months.

Its a good thing you're not in charge Chief. You use too much logic to be an elected official.

If I were an elected official I understand the desire to be more than they currently are. But, facts are facts and sometimes I think small towns think the grass is greener when, in reality, there is nothing wrong with being a stable small town.

Instead of worrying about trying to capture another piece of the tourist dollar they ought to be looking at ways to market Sandusky and Perkins as cost-effective alternatives to living in the suburbs of Cleveland or Toledo. There is a growing trend to moving back to smaller towns.

They should be looking to provide incentives to businesses to relocate to Sandusky. You can make a pretty good argument that they are along a major artery (the turnpike) and between two major airports (Cleveland/Detroit).

Putting up a $200,000 billboard to get people to stop by the downtown park and carousel museum after a couple of days at one of the best amusement parks in the world seems a trivial approach.