To: Board of County Commissioners
Through: Shannon Carter, Director, Director, Open Spaces
Prepared By:
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Matt Bixenman, Fairgrounds Site Manager; Lexy Kingsbaker, Event and Business Development Supervisor
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Presenter: Matt Bixenman, Fairgrounds Site Manager; Lexy Kingsbaker, Event and Business Development Supervisor
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Subject:
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1:45 PM *2024 Arapahoe County Signature Events
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Purpose and Request:
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Staff will provide an informational update regarding completed 2023 signature events and outlook for 2024 signature event planning.
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Background and Discussion: The signature line of events for 2024 are as follows:
Chalk Lines and Vines- May 18-19
Pictures on the Plains- June 22/29
5K Trail Run- September 12
Treat Street- October 19-20
Visit the Village- December 7
Staff has planned and completed the same lineup for 2023 with Visit the Village remaining on December 9th. It was a very successful year with amazing community engagement, community outreach and showcasing of the fairgrounds, and county department collaboration.
Chalk Lines & Vines - Saturday and Sunday, May 13-14, 2023
High-class wine and chalk art festival, featuring a wine-tasting tour of Colorado’s best wines, gourmet food selections, chalk muralists and live entertainment - set against the colorful backdrop of the Front Range and Eastern Plains.
• 1,125 Tickets Sold
• 12 Wineries
• 20 Artists
• 24 Vendors
• 4 Bands
• Community Partners
• VIP Area
• Onsite Activations
Pictures on the Plains - Thursday’s, (2) June and (2) September
Move nights under the stars! Bring a picnic, blankets and lawn chairs and settle in for a night of fun.
• Average 100-150/movie
• Community Partners
• Bands
• Themed Activations
• 5-7 Vendors/movie
• Onsite Concessions
5K Trail Run- Thursday, August 24, 2023
Lace up your sneaks for a timed 5K trail run presented by Les Schwab Tires, beginning at Tagawa Gardens and running along the Cherry Creek Regional Trail. Funds support trail maintenance and Arapahoe County Open Spaces.
• 200 Runners
• Timed Run
• Ticket Included Dinner Plate, Shirt, Beverage
• 10 Vendors
• Live Entertainment
• Community Partners
Treat Street- October 21-22, 2023
A fall event that offers trick-or-treating and spooktacular family fun!
• 4,500 Tickets Sold
• Community Partners
• 27 Vendors
• Stage Entertainment
• Onsite Activations
Visit the Village- December 10, 2022
Holiday themed event offering vendors, entertainment, and family fun!
• 800 Tickets Sold
• 425 Gifts Donated
• 20 Vendors
• 5 Themed Areas
• Community Partners
The Communication Services Team is responsible for the marketing, advertising and public relations activities associated with the County Fair and Open Spaces community events. The Communications Team strives to build awareness of the annual County Fair and community events.
Fiscal Impact: Signature event budget commitment is $130,000 from a Fairgrounds cost center. Original cost recovery goals were 40%. 2023 cost recover is estimated to be 70-80% at the end of the year. This small subsidy remains within an appropriate range. Staff will continue to evaluate operations and costs to continue with a 70%+ cost recovery goal. Minimizing low revenue events such as the movie night, will help achieve this goal.
Alternatives: Monitoring the subsidy amount provided is the key indicator for hosting and planning the signature events. We are modifying picture on the plains for 2024 as that event has high costs with relatively low revenue. All other events are very close to breaking even that keep us within our subsidy and cost recovery goals.
Alignment with Strategic Plan:
☒Be fiscally sustainable
☐Provide essential and mandated service
☒Be community focused
Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends moving forward with 2024 signature events as proposed.
Concurrence: Open Space management supports the current plan to continue to host signature events.