Beech Tree News Network

There has been much debate lately on the fate of the Green River Catfish Festival.  As with all good things, they either have to have a plan for future (Ford, Wal-Mart) or die off (Pontiac, TWA).  I believe it's time to take a hard look at the festival and ALL the activities associated with it to see if we are getting the maximum return on our investment.  There should be no Sacred Cows when looking at the festival.

How much money is made from the gate?  Could more money be made in other parts of the festival by lowering/doing away with gate prices?  How much are we charging vendors?  Are we charging non-profits and for-profits the same?  Are we providing enough free passes for the non-profits (i.e. 4H, Churches, Masonic Lodge)?  These organizations typically rely on a multitude of volunteers giving of their time to help the Festival be successful.  Is the Festival showing the proper gratitude by allowing these workers to get in free?  For those of you who have never volunteered or worked at the festival, it is hard work in some extreme weather conditions.  I believe the Festival owes them, at a minimum, a free pass to get in.

What about the fishing tournament?  The results have been lackluster the last few years.  We need to look at the whole structure of the tournament.  Is there a way to get more people fishing?  Can we charge less or charge per boat?  Can we allow you to start after the first day?  Is the number of tournament days enough?  Can we make the tournament last longer or incorporate two weekends since most people work during the week?  Can we incorporate more of the festival into the tournament?  A fishing pass could also serve as a free pass to the festival.

I’m sure some people have abused the free passes in the past.  I’m sure some people have bought tickets after they caught a tagged fish.  We can’t let a few cheaters ruin the process for everyone else. It is easy to blame things like the weather for our festival decline.  Disney World makes money on hot days, rainy days, and everything else Mother Nature throws her way.  They have a product people want, and they have a plan to deliver it.  

Are we making any money off of the carnival?  The whole $10/wristband gets expensive with a house full of kids.  There are times when I would be more likely to visit, but by the time I buy a gate pass and tickets for the kids, I’m spent out.  That takes away from what I would be spending on the vendors and it limits me to 1 night instead of 2-3.  I know the carnival increases the number of people visiting, but is it killing off the vendors by keeping all the cash on its side of the park grounds?  Speaking of the park grounds, is there a better way to intersperse the carnival with the vendors?  We have the vendor alley now that is completely separate from the carnival.  Could the vendors not be incorporated with the carnival?  Step off the Ferris Wheel and get a pork chop sandwich?  Mom and Dad get a lemonade slush while Jr. rides the spinning strawberries? 

The beauty pageant is another issue.  How much money are the vendors losing when we move the pageant to the BCHS Auditorium due to heat/weather?  Can we air condition the contestant area at the amphitheater?  What about building a roof over the stage area or even the seating area?   A perennial issue has been out of county contestants in our pageant.  If little Suzy has to compete against a professional pageant contestant, well, that’s not going to go well.  It would be easier to just not bother putting her in the pageant at all.  

Someone earlier mentioned the way no one goes to the festival for the fireworks show anymore.  Traffic congestion in the park is a huge part of the problem.  There are coordination issues, huge bottlenecks, and not enough exits.  Can we make it easier to leave the park after the show?  That would make it easier for people to come to the festival and enjoy some good BBQ with the fireworks.  

There are reasons we do the things the way we do them now.  Remember the story of the young housewife who cuts the end of the ham off before cooking.  Her husband asks why she does this.  She replies, “Because that’s the way Mom taught me.”  Her husband then asks why her mother did it like that.  She didn’t know why.  She called her mother to ask her why she always cut the end of the ham off before cooking it.  Her mother replied, “The pan I had when you were young was too short so I had to make the ham fit. I now have a larger pan and the ham is so much better with the end left on to hold the juices inside.”  Let’s not get caught up in doing things a certain way just because that’s the way we’ve always done it.  

There are so many options to try before pronouncing the Catfish Festival dead.  Why not try some of them?  I don’t have the answers to all of the questions I’ve asked, but I have offered a few suggestions.  I am a firm believer in the philosophy, “If you have a complaint bring a solution with it.  Otherwise, you are just whining.”

If we stay on the course we are on now, I believe the Festival is doomed.  What a shame that would be.

Randal Martin