Additional Commentary on Siouxland 5.

[vakkotaur]

There were some things that weren't "just so" and had things been "just so" it would have been even better. But as I said before, the attitude is the critical part. Without that, the site could meet every item on a checklist and still be the setting for a lousy event.

There were a few not-so-good things that were potentially distracting:

- The look of some of the buildings made it quite plain that this was a county fairgrounds. This is a known issue and there were plans to deal with it. Alas, time seemed to run out or there was miscommunication and things did not go off quite as envisioned.

- One of those items was the use of metal bleacher for seating. Zilch had a comment that this was the first time he'd performed with such, but also had a joke about it (not against such) in a later performance. The bleacher weren't all bad. They could be easily wiped off if need be (there was either no need or not much of a need, fortunately) and they provided a good view of the stage even from a few rows back.

- Metal fencing was visible on much of the site. This was also somewhat the case at the previous site, and had been solved by blocking the view with vendors. There likely simply are not that many vendors for that to work completely at the new site. But again, this is something the Siouxland folks know about and will be working to change. This also meant some traffic was visible, but most of that was fairly distant and out of earshot which is the main thing. The 'WorkHorse' supply vehicle was on-site after opening and that was more distracting. I'm not sure it was really needed. Ideally the only time a vehicle is on-site is before opening, after closing, or if there is emergency - and ideally there won't be any emergencies.

- I'm not sure, but I think a few vendors may have had signs that were not of appropriate materials. Some certainly didn't make much of (any?) attempt at disguising thing to show at least an attempt at looking period. I have a suspicion some of these folks will be surprised when they aren't back next year.

- Low flying aircraft. This can't be helped, of course, and probably was the biggest distraction as it interrupted conversation and acts. On the good side, being the biggest distraction meant that the other things were likely less noticed.

- Tire tracks in what minor mud there was on Sunday. While vehicles will leave tracks, perhaps some sort of drag or heavy roller or something could be used behind the last vehicle off site in the morning to minimize the visibility of vehicle tracks.

A word about the layout: Overall it worked quite well. Having the joust pretty much as far away from the entrance as possible is good. There probably should have been more activity in that area and I recall being told that more vendors had been expected to help fill the space. I'm not sure it's possible or workable, but perhaps the stage in that area might have worked out better and been more noticeable on the opposite side of the street. And no offense to the acts that performed at that stage, but a stage at the periphery like that may need acts that are perhaps more well-known or bigger names and can work as sure draw to what appears to be a dead-end.

All that said, whenever something like the above was quietly mentioned to any of the Siouxland folks, the reaction was "We know, and we have some ideas on how to fix that for next year." I suspect the Siouxland folks could look at what I've written and probably point out I missed a bunch of things that they were concerned about and didn't have time to fix - for this year.

On the decidedly good side:

+ One big win about the layout was the children's area which seemed to work much better and be more a part of things. It felt more like it was part of the festival than it ever had at the previous site.

+ Another layout win was that with more accessible electrical power, food vendors weren't all clumped close together. There was an area which had the greatest concentration of food vendors, but there was enough room that it never felt obnoxiously crowded even when there were lines by some vendors.

+ Paved walkways, at least some them. Okkay, it's asphalt and not brick or cobblestone but after last year, nobody has any business complaining about that. And nobody I heard did.

+ Solid shelter, and the availability of storm shelter. It wasn't needed, but it was available. It's always better to have and not need rather than the other way around. The only downside to having a stage there was that while the shelter was nice for quieter acts, birds in the rafters could be a bit distracting during such quieter acts. That this place is also about as far away from the jousting area as possible is a happy circumstance.

+ Accessibility, in every sense. With good walkways, wheelchairs and powerchairs could negotiate the site without problem.

+ Easy access. It's nice to be able to tell people "the fair grounds" or "the corner of Louise and Madison." Being in town likely makes for people willing to come check things out who might not have driven to the old site well outside town. I understand that the local bus service had a stop at or near the fair grounds on Saturday so even those without private vehicles could get there at least one day. Overheard in the car Saturday morning, "We're here already?"

+++++ NO MUD! Okkay, no significant mud. While there was enough mud Sunday to show vehicle tracks, that's about all there was. Only one vendor that I saw had enough of a mud problem to need to have wood chips or such put down to provide a path to the shop.

I won't say who said it, or who is was said about, but several times I heard things on the order of "Siouxland isn't like Show-X, Siouxland is fun." Or, "I'm not going back to Show-X, they [pulled one thing too many], but I'll be back here (at Siouxland)!" Or "Siouxland knows how to treat people." And I heard that last one from vendors, performers, and patrons. The attitude and effort that earned those comments are the important things.

Comments

[melissasutton.livejournal.com]

Thanks hon - this will all be brought to the board review meeting in a few weeks!

mel