HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-09-01 CSE Minutes
CSE Minutes September 1, 2010 Page 1 of 4 MINUTES: Town of Vail: Commission on Special Events Meeting Vail Town Council Chambers Wednesday, September 1, 2010 @9:00 a.m. CSE Members Present:
Dave Chapin, Chairman Bobby Bank Jenn Bruno Meggen Kirkham Rayla Kundolf Bob McKown TOV Staff Present: Sybill Navas, CSE Coordinator Kelli McDonald, Economic Development Director Kristin
Bertuglia Others Present: Jamie Gunion, Vail Recreation District Mikki Futernick, Police Volunteer Jeanne Reid White, Bravo Sarah Paladino, Bravo Emmy Hoyt, SSCV Nigel Cooper, SSCV Brian
Rodine, On-line manager, Vail Resorts Brian Hall, Blue Creek Productions Rhonda Jackson, Vail Soul Music Festival Francine Cody, Vail Soul Music Festival Chairman, Dave Chapin, called
the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Administrative Items: Motion to approve the Minutes of the meeting of August 4, 2010, as presented. M/S/P: McKown, Bruno, Unanimous. Coordinator’s
Report: Introduction of Mikki Futernick, volunteer for helping with Minutes Financial Report and Contract Status – Navas explained the items in the ROI column of the Funding Allocations
Report. She also explained the attendance
CSE Minutes September 1, 2010 Page 2 of 4 numbers as being projections of “x” number of people over the days of the event. No issues were raised. Heather Trub has resigned from the
CSE. The Town of Vail is advertising for someone to fill the unexpired term until December 31, 2010. Letters of interest are due to the Town Clerk by September 21, 2010 and the Town
Council interviews and appointments will take place on Tuesday, October 5. The new appointee will be expected to attend the CSE meeting on October 6. 2010. Additional CSE terms expiring
on December 31, 2010 are Dave Chapin (term limited) and Meggen Kirkham. The Town will advertise to fill those positions. Navas showed the “Celebrate Green!” award that will be presented
to Gourmet on the Gore for their efforts in making their event “green.” They are being feted for using reusable service items, and for encouraging their vendors to “go green” as well.
They recognized 9 of their 20 vendors for their efforts. Kristin Bertuglia will present the award. A calendar of meeting dates for the CSE was distributed. It is important to note
a date change from the original calendar. The joint meeting between ERC, CSE, and Local Event Producers was changed from October 6 to December 1, 2010. The VLMDAC members will be invited
to attend the joint meeting, which will be held as a “Brown Bag Lunch” on December 1, from 11:30am-1:3-pm. Friday, October 15, 2010 is the deadline for submittal of 2011 Funding Applications
and Wednesday, November 10, 2010 at a meeting to be held at 1:00 p.m., the final 2011 Funding Allocations will be determined. Event Recaps: Brian Hall reporting on the LionsHead Saturday
Afternoon Club, said that Blue Creek Productions took wonderful pictures of the event that illustrate well that the event achieved what was hoped to be accomplished, and that he was
sorry that the CSE had not been able to see them due to some technical difficulties. He added that changing the day from Friday to Saturday afternoon accomplished the goal of bringing
families into LionsHead and achieving a better separation from the typical Friday afternoon club type of activities which appeal more to a young singles group. Each week there were different
activities for kids, some that were produced in partnership with other organizations, i.e. Denver Museum of Science. Comments from Commission members included: the need for more publicity
– send flyers home with the Camp kids and flyers to merchants in other parts of the Village, another hour should be added as the time was too short, and information should be sent to
the Information Centers. Jeanne Reid White gave a final report of the Bravo Music Festival. Her report is attached to these Minutes. Highlights included: o 60+ concerts in various
venues. o The season started on June 25 with a special performance by Yo-Yo Ma that was a sell-out. Reid passed around a giant book of press clippings which included stories from a great
variety of newspapers including the NY Times.
CSE Minutes September 1, 2010 Page 3 of 4 o Survey questionnaires were given out at concerts and tabulated by an outside company. 60% said the Bravo Music Festival will be the reason
for returning to vail next summer. o The 11:00 a.m. concerts proved to be a huge success in bringing in a younger crowd (30 – 45 year olds) in addition to exposing children to classical
music. o The Bravo office was moved to Vail and every effort was made to make all the renovations and operations “green.” o Anne McDermott will become the Musical Director and will open
the season next summer. Rhonda Jackson reported on the Vail Soul Music Festival’s Inaugural Event. A copy of the report is attached to these Minutes. Highlights included: o 1,700 people
attended the Festival over the two-day period. o The lodging facilities were extraordinary in helping to house the artists, staff and guests. o The youth program held at Eagles Nest
was a 10am – 4pm workshop in which 62 children participated. Letters received afterwards indicated this was a memorable experience for all of them. o The artists “loved Vail.” o The
local community and media embraced the event, with Samana and bol stepping up as late night destinations and KZYR coming through for the event. Difficulties mentioned included sound
and technical problems at the amphitheater and lack of restaurants that were open following the performances. Additionally, Jackson felt that they had started too late in the year to
recruit sponsors, and that they will start “tomorrow” for next year’s event. Additionally, they will work with a local sound engineer at the amphitheater. She also felt that they could
do better in creating a local buzz by using signage throughout the town. In all, Jackson stated the event was very successful. The community feedback has been excellent. This was the
first time to Vail for 32% of the attendees. 81% of the people spent the night to attend the two-day event. National Public Radio and the Wall Street Journal both had something on the
youth program. Also, anchors from both Channels 4 and 7 in Denver posted information on their own social media sites. Suggestions from Commission members included: Have one act perform
at the preceding Tuesday night Hot Summer Nights concert to build awareness about the Festival, start early for sponsors, and try to make arrangements with some restaurants to keep their
kitchen open late in order to accommodate this late night crowd that likes to eat, rather than drink. Winter 2010 – 21011 Vail Mountain Marketing Strategy: Katie Richardson gave a recap
of “what’s new” in Vail. The marketing department has been looking at ways to get people to stay over Sunday night, but now they will shift focus to try to get people to come up on Thursday
for the week-end. There is a new “branding” video that
CSE Minutes September 1, 2010 Page 4 of 4 will be on the website. Facebook hits have gone from 8,000 to 20,000, clearly indicating value of social media as a tool for marketing. Additional
programs will be developed with airline partners, both domestically and internationally. There is a strong focus on continuing to market in Latin America. They are investigating the
creation of a family “Holidaze” event between Snow Daze and Christmas, the development of a February event concept tentatively titled the “7 Wonders of Vail,” which would be tied to
a challenge that would highlight all 7 of the bowls, as well as increased events in the spring since this year’s ski season is stretched out much longer than usual. Nigel Cooper, representing
Ski and Snowboard Club Vail reported that they will be hosting up to 500 kids per day for training on Golden Peak beginning on November 1 and as a result, Manor Vail is “booked solid
for some nights in November.” Summer 2011 VLMD Strategy: Kelli McDonald gave a report explaining the Vail Local Marketing District’s proposed strategy for 2011. The report is attached
to the Minutes. Here are some highlights. Although revenues and occupancies were down in May, they were up for June and July, resulting in summer business being up 6.4% over 2010 through
the month of July. Front Range visitors account for 50% of the summer business. The marketing is designed for a target audience of 25 – 54 year olds. The strategy for summer will be
to continue the development of more world class events to be held here in Vail. They are seriously considering closing the Concierge program as it no longer appears to be useful. The
VLMD is placing the emphasis on May and October as “value price” months, as opposed to an “on sale” slant. They are also encouraging the development of something special for Memorial
Day to kick off the summer before the Teva games. It was noted that Ford Park will not be available as it used for the Battle Mountain High School graduation on the Saturday of the holiday
weekend. It was noted that The Vail Firefighter Combat Challenge, held in the Ford Park Parking Lot on August 28 & 29, drew a large local crowd. Kudos was expressed to the Vail Fire
Department for their efforts in insuring the success of the event. Under New Business, Meggen Kirkham showed a poster for Vail Restaurant Month and encouraged people to attend. Bank
suggested working with the Vail Recreation District to develop an indoor event at Dobson Arena over Memorial Day weekend. Motion to adjourn at 11:30 a.m. M/S/P: McKown, Bruno, Unanimous.