Delray Beach Special Events & Festivals Face Potential Demise

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. - May 31, 2015 - PRLog -- Popular Special Events & Festivals in Delray Beach Face Potential Demise Despite Annual $7M Impact

Fans of Delray Affair, Garlic Fest, Wine & Seafood Festival and Bacon & Bourbon Fest are Urged to Attend Delray Beach City Commission Workshop on June 9

(Delray Beach, FL – May 28, 2015)  Nancy Stewart-Franczak, President of Festival Management Group, Inc., today released the following statement:

In a Goal Setting meeting last February, Delray Beach City Commissioners and Department Managers focused on the historic role and impact of locally produced special events and festivals.

Popular annual events such as the Delray Affair, Delray Beach Garlic Fest, Delray Beach Wine & Seafood Festival and the new Delray Bacon & Bourbon Fest have a proven track record of:

+ Attracting more than a half million families and customers to the downtown business district every year

+ Generating a positive annual economic impact of more than $7 million

+ Enhancing the image of Delray Beach as a major tourist attraction and “the most fun small town” in America as declared by Rand McNally and USA Today.

On the other hand, critics claim these special events and festivals are no longer needed to bring people downtown and blame them for causing traffic and parking problems – although primary blame for this is the fact that construction and development projects are at an all-time high, causing periodic street closures, plus the ongoing renovation of Federal Highway.

Accordingly, a task force/committee was formed and tasked by the City Commission to reevaluate the city’s Special Event Policies & Procedures.  The task force is comprised of various stakeholders including the City Manager, department heads, event producers and representatives from the CRA, DDA and Chamber of Commerce.

This process has been a positive opportunity to open an active channel of communications between local civic and business leaders, residents and event professionals. The City Manager will be presenting recommendations to the City Commission for consideration at the next workshop on Tuesday, June 9 at 6 pm.

However, to ensure that minor concerns don’t overshadow the collective value of these family-friendly special events and festivals, it is critical that local tax-paying citizens and residents are there to show their support. Please join us at the City Commission workshop on June 9.

Together, we can preserve and promote these signature events that make Delray Beach a great place to live, work and play

Available for Interview:

Nancy Stewart-Franczak

561.279.0907

nancy@festivalmanagementgroup.com