Fall Fest - Too Much of a Good Thing?
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Fall Fest: Too Much of a Good Thing?
Fall Fest and its related car show attracted thousands of people to Heritage Park and downtown Townsend again this year, generating money for Townsend Rotary Club to spend on its many community projects, grants and activities. But with the success came headaches for some business owners, problems with parking congestion, trash and access for emergency and fire vehicles in case needed.
Some businesspeople and home dwellers weighed in with their thoughts on it all at the Oct. 3 City Council meeting. JB Howick, owner of Townsend Hardware on Broadway Street, offered a solution to festival parking and garbage woes. “There is an easy way to solve the problem. Fall Fest has to go,” he said. “The council should just refuse to let Rotary use Heritage Park for Fall Fest,” he suggested.
Angie Wintrow, a council member and owner of the Mounty Moose bakery, said she saw it from both sides. “I lose all my regular Saturday customers because all the Broadway Street parking is taken up in front of my business. I make up for the loss by opening on Sunday. In fact, I had several people come in who had never been in the shop. That is a good thing,” she explained. But the garbage cans behind her shop getting overloaded with trash discarded by Fall Fest throngs was another problem, she added.
Ken Urich said he tried to drive down an alley near Heritage Park. The alley was blocked on one end by a parked car. As he tried to back up, a driver parked behind him, blocking him in. He was able to flag down the driver who moved his car. Public Works Supervisor Tim Rauser said his crew put out signage and a barrier barring parking behind the old city hall where the city stores emergency equipment. He said people drove around the barrier and ran over signs to park in alleys.
Sandy Booher who lives at 205 South Pine across the street from Heritage Park, said she solves parking issues every year very simply. “When the vendors or whoever parks in our driveway, I just call Doug Sitton, the emcee at Fall Fest. He announces the license numbers and says their vehicles will be towed away shortly. It always works. The vehicles are moved immediately,” she laughed.
Fall Fest business proved a boon for the Lolo Pogi Boutique apparel shop on Broadway. Owners MJ and Steve Stieler installed a vendor booth at the festival. That gave them great exposure, mostly with Helena and Bozeman festival goers who had never been in their shop. “We were overwhelmed at the booth, especially on Saturday during the rain. People came in to look but just stayed. I had to stand outside so the ladies could look at our wares. Finally, we suggested they go to the uptown store,” she said. They were open both Saturday and Sunday at the uptown store. “We will definitely have a booth next year, only bigger,” she said, laughing.
Meanwhile, Broadway bars and the brewery seemed to do great business, particularly during the car show on Sunday. Empty stools or tables were hard to come by. Townsend Rotary Club, which stages the annual event, is certainly aware of problems caused by the growing numbers of Fall Fest vendors and visitors, club president Jeff Langlinais told MT 43 News. He said the club has worked hard and coordinated with business owners and the city to control parking. Beyond that, the club has weighed the feasibility of moving the festival to the county fairgrounds or elsewhere with more room than the park and where it would cause less disturbance to downtown businesses. The stumbling block, he explained, is that Rotary is already at its manpower limit in terms of membership and recruited volunteers to produce Fall Fest. Keeping it at Heritage Park would prevent it from growing beyond Rotary’s limited abilities.
Langlinais said, “The Fairgrounds is the wrong place for this kind of event because we have so few volunteers to run it. Plus, it was put together with the idea of helping downtown businesses. Keeping it in town makes it self-limiting. Our plan is to work out the problems with the business, nearby homeowners, and the city so it works for all of us.”
