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Decatur Celebration Community Profile
Decatur Celebration Financial Concern, Keep the festival FREE
Mission Statement:
The Decatur Celebration has and continues to:
Encourage pride in the City of Decatur
Improve the image of Decatur
Enhance community spirit through volunteering
Improve the quality of life for those in this area
The staging of this annual free family/community oriented street festival serves to meet these goals through the energy and commitment of volunteers. The festival operates within a sound management and fiscal policy. The Decatur Celebration attracts visitors and creates a more desirable community for families and businesses.
History:
Three community leaders: Mayor Gary K. Anderson, Jim Masey and Orv Graham decided to sign on with the idea presented to the Mayor by Fred Puglia to hold a city wide street festival in downtown Decatur. The event was founded in February 1986 and set up as a 501C4 not-for-profit organization. It was named Decatur Celebration and in its first year, covering 16 city blocks it drew over 100,000 people. Now, in 2009, it covers 22 city blocks with 11 show stages and annually attracts over 300,000 attendees in three days! It is the largest FREE family street festival in the Midwest.
Operations:
Now in its 24th year, the event is still produced by its creator,
Fred Puglia. Mr. Puglia serves as both the producer & the director
of the event. Diane Boyles serves as administrative manager
and Ayn Owens as events manager. The event is governed
by a 15 member community board of directors.
70 volunteer chairmen are administrators of their own assigned
disciplines. They help coordinate the 1,500 volunteers which
it takes to produce the event each year.
Funding:
The event is funded by sponsorships, memberships, parking, event’s product sales and fundraising events.
Economic Impact:
An event of this size has a tremendous trickle down effect on not just Decatur, but all of central Illinois. The impact is felt financially from the goods & services purchased from area companies & suppliers to produce the event; visitors shopping & eating in the area; airports (where many people fly their families in for a reunion on Celebration weekend); hotels, which are all booked well in advance & gas stations (we have been told we have the highest gas consumption weekend in Decatur). Imagine the impact over the last 23 years inclusive!
Area businesses enjoy the increased visitor traffic to the community. Decatur Celebration also allows area businesses the opportunity to expand their business base; with potential customers coming to the area from all over the country. For example, many families now plan their family reunions around the event. (This year we have been contacted by family members that live i in Hawaii and are returning for the event.) In other words, more dollars are circulating in the area because of the Decatur Celebration! The weekend provides businesses the privilege to take advantage of cross promotion opportunities.
In 1986 it was thought the event could help provide some funds to area not-for-profit groups for their service during the event. Many of the organizations depend upon the festival as their primary funding source each year. (See attached documentation). This means over the last 23 years over $2 million has gone to these organizations.
The Decatur Area Convention and Visitors Bureau have provided their estimated economic impact for the years 2001-2007. This documentation is on the following page.
The total Economic Impact for these seven years inclusive is:
$33,668,850.00
Can Decatur really afford to lose this type of economic boost?
Marketing Impact:
The Decatur Celebration has truly given Decatur Illinois a community identity. It gives Decatur a perfect opportunity to showcase itself to the 300,000 annual attendees. This is the
largest public relations opportunity any Midwest community south of Chicago has to tout its community spirit. Festival goers have the opportunity to see the revitalization of Downtown Decatur first hand. The event has become a perfect partnership between the public and private sectors.
The festival has had over two dozen mentions on national media in the past 23 years. It has also been recognized by several tourism groups as a must see event. Decatur Celebration has vendors and entertainers from over 15 states, with waiting lists each year. It has also attracted a variety of national sponsorships over the years. Marketing of this nature would cost thousands of dollars in the market place for Decatur to manage this type of far reaching marketing impact.
Social Impact:
Decatur Celebration continues to be one of the most inclusive community festivals in the Midwest. In fact, it was voted by the American Bus Association as one of the top 100 events in North America. The event brings in a kaleidoscope of entertainers from various countries and genres. Musical and variety acts perform on 11 show stages and throughout the 22 city blocks. The festival also provides a showcase for area entertainers to share their talents by performing during the event. There are also over 120 arts and crafts vendors as well as a wide variety of foods.
Without a doubt this event has and continues to improve the quality of life in Central Illinois! The festival provides a safe family environment where parents can bring their children and expose them to music, arts and foods from all over the world. Decatur Celebration is a festival without a generation gap; it entertains toddlers, teens, parents & grandparents. A testament to this is the willingness of service groups from scouts to retirees that look forward to working the event each year. The event continues to provide many opportunities for public service partnerships.
Many civic organizations use the venue as a basis for their civic projects; it can act as a recruiting tool for new members. The event is recognized as one of the cleanest events in the United States and the only festival with a dress code: No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service.
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