Tax collections for the City Advertising and Promotion Commission exceeded the previous year for the sixth year in a row, a prodigious accomplishment, yet commissioners did not take the trend for granted. At a May workshop, commissioner Terry McClung noted it was day-trippers carrying the load, as restaurant collections were higher compared to 2017 but lodging revenue was basically flat. This pattern continued through the year.
Executive Mike Maloney told commissioners visitation was not increasing but dollars were holding steady.
McClung said he had noticed more families in town partly because of the new cycling trails at Lake Leatherwood City Park and on the grounds of the Great Passion Play.
While they looked for new ways to promote the town, commissioners continued to provide marketing support funds for worthwhile local events. This year, CAPC allocated funds to help promote
- $1000 for events related to the Veteran’s Day Parade
- $1375 for Springtime in the Ozarks
- $1700 for Books in Bloom
- $1834 to Eureka Springs School of the Arts for the Plein Air Festival
- $1000 for Nuits Rosé on Mother’s Day
- $350 for the Kite Fest at Turpentine Wildlife Refuge
- $1000 for the Fourth of July Stroll sponsored by the Historical Museum
- $4000 for the Halloween City
- $1000 for Voices of the Silent City
- $1800 for Out in Eureka
- $2500 for the Fat Tire Festival
- $2500 for the Antique Car Show
- $1000 for the Miss Gateway to the Ozarks pageant
Maloney suggested ways to tighten up the marketing support process, saying recipients were supposed to match the support amount, but that stipulation had never been enforced. He also wanted a written follow-up report within 60 days after the event. Finance Director Rick Bright said he would be responsible for the follow-up report, and if the CAPC did not get one the event would not be eligible for support the following year. Maloney also establish a maximum of $5000 for any request, and commissioners insisted an event promoter should not even apply without sufficient lead time.
At the July meeting. commissioners approved Maloney’s revised guidelines which are posted on the capc.biz site.
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
In his first full year, Events Coordinator Andy Green diversified entertainment for the Basin Park Music Series and various festivals.
The Basin Park Music Series, free music on the third Saturday each month, featured Luke Winslow-King, Jonathan Byrd and the Pickup Cowboys, Selwyn Birchwood, the Cate Brothers, A Boy Named Banjo, Lonesome Road, Christie Lenée, Spook Handy, Blair Crimmons and the Hookers, Picanté, and Matt and Gus Smith, among others.
There were more than 30 shows in the Auditorium, iincluding Asleep at the Wheel; Willo Mancifoot, the Musical; the US Air Force Rock Band; Adam Cunningham and the Wilson Brothers; Carolyn Wonderland and Coco Montoya; Larry Carlton; the Ben Miller Band; Still on the Hill; Christie Lenée, Sierra Hull and Funky Feat, and Barret Baber.
Other performances included Carroll County Community Orchestra, John Two Hawks, Opera in the Ozarks, Del Shores, the Candidates Forum and, of course, the Magic Men.
The Folk Festival also included folk art activities at the Community Center such as butter churning, storytelling, instrument making, blacksmithing and others.
When budget-planning time arrived in October, Green and Maloney proposed a new strategy for 2019. Green asked for $200,000 for the year but for commissioners not to assign specific amounts for various festivals, saying the traditional game plan restricted what he could do. He had no problem staying within whatever amount was approved, but said he could produce better quality with more flexibility. Commissioners were cautious at first but eventually approved his plan.
Maloney said the commission needed a more defined vision for the future of the Auditorium, and Green asked for an amount up to $100,000, which could come from their reserve fund, to hire someone to help them devise a long-range plan for how to support and maintain the Auditorium. The idea evoked a vigorous discussion, which will carry over into 2019.
High Fives for telling others who and where we are
Sales Director Karen Pryor won the coveted International Travel Alliance Partners 2018 Spirit Award at the global conference held in New Jersey in June.
Maloney said Pryor has been telling hundreds of thousands of people about Eureka Springs for 10 years, and “the Spirit Award is based upon the individual’s enthusiasm, professionalism, providing outstanding service to the community they represent, and the overall positive attitude.” He added this was one of TAP’s most prestigious awards and it recognized the individual as “truly remarkable.”
Other events
- Springtime in the Ozarks brought in 2000 participants to town. So many attended the opening event it had to be held at both the Inn of the Ozarks and the Auditorium.
- The month-long May Festival of the Arts included new events such as chalk art in the City Hall parking lot and buskers at various locations around town. There was a Plein Air Festival, Books in Bloom, the White Street Walk, gallery strolls and more.
- Eighteen tour writers said they were “happily stunned by Eureka Springs.”
- The Fat Tire Festival and the Eurekan Multi-Sport Event brought hundreds of the athletic and daring and their families to town. Maloney announced the Fat Tire promoters were seeking someone else to run the event because it has grown so much.
- Maloney worked with Chamber of Commerce Director Paul Miller on a plan whereby CAPC would purchase a certain amount of space to promote the entire town in an expanded 2019 Visitor Guide, but after much deliberation commissioners voted down the idea.
- There were Halloween-themed events throughout October culminating in the Zombie Crawl which drew thousands from all over the country to look undead in downtown Eureka Springs.
- As part of promoting Eureka Springs, Maloney engaged videographer Edward Robison to develop a series of 30-second themed videos to be released throughout the year, and they received rave reviews. Maloney used them in his outreach online and for television spots in targeted markets.
- The Arkansas.Com website will list Eureka Springs on the front page of the site starting January 1. The state budgeted over $9,000,000 to promote the site nationally which means a substantial entry into national exposure for Eureka Springs. The CAPC will provide tax collectors and businesses the opportunity to purchase ad space within the site.
- At the Dec. 12 meeting, Bright announced collections through the end of October were up 2.7 percent over the same period in 2017.
- Maloney and Rightmind Advertising are developing new branding components for Eureka Springs to be unveiled during 2019.