06/03/2024
To get a ride company to come into a festival is a complicated task. To make pre-sale tickets affordable is even more of a task. We’ll try to explain.
Carnival companies have to travel to the destination days in advance, setup, then inform the state that they are ready for site inspection(after annual equipment inspection) , they remain on-site for the duration of the festival employing as many people as are needed to maintain each ride and booth. These costs are before ticket sales and the fuel to run the generators they use to produce electricity to run the rides and lights. (We couldn’t pay the electric bill it would incur nor afford installation of power to run the carnival). These costs are what the company has before you ever spin the first ride. These costs make it hard to be profitable for the carnival.
Therefore, festivals have to guarantee a specific base amount to secure a carnival company. The larger the carnival; the larger the retainer fee.
Look at the population of our little town and the low number of people who turn out to ride.
To meet that base rate we decide on a price for pre-sale tickets to cover that amount. We usually sell all of our presale tickets - we did not come close this year - we have to make up the difference.
We cannot predict the weather. Festival planning takes months and a ton of work festival week; we can’t just say oh well we will just open up tomorrow because we couldn’t safely run today. Each of the vendors, including bands have schedules they have to follow, and we aren’t the only ones on it. The carnival company came out in the hole, the festival came out in the hole. We had to pay a huge difference in the base, which we have always met easily in the past. We cannot refund, wish we could; but it is impossible. We needed to sell 500 tickets, only 327 were sold. 3 of the 4 sessions were open for riding; only one was unable to be run. To profit they, the carnival, would have needed at festival ticket sales, but there were very few at festival sales due to low attendance and of course weather.
We are sorry that all tickets weren’t redeemed, but we could not have children hurt by walking in standing water with live electric cords and the danger of additional rain, softening the ground more causing rides to become unstable and possibly overturn.
Closing was not a quick or simple decision; it did and still does hurt us to close it down knowing how upset people would be and what our losses would be. The bands were the same problem. We had water puddles on the stage. Friday evening we were able to get it dried up, but Saturday the rain and wind just kept coming. The sound equipment and band instruments were sitting in water. Electrical lines were soaking in the puddles. We certainly couldn’t pay to replace their equipment. More importantly, We wouldn’t want anyone electrocuted trying to play for us. The lightening was an issue. We do still have to partial pay bands when weather disrupts their performance.
We do not know what or if next year will be, only time will tell. We and you, as well as our generous sponsors were and are disappointed.
Thank you for your support of our little festival we- love doing good things with the funds it has produced!
Know that the work of bringing it to life is /has been time consuming and hard work on the hand full of us who have been doing it these last 14 years as well as our families who have become volunteers, well, actually volun-tolds.
We love you all and are praying for a no hurricane season. Be safe and be thankful everyday - we are!
The KSSHFA
Krotz Springs
