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| .FDA Members>Newsletter>2002_11newsltr | |||||
. Fairfield Downtown Association 1000 Texas St. Suite D Fairfield California 94533 Phone: 707-422-0103 Fax: 707-422-1256  garsondesign.com
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to main newsletter page FAIRFIELD DOWNTOWN ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER November 2002 Candy Festival The sweet smells of sugar and chocolate filled the downtown streets of Fairfield on October 12, 2002. The 2nd annual Candy Festival attracted between 30,000 and 50,000 people to our downtown. Twenty-four candy companies including Jelly Belly, Thompson's, Hershey's, and Gum Pals were in booth spaces within the two giant candy tents. The crowds began at 9:45 and didn't end until 5:30. Craft and non-profit vendors took up Texas Street between Madison and Jackson Street. The Fairfield Hilton hosted a candy making demonstration from 11:00 - 1:00 pm, featuring chocolate dipped strawberries. Pepper Belly's-"Fairfield Comedy Club" hosted a non-stop film festival of "Willie Wonka & the Chocolate factory" and "Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang". The theater was packed all day. Parents and children alike got a sneak peek at the beautiful new facility. Area restaurants were busy (to say the very least) all day long. Joe's Buffet, for the first time in recent memory, sold out of roast beef. Lorckey's reported traffic to be steady. Pietro's reported "great" dinner business, and lines were out the door at Alejandro's. Local retail was busy. Kim Cortes at "Second Time Around" stated it was her busiest day of the year, between Scouting uniforms and Halloween costumes. Fairfield Downtown Association hosted the annual Scout-a-rama in the FCCAís courtyard, and over 30 new scouts were signed up. Richard Lockwood of "A Touch of Faith" stated he had a great sales day. The foot traffic in front of his store and in side his store was constant. Children not only enjoyed the generous samples from the candy companies, but also were treated to great entertainment all day long. The "Bedazzled dogs" were a hit. Owen Baker Flynn kept children of all ages laughing and guessing what he was going to do next. Gordy "the Banjologist" was entertaining and a great learning experience for even the young at heart. Free face painting had a long line throughout the entire day. If not in line for face painting, then the children were enjoying the rides provided by "Showtime" productions. The great weather, the wonderful crafts, fun entertainment and candy- it was a combination that couldnít be beat. Thanks to all your Promotions committee and Board members who worked so hard on making this event a success. "Downtown Safe Trick or Treat" Halloween 4:00 pm 7:00pm The Fairfield Downtown Associations Board of Directors proclaimed 2002 "Year for Youth." In line with this theme they wanted to bring the youth of Fairfield to downtown Fairfield for a safe and fun night of Trick or Treat. Advertisement- This began with the 2nd Annual Candy festival. 1,500 trick or treat bags were distributed to the children with a flyer instructing them to return on Halloween and go trick or treating with participating merchants. We had 13,000 flyers distributed to the Fairfield/Suisun Unified School District and a small bulletin was on Channel 26. We distributed posters throughout Fairfield. Entertainment- Buzzardís Roost Ranch provided free spooky hayrides. Total expense was $507.00, with Associate FDA Member R & D Bodyworx, LLC paying half the cost as a sponsorship. The wagon was full all evening, and everyone who rode had fun. In conjunction with the Downtown Trick or Treat, the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts hosted a haunted house called ìHAUNTED.î It was $1.00 for children 12 and under and $3.00 for adults (or 2 for $5.00). There were long lines all evening. According the FCCA staff, over 750 people toured "HAUNTED" between 5pm-10pm. McGruff the Crime Dog made an appearance and entertained the costumed children. Armijo High School Band provided a "spooky" concert in the courtyard of FCCA. The band members were dressed in Halloween costumes and played two 45-minute sets. Merchant Participation- Approximately thirty merchants participated in distributing candy to all the ghost and goblins that roamed Texas Street between Jefferson and Great Jones Street. Many of them purchased their candy from a local distributor of bulk candy "Metro Candy." Fairfield Downtown Association had a candy station. We handed out 57 pounds of candy out of the 60 pounds purchased. Attendance- The children began to stream in about 4:10 pm and were non-stop until the event ended at 7:00pm. The crowds were estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 children. There were many families in attendance. Recap- This event appeared to have the elements that the Fairfield Downtown Association's Board of Directors is looking for. It promoted downtown businesses. Many of the merchants had people in their store as their trick or theaters tended to their task. Some merchants distributed "to go" menus or flyers advertising seasonal specials or discounts with the Halloween candy. Several restaurants reported their business up over last year on Halloween. The event promoted the safety of downtown. There were no reported negative incidents. Four cadets strolled up and down Texas Street, mainly to keep any bike riding or skateboarding under control. The event promoted that downtown Fairfield is a happening place to be. It is fun to live here, shop here, eat here and have fun here. If this event is to come back next year, we should include a pumpkin contest before the event and have the winners on display on Halloween. More merchants need to participate. The "Shriners" Clown unit should be invited to entertain the crowd. There were many positive comments how wonderful it was to be able to trick or treat with the streets closed and so many fun things going on. Many of the parents thanked us for having this event. Holiday Night of Lights Santa Clause will arrive on Friday, December 6th at 6:00 pm Our 40- foot Community Christmas Tree will stand at the corner of Madison Street and Texas Street, and will arrive on November 27th from Burney, CA- north of Redding. Santa Claus will arrive on a Fairfield Fire Truck, and will take gift requests from children at Barb's Deli from 6:00pm until 8:30pm. Local Boy Scouts will take photos of children with the Jolly Old Elf at a cost of $2, or a donation of non-perishable food items. The First Christian Church Youth Group will supervise Holiday Ornament Decorating at Joe's Buffet and Holiday Cookie Decorating at Rosanna's Bakery. Buzzard's Roost Ranch will return for carriage rides around a downtown loop. Rides are free, but a donation of non-perishable food item is requested. Live entertainment will be provided by a variety of local groups including Angelo Rodriguez High School Band, B. Gale Wilson School, Bransford School, Danc-Sing Stars Studio, Dover Middle School, Fairfield High School, Harbor Theatre Group, Laurel Creek School, Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, Napa-Solano Girl Scouts, Nor Cal Girls Concert Chorus, Solano Choral Society, Solano Winds, Sullivan Middle School and Word of Faith Christian Center. Merchants are asked to remain open until 8:30pm and offer goodies, Holiday Night of Lights specials, or seasonal sales. The Holiday Walk About will return, but with a revised format. Contestants will be asked to obtain stamps or initials of participating merchants on a game card to be dropped into any one of several collection boxes located along Texas Street. All completed cards will be eligible for a drawing for one of two bicycles, one boy's bike and one girl's bike. Merchants are not being asked to donate grab bag prizes this year. Cash donations are being requested for purchase of the bicycles. A member of the Promotions Committee will visit you to request your participation. Participating merchants will receive sponsorship acknowledgement in our advertising and at the presentation of the bicycles. Advertising for the event will include spot ads with entry forms for the Light Parade followed by standard ads including the schedule of events in the Daily Republic. Ads with color will run November 24th & 28th (the annual Gift Guide) and on December 1st, 4th and 6th. Ads are already running in the Breeze. Channel 26 will provide public service announcements, and there will be thirty-second ads and community calendar spots on KUIC. In addition, bilingual flyers will be distributed to Fairfield Suisun Unified School District elementary school children the week of the event. Entries for the Holiday Light Parade are invited. Entries should be decorated in a holiday theme, and be at least 50% covered in lights. There is no entry fee: this is an additional way to promote your business to the many people attending the holiday event. Prizes will be awarded for the best floats. New for this year's event are collectible lapel pins and sweatshirts featuring our fanciful Holiday Night of Lights logo. Adult shirts are $20, kids shirts are $12 and lapel pins are $3. Holiday Night of Lights is the final event in our season. Now is the time to plan the 2003 schedule. The Board of Directors and the Promotions Committee are interested in your comments about the events and the strategy. Watch your December newsletter for a merchant survey. Please complete the survey and make your opinions and needs known. FDA Meeting Schedule The FDA Board meets the third Thursday of each month. Meetings start at 8:30 AM in the meeting room at the FDA office (1000 Texas St, Ste D) and adjourn promptly at 10:00 AM. These meetings are not limited to Board members. All FDA members are encouraged to attend and make their opinions, wants and needs known to the Board. The Promotions Committee meets the second and fourth Thursdays from 8:30am to 10am in the FDA conference room. Please participate in this committee and help plan the promotional events that bring visitors to your stores and businesses. Board Changes With regret, the Board of Directors has replaced two members. Tim Sieferman (Bank of the West) and Darryl Carter (Carters House of Barbeque) were unable to fulfill their terms of office. Pending confirmation of the Board, Isabella Rogers (PharmaTox) and Judy Davis (Golden Horizon Mortgage) will complete those terms. Our thanks to Tim and Darryl for the time they spent on the Board, and our thanks to Judy and Isabella for taking on this new task. Fairfield Downtown Association Board of Directors 707-422-0103 Chair: George Fernando Redi Office Emporium -426-2659 capocsgm@aol.com Term expires June 2003 Treasurer: Nino Giacalone Fusilli Ristorante - 428-4211 ninonapa@aol.com Term expires June 2003 Gary Dyas (Associate Member) Community Home Lending- 446-6565 Term expires June 2005 Cathi Jasso Pacific California Realty - 428-1105 paccalcat@jccomp.com Term expires June 2002 Richard Lockwood Touch of Faith - 425-3393 Term expires June 2003 Tony Brantley Brantley's Taekwondo - 429-3744 Term expires June 2002 Brian Colla (Associate Member) Allstate Insurance- 399-3880 Term expires June 2004 Paul Manzo The Family Attic- 399-9640 thefamilyattic@telocity.com Term expires June 2004 George Romero (Associate Member) HiTec Cellular & Paging- 421-2189 hitec@computronix.net Term expires June 2004 Judy Davis (Associate Member) Golden Horizon Mortgage- 425-5314 Term expires June 2004 Isabella Rogers PharmaTox- 435-8042 Term expires June 2003 Bob Reich (Ex Officio Member) Fairfield Center for Creative Arts - 428-7760 rreich@ci.fairfield.ca.us Main Street Program Coordinator: Emily Low- 422-0103 emily@fairfielddowntown.com Staff:Sharon Trujillo & Sue Violetta- 422-0103 mail@fairfielddowntown.com City Liaison: Rich Atkins - 428-7572 ratkins@ci.fairfield.ca.us Back to main newsletter page |
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