Time is ticking and the battle of events quickly approaches. The Pierce College Farm Walk and Vintage Market will both be held on Sunday, April 27. While two events at Pierce College on the same day can generate business, it might also pit one against the other. They shouldn’t have to share the day or visitors.
These two generally populated events are known to bring in a lot of foot traffic. Will Pierce College be able to manage both of these events on the same day? It may be possible, but they might have to compromise one for the other.
It’s already a struggle to raise money for one event, with two in the same day security costs may get out of hand. Safety for the public is very important, so it is necessary to have sheriffs on campus for the events. Having them there for both events may become costly. Neither The Farm Walk nor Vintage Market should have to cut things out of their events to make sure there is enough funding for security.
Parking is also a problem at Pierce College on an average school day. With two events on the same day, parking will be crucial. Whether they’re on opposite sides of campus or not, the traffic caused and limited space available will be an issue for them.
Busing visitors from parking lots to the event in shuttles is one of the tactics Foundation Financial Manager Kathy Zanghi is using to mitigate traffic, but without guarantees where visitors will be parking, this approach may yield little change to gridlock. Knowing there will be congestion in a parking lot can make people skeptical about whether attending the event is worth it.
The Farm Walk takes place annually and the Vintage Market happens every fourth Sunday. Many people look forward to both of these events, but they might not be able to attend both since they will coincide.
It may be a sticky situation to force people to make a choice. While the events have two completely different things going on, some people may want to be present at both. There are more opportunities to attend The Vintage Market since it is held throughout the year.
Having the events on separate days could be beneficial for both parties. If the events took place on different days there wouldn’t be competition. Issues with budgeting them at the same time would also be eliminated.
After all the time spent and money put toward the Vintage Market and the Farm Walk it would be a shame to see people not show up, particularly for reasons that could have been prevented with proper scheduling.
