Businesses reap festival benefits

Young musicians and their eager parents and teachers aren't the only ones to profit from one of the major events in Central Newfoundland.

When an estimated 5,000 - 6,000 people congregate in Grand Falls-Windsor from communities in the Exploits Valley, the Baie Verte and Conniagre Peninsulas, not to mention those from Grand Falls-Windsor itself for a week of performing and watching for the Central Newfoundland Kiwanis Music Festival March 29-April 4, the onslaught means money as well as talent.

"You have a lot of people coming in and that means revenue for restaurants, hotels and things like that around the community," said Sean Cooper, the executive director of the Exploits Regional Chamber of Commerce. "That's a major influx of capital into the area during the festival."

The festival also highlights the abundance of talent in the area, he added, which is a "huge boost" for any region.

He doesn't know exactly how much of an economic impact the music festival has in terms of dollars. The closest approximation would be the salmon festival, which typically generates more than "a couple of million" in the days leading up to and during that festival.

The numbers wouldn't be nearly so much for the Kiwanis music festival, but businesses, he said, definitely do well during the event.

"It is a major part of the year in terms of attracting people to the region," said Mr. Cooper.

What businesses would benefit the most from music festival spinoff? The most obvious example would be restaurants - especially fast food ones - and hotels. But if people are traveling from out of town, especially from smaller communities considerably farther away, they may decide to go shopping during their visit.

"This being the service centre, it's another reason to come to the Exploits region to shop," he said. "We are the major service centre off the Avalon Peninsula, and when people from the region congregate and do their major purchases, this is where it happens. When you come in and you don't have to be at a venue, you have time to visit our shops, stores and garages and to see what's available in Grand Falls-Windsor, and then to pop into a restaurant. People have to eat and pick up goods for their home.

"What a better time to do it (than) while they're here?"

Mr. Cooper also complimented Kiwanians on their tireless work in organizing the event and promoting the talent in the region.

"We have such an abundance of creativity and musical talent in the town and the area."