“All through the festival, it was noticed how much it means to the community. It was displayed through attendance, pass the hat (donations) and positive comments,” said SAC executive director Tim Rowe.
Although being a free, unticketed festival means exact numbers cannot be determined, Rowe estimated just under 40,000 people attended, with the highest attendance being about 5,000 for the final show, classic oldies group Phil Dirt and the Dozers on July 24.
Rowe said the total attendance was about 65% of the attendance from a year with a full schedule.
“Our expectations were much less, and that’s even when the restrictions were lifted,” he said.
Jazz groups drew a surprisingly larger audience on nights those acts performed. Rowe said it shows there’s an audience for that genre and proves the festival goes beyond just tribute bands. Due to the potential of pandemic restrictions, a lot of smaller acts were programmed this year as they were planned before anyone knew what would or wouldn’t be lifted.
Other strong responses were to the rhythm and blues act Sly Band and the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s presentation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
The unpredictability of summer weather also plays a factor, but the SAC was again fortunate. One show was cut short after 30 minutes. At another, rain ended about 15 minutes prior to showtime.
“All that speaks to us being a rain-or-shine festival,” said Rowe.
Another area that had better than expected results was the intermission pass the hat offering for financial donations, collecting $40,000. While shy of the goal of $50,000, Rowe noticed people digging a little deeper.
He also reminds that collection is only a portion of the $300,000 it costs to program the festival annually. The rest is made up with grants, an annual campaign and various fundraisers.
Rowe admitted concern as to how patrons would react coming out of pandemic guidelines and was pleased with the results.
“A lot of people asked us how things were going and the Springfield community was respectful to some who wore masks and others who sat their chair farther apart and some small crowds sat farther back on the road,” he said.
With the positive response, it encourages Rowe for the future.
The SAC already has the 2022 festival planned. Rowe said it will return to its pre-pandemic form with six weeks of shows starting in June and running into July. It will include a Youth Arts Ambassadors production and a community theater presentation; the latter wasn’t part of this season.
“Almost 100% of the online, social media and in-person comments we got were positive, he said. “People were thankful this event was going on and that’s really humbling. We know how much work goes into it but to the community, this is a cornerstone event.”
The SAC will present its Showtime! series with four shows at the Clark State Performing Arts Center starting in December.
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