Arts, Beats & Eats Wrap-Up: Weather Hurts Attendance, Vendor Sales

Smaller crowds and lower sales reported by Arts, Beats & Eats food vendors are being attributed to the extreme Labor Day weekend weather, from to and cool.

About 330,000 people attended the festival in downtown Royal Oak, officials reported – down 22 percent from last year’s record-breaking attendance of 423,000.

Estimated daily attendance figures provided by organizers:

• Friday: 50,000
• Saturday: 75,000
• Sunday: 125,000
• Monday: 80,000

The less-than-ideal weather definitely had an impact on attendance,  but festival organizers were delighted by the crowds on Sunday and Monday, Arts, Beats & Eats spokeswoman Jennifer Cherry said.

“We had the largest Monday attendance we’ve ever had,” she said of the festival’s 14-year history. Many people came to see musician George Clinton, who was the headline act on the National Stage on Labor Day.

“Despite the lower numbers, we feel it was very successful,” Cherry said. “People came and had a great time.”

Festival organizers will release the amount of money raised for 13 local charities at the end of the month. Last year charities split more than $350,000.

Arrests and tickets

There were a total of six arrests during Arts, Beats & Eats – five for disorderly conduct and one larceny for a stolen a digital camera, Royal Oak Police Lt. Tom Goad said.

"People go to things like this to have a good time," Goad said. "But we have a game plan in place and it seems to be working."

Just more than 1,000 parking tickets were issued, Goad said, down from 1,900 last year. Volunteer parking coordinator Jay Dunstan said he thinks the barricades the city put up to warn visitors of permit-only parking on the side streets seemed to work. The addition of parking stations may also have played a factor, Goad said.

Festival is a hit with musicians

Crowds were down 40 percent Friday and Saturday, but the bad weather didn’t stop the music, Arts, Beats & Eats Director Jon Witz said.

Many festivalgoers left Saturday evening when rains poured down and winds lifted and twisted tents on Washington Avenue.  As people left for shelter in nearby restaurants and bars, they were encouraged to return when the storm blew over – and many did.

As many as 5,000 drenched fans came back and braved the wind and rain to .

“For me, it was magical to see all those people come back,” Witz said. “There was such energy in the crowd.

Those moments, while crews frantically set the stage for an , "had to be one of the highlights of all my years with Art, Beats & Eats,” Witz said.

“Bret had only 20 minutes to play, so he squeezed in all his hits. It was just great.”

The musicians were fans, too, with many taking to Facebook over the weekend to praise the festival and its crowds. A sampling:

• : “I just gotta say that last night at Arts, Beats & Eats it couldn’t have been more perfect - the band was so in the pocket. It had such high energy but yet it felt like a comfy couch. I love what I do. Thanks to everyone who came out -I really think it was my largest crowd at ABE to date! Michigan rules!”
• : “Thanks everyone for coming out tonight to hear us at AB&E! Some sound issues aside, it was our best show yet and we couldn't have asked for a better audience!”
• : “Thank you to Jon and Lori Witz, and all at Arts, Beats & Eats! A great night, thank you.”
• : “Thank you, last night was amazing! Good things are happening, stay tuned.”

Festival not ideal for all artists

“Logistically, the organizers of Arts, Beats & Eats are at the top of their game,” said Royal Oak artist , who works with a variety of materials to create unique and whimsical handmade clocks. “It’s very well run. It’s organized. It’s clean.”

Scherer said the festival does a good job on the “eats” and “beats,” but called the “arts” part superficial. “It’s more like a museum display,” he said. “They’d be better off having artists who sell tie-dyed T-shirts and cheap beer mugs. It’s not the type of environment that’s conducive to what I do,” which is sell fine art.

Scherer isn’t sure if he wants to come back next year. “I could have made just as much on a small two-day show without the mammoth hours,” he said.

Weather influenced appetites

“Sales were definitely down from last year,” said Royal Oak's operating partner Nicholas Filimon. “Unfortunately, the weather was a big influence. People did not eat as much as last year.”

Filimon said the crowd flocked to ice cream and cold drinks, but not to much else Friday and Saturday, when temperatures were in the high 90s. BlackFinn's staples are gourmet burgers, steaks, chicken and seafood. 

After the weather cooled, appetites picked up. “Sunday was fantastic and Monday was awesome,” Filimon said. “Overall, the whole thing was still a great experience.”

Volunteers get grief for $15 parking

Aside from a few volunteers who were no-shows and being caught off guard by the size of Monday's crowd, volunteer parking coordinator Jay Dunstan said the the biggest challenge he faced all weekend was justifying the $15 price tag for parking to unhappy drivers.

"I explained to people that their $15 went towards police and fire protection and the rest goes to charity," he said.

Dunstan used the as his headquarters. He said that every time he looked over at the police parking lot it was empty.

"All cars were out," he said. "The police, (Department of Public Service), and fire department worked their butts off. The DPS had four guys at the festival all weekend fixing things and moving things around. Something has to pay for that."

Dunstan thinks Royal Oak parking is a deal compared to parking at some events in downtown Detroit where lots charge up to $30.

"If four people come together in a car and pay $3 each to get into Arts, Beats & Eats the total cost is $27," he said. "That's a deal compared to four people going to the movies."

Dunstan said he didn’t have final figures, but expects several school groups to do quite well. "We had a lot of kids volunteer," he said.