In the late spring and early summer, my office devolves into a racket at least three or four times a day.
It’s not my almost-two-year-old; she’s been in daycare for a while now despite an extra playpen and bouncer still taking up space in my office. It’s not my future intermediate-schooler; OK maybe sometimes she contributes. It’s not the visitors to the office and it’s not the phones — it’s birds.
For as long as I can remember having this office, every year, a Robin squeezes into the building through the end of our siding and builds a nest just inside on top of the ceiling tiles no more than 30 feet from where I sit.
When mom brings food, you can’t hear yourself think over the chirping for a few minutes. As time passes and the youngsters venture out of the nest, the first attempt at flight is a tough one.
Most make it, but this year, one made it only as far as our sidewalk. Our oldest was off the bus by that time and noticed the little guy chirping at us in front of the window.
Sometimes, she’s an animal whisperer (Lord help me), and before we knew it, the little fella was inside the office in a box with our daughter looking for things to feed him and make his box more like a home.
This lasted a few hours before we finally convinced her to put the bird outside. A few minutes later, he managed to fly off.
Taking on something new — like a city festival or event — can run the gamut of results from success to failure. Much like our little Robin friend, Outdoor Days is taking a bit of nurturing but is prepared and primed to take flight.
First off, credit should go to the organizers of Outdoor Days, a large chunk to Element 79 Media Group, as the festival was conceived, organized and executed in only a few months. Feedback from a variety of event attendees and participants indicated it seemed as if Outdoor Days was much further along in the making.
Attendance-wise, there is room for growth, but the main goal of bringing more people in than TroutFest appears to be a success.
Using the Placer.ai software the city of Cassville, Element 79 and the Industrial Development Corporation have invested in, we can see more than 3,700 people visited Cassville South Park over the three-day period that include a concert by the Isaacs on June 1 and free swim day and a disc golf tournament on June 3.
TroutFest, the one-day event at the park in 2021 and 2022, brought 1,600 and 2,800 visitors, respectively, and the 2022 event coincided with free swim day and a youth baseball tournament.
Though Outdoor Days overall was a success attendance-wise compared to past events, The Isaacs were not as big a pull as originally thought. About a third of the predicted crowd actually attended, but the event showed for the first time the possibilities of hosting live music at the park.
The staging, infrastructure, space and natural beauty of the area were all on display that night, and the professionalism and execution of the show is promising.
Add another live band fairly popular live band and Thursday concert attendance could definitely spike.
Another major goal for the city and Outdoor Days organizers was to draw in visitors from outside Barry County in the hopes they shop and eat in town and the city can capitalize on tax dollars.
From the Placer data, we can see at least 1,882 of the 3,700 visitors did so over the course of the weekend, going to the Walmart and Cassville Plaza Area, SONIC and McDonalds. There may have been more who shopped at other places, but judging just from this information, we can start to make some generalizations.
Let’s say those 1,882 people spent an average of $100 in town on food or shopping. That equates to a boost of $188,200 in total spending. Including general fund, parks and stormwater, capital improvements and transportation sales taxes, the city’s rate is 2.375 percent, meaning on spending, Cassville would earn back $4,469.75.
With Outdoor Days fetching a $30,000 price tag, the difference is stark.
To be fair and transparent, these are general estimations. I do not know what the average spending was. Maybe it was closer to $200 and nearly $9,000 in sales tax revenue.
The figures from Placer are also not broken down 100 percent. How many people not counted in the 1,882 maybe went to a local flea market or shop on the square?
Would all of that be enough to push revenues up to $30,000? I hope, but I can’t say for certain.
Like the little Robin our daughter nurtured, Outdoor Days is working up to taking flight, and the potential is promising.
Next year, there are aspirations of adding a band, aligning with the Cassville Baseball Club’s Roaring River Shootout and starting a pickleball tournament.
If each year, Outdoor Days grows by a few inches and entices another few hundred or thousand people, the benefit will be reaped.
Another major contributor to its success will be the community. Multiple churches and the YMCA helped shuttle concert attendees Thursday, the Rotary Club and FFA put in their efforts at the Rodeo, and local logistical support for the event was exceptional.
If that participation amongst the community continues and organizers can continue to build events into the three-day weekend, Outdoor Days will soar.
We look forward to being there when it does.
Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014. In 2017, he was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers, and in 2022, he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville-democrat.com.
