TurtleFest draws record crowd

A record-breaking TurtleFest: TurtleFest broke records on many fronts this year, including the size of the crowd, which was estimated to be as high as 45,000 to 50,000. The two-day event started on Friday at Annandale House and continued on Saturday in the downtown, and again at Annandale House.

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

By all accounts, this year’s TurtleFest was a record breaker.

While official attendance numbers are a few weeks off, TurtleFest chair Mark Renaud estimated the crowd at 45,000 to 50,000 people.

The official numbers will be based on cell phone ping data from within a geofence set up by Environics in the downtown BIA area. The company has similar geofences set up in BIA districts across the country.

“They don’t know who, but they know the phone was there, and there most of the day,” Renaud explained of the process. It can also reveal demographics of the attendees.

TurtleFest coordinator Terry Fraser noted that last year the street crowd thinned by 3:30 or 4 p.m., but this year the street was still busy at that time.

Committee member Vanessa Fortner, who was on the ground for the BIA the entire day, agreed.

“The past three years, what we see is it gets busy from noon to three o’clock, and then slows down,” she said. “This year, all the way from 11 a.m. to 5:45 when it started raining, it was just a sea of people.”

She said the huge crowd returned with the evening entertainment.

“We had a number of food trucks that had to close early,” Renaud said, explaining that running out of food as the reason. “That’s an indicator of how busy it was.”

In addition, several retailers reported a record day.

“The impact of TurtleFest goes far beyond the downtown,” Renaud said. “The number of people who eat in town, shop, or put gas in is tremendous.”

Estimates were TurtleFest last year generated $1.5 million in revenue. This year, there will be more.

One change this year was putting many of the food trucks in the parking lot to the north of the Tillsonburg Town Centre with seating in the area.

“I had a number of comments from people about that, and certainly the seating accommodation for people was good,” Fraser said.

A last-minute addition of a giant pool with paddle boats, which was donated by Super Air Bounce Rentals, was a hit.

“There was a line-up at that all day long,” Renaud said. “The kids absolutely loved it.”

Fraser noticed the Nate Haller concert in the evening drew more younger people.

“It’s become a real party place downtown for young people,” he said.

Attendance at Annandale festivities were also robust. More than 400 attended the movie on the lawn on Friday night and there were 1,364 people who came out for Saturday’s events.

Another change this year was moving the Station Arts Centre’s Creative Imaginations Station from Broadway to Bridge Street. This is the first time Bridge has been closed from Broadway to Bidwell, and it was a success.

“The Station Arts Centre was thrilled to once again be a part of Turtlefest, welcoming hundreds of families and visitors to our Creative Imaginations Station throughout the day,” said executive director Tabitha Verbuyst. “With six hands-on craft stations, spinning art, chalk activities, mural painting, and face painting, the area was busy from start to finish.”

Fraser said he has been to a number of festivals, and TurtleFest is different.

“One thing that’s really special is the way the vendors get involved,” he said. “They’re not only selling their wares, but also having some interactive activity in their booth. That’s what makes it unique.”

Fortner gave credit to TurtleFest committee member and Copper Mug co-owner Kim Sage for a musical program that helped draw the crowds. She gave the example of Coty Robinson, who opened for Haller, saying Sage knew he had a big following that would bring people.

Sage was also the unofficial turtle keeper, leading George the Turtle around for most of the weekend. Fortner recounted one instance where she dropped Sage and George off in front of the Tillsonburg Town Centre and they were supposed to work their way down the street. An hour later, they hadn’t moved because there were so many people who wanted a photo with George.

Renaud said one of the secrets to success is TurtleFest is it’s a no-charge event. He said all the sponsors help in this regard, but in particular pointed to Execulink, TD Bank, Experience Ontario, Shaw’s Ice Cream, Tim Horton’s, Giant FM, Envirohaul and Spectra Sign and Print, who were the largest sponsors.

As for next year, Renaud said, “The challenge is there’s so much interest in TurtleFest, we need more real estate to put more booths out.”