Carrie Bligh took the reins of the Savannah Waterfront Association as its new executive director earlier this year, but she’s had to contend with another form of H2O more than the river itself.
“Unfortunately, hosting outside events, shockingly, mother nature comes into play … and that did affect us for St. Patrick’s Day and Blues, Jazz and Barbecue,” said Bligh.
Bligh talked about the nonprofit organization that represents about 100 businesses along the riverfront during the Tourism Leadership Council’s monthly luncheon Thursday aboard the Savannah River Queen.
“We are improving ourselves year after year, and our data has come back saying that our attendance is up over last year, except for a few cases,” said Bligh.
Sweets on the Street, Seafood Fest and the River Street Art Festival all saw gains over the previous year, according to Bligh. Meanwhile, St. Patrick’s Day, the Savannah Bar Crawl and Blues, Jazz and Barbecue earlier this month all suffered from what she described as the “sad, green (rain) blob” hovering over the weather map.
The organization’s goal, Bligh said, isn’t simply to add more festivals but to stimulate the local economy.
“We do want to create festivals that aren’t just beneficial to the street but are beneficiary to the tourism industry here in Savannah and also to support our merchants and businesses,” said Bligh.
Bligh was formerly senior director of the Waterfront Association before taking over in January as executive director after her predecessor, Jim
Downs, quietly stepped down in late 2013. Her background as director of events for the Kansas City Royals has been useful as she steers the organization’s three-person staff.
Looking ahead, the group’s next big event will be the July 4 Fireworks Extravaganza at Rousakis Plaza. Bacon Fest, coming the beginning of September, is another new festival that will showcase varieties of pork-inspired gastronomic creations.
A pet-friendly Dog Days of Summer festival will happen in August.
Bligh said she wants to recruit more members, volunteers and sponsors going forward and said new partnerships, such as the one they formed with the Savannah Downtown Business Association and City Market for the Savannah Blues weekend, will be critical to making future festivals successful.
She said she’s also working with Savannah State University and Armstrong State University to collect hard data the festivals’ economic impact on the city and on analyzing surveys and food and beverage receipts.
“We want to be an organization for the community and for the tourism industry, too,” said Bligh. “It’s the three-pronged approach: We want to take care of our locals, we want to take care of the business owners and we want to take care of the tourists.”
ON THE WEB
For a full list of their upcoming events, go to riverstreetsavannah.com/events.