Long story short
The first year of the Two Step Inn Festival was held in Georgetown on April 15-16. The original agreement between the city of Georgetown and C2 Acquisitions, LLC, allows for two renewals, the first of which was approved unanimously by Georgetown City Council on May 23.
Quote of note
“Almost every response I had about this event was positive,” District 2 Council Member Shawn Hood said. “One of the nicest things I heard over and over was, ‘And it was done before 10 p.m.’ So we had a great party, we had a great time, and then it ended at what people perceive to be a reasonable hour.”
The details
The Friends of Georgetown Parks and Recreation received over $1.2 million from the festival. Those dollars will go toward the Georgetown Parks and Recreation Department in the form of capital improvements, scholarships and programs. City officials also expect to see an increase in sales tax collections due to the increased traffic in the community.
While council members and parks staff deemed the country music festival event a success, they also pointed out areas for improvement next year.
“We didn’t know what we didn’t know,” Parks and Recreation Director Kimberly Garrett said.
Garrett said an after-action review with staff was conducted, and the city found the demand for shuttle parking outpaced the supply.
According to officials, the cell service area was overloaded due to the increased number of people in the park. City staff are already in conversations with AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to determine how improvements can be made next year.
During the two-day event, some brick-and-mortar business officials reported a loss of business due to no parking signs and road closures around the park. During the public comment portion of the meeting, Zydeco Ice owner Patricia Crampton said while she thinks the festival is a “great idea,” she noticed roughly an 85% drop in business the Saturday of the event.
What else?
City officials previously reported the festival’s promoter—C3 Presents—was interested in expanding the event to three days. However, the renewal agreement calls for another two-day festival with proposed dates of April 20-21, 2024. City officials and the promoter also plan to increase the number of tickets available to 35,000 for next year’s Two Step Inn, in addition to changing the process so more Georgetown residents have earlier access to purchase passes.
