 Lincoln Public Library
Director Richard Sumrall"For us it's a wonderful thing," said
Sumrall. "We get unbelievable attendance for the library's annual
book sale. We sell out, and this is a real money-maker for the
library.
"The Art & Balloon Festival is a fun activity for families and
couldn't be at a better time for us. We're all for it."
Used book sale:
-
Saturday, 9 a.m.-5
p.m.
-
Sunday, 10 a.m.-2
p.m.
It's a buck-a-bag sale with no limit on bags. There are also
other in-house sales.
The book sale is in the Pegram Room in the basement of the
Carnegie Building.
Local artist
Don Bode, Bode Welding
Bode says his welding business might get a trickle of increase.
But that isn't where he sees an impact.
Bode's been one of the featured local artists in the art fair for
about 10 years now and has quite a following. Most of Don's
metalworks are suitable for outdoor ornamentation. His stylish to
fanciful yard sculptures are a big hit there.
"Last year was about the best year I had," he said.
Retail shops and restaurants
David Lanterman is the co-owner of Beans & Such, along with his
mother, Mary Lanterman. David said this week that, yes, the balloon
festival is very good for his business and Lincoln's downtown.
Lanterman said foot traffic in the shop increases by a great deal
during the balloon festival weekend. As a matter of fact, they have
somewhat of a problem, though a good one.
"Foot traffic through our store is huge. Sales are very good too,
but sometimes there are too many people in the store to allow
serious shoppers to browse. We do hear that from the shoppers, but
we find that many will come back another time," he said.
Lanterman said they do extend their Saturday hours a bit during
the weekend to accommodate evening shoppers, and they try to have
their shop transformed into their fall décor items.
"We just have all our new fall decorations and items out since
most people are ready for that," he said.
Beans & Such is well known for its gourmet blends of coffee,
ground fresh while the customer waits. The store also offers a huge
selection of upscale home decor items.
On the north side of the square, Julie Tarter of Mary Todd's
Hallmark looks forward to the balloon festival each year.
At her store she sets up a sidewalk sale for the weekend and
offers some deep discounts on quality merchandise. She also noted
that the foot traffic in her store increases by a large amount.
"We have lots of people from out of town who love to come to
Lincoln and look in at all the little shops," she said. "We also
have a lot of local folks who have weekend visitors. They enjoy
bringing their guests downtown and showing off what is here."
Tarter said they do extend their Sunday hours for the weekend. On
a normal Sunday they would be open from noon to 4 p.m., but during
the festival they open at 11 a.m. on Sunday and close at 5 p.m.
Tarter also noted they like to be open for The Art of Wine, as when
the evening starts winding down at the wine tent, folks often stop
by on their way to their cars.
Tarter spoke about the festival in general, saying: "I think it
is great. It shows off our town, and people are always in a good
mood."
On the south side of the square, behind the arcade, is Guzzardo's
restaurant. This year Guzzardo's will serve the food at the VIP tent
at the airport on Saturday night --something many are already
looking forward to. But they will also have their restaurant open
during the weekend.
Frankie Guzzardo agrees with Lanterman and Tarter that the
festival is very good for downtown businesses.
"The balloon festival weekend is very exciting for all of us,"
she said. "Our weekend traffic is always good, but what we see are a
lot more families coming in."
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 And, on the far west side of town, away from all the activities,
Elaine Aue at Culver's says they see an increase in their business,
particularly with all the people who come and stay at the hotels.
Last year in particular, when the power went out at the airport,
they saw a lot of people who came in to eat.
"I think that it is a wonderful thing for the community to do,
and I hope everyone comes out and enjoys it," she said.
Hotel-motel
Best Western, Kenna Schaffer, manager's assistant
Schaffer said that the weekend festival definitely brings more
people in. Last week the motel was already sold out for this
Saturday.
"It certainly helps to be sold out," she said.
During the Logan County Board's finance committee meetings, Chuck
Ruben has noted that motel-motel taxes are highest during the Art &
Balloon Festival, and motor fuel taxes are always higher for this
time also.
Downtown business
Main Street Lincoln
Seth Goodman, president
Goodman commented on the festival and its effect on business:
"Each year it's the biggest weekend of the year. You have people
from out of town; people from in town are downtown, just pop into
the stores. A lot of these stores have sidewalk sales during this
time, and they've all said that it is by far their biggest weekend
of the year. I know they're all looking forward to it.
"The event is good for these businesses because of the hours. It
goes during the day and the weekend too. The Art of Wine has moved
its hours up earlier in the day. Many of the businesses have
expanded hours, and the traffic flow is phenomenal for them."
Goodman observed the strategic placement of the activities, with
the art fair in Latham Park, the craft fair in Scully, and Art of
Wine and other activities between. This leads people to walk through
downtown and pass the businesses from one end of town to the other.
"It's well-thought-out, whoever did that originally," he said.
He also noted that with the balloons out at the airport, it
spreads things out, and it's good for the community as a whole.
Historic sites and tourism
Stuart Churchill, Postville Courthouse
This Sunday, Postville, the historic courthouse where Abraham
Lincoln practiced law, has an 1800s Craft Fair from 10 a.m. to 4
p.m.
The crowd that the Art & Balloon Festival draws is expected to
bring more visitors to the Postville event and vice versa: Some may
come in for the 1800s Craft Fair and also visit the Art & Balloon
Festival.
The historic courthouse site and its activities are part of the
whole tourism package that benefits Lincoln and Logan County.
Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau director Geoff Ladd said that the
Art & Balloon Festival is part of the $34 million in tourism's
economic impact for Logan County.
[LDN staff compilation] |
