This year’s Hodgepodge Festival saw bigger crowds and all-around success, said Mountain Arts Community Center Director Barb Storm.
“It was absolutely fantastic,” she said. “We are so tickled. We had record ticket sales.”
Storm said 3,500 people were in attendance, between adults, kids, performers, 40 volunteers, vendors and nonprofit vendors.
The event garnered more than $7,400 in ticket sales, compared to last year’s $4,200.
“Last year it was a bad weather day; you just can’t ever figure on the weather,” said Storm. “This year, the rain held off. We were very lucky.”
The official amount of money raised that is to be earmarked for use by the MACC has yet to be determined, she said.
Big draws to this year’s festival included The Red Girl, a 3-D printer and the kids’ area – complete with inflatables and face painting, Storm said. Nolan and Thrasher elementaries put students’ artwork on display, which was also very popular with festival-goers, she added.
“[Festival manager Dawn Skowronnek and volunteer coordinator Jennifer Verville] pulled out all the stops and magically made this happen in a short amount of time,” Storm said in praise of this year’s management team.
She added that she is not sure if next year’s festival will see the same management model, but said, “It can only get bigger and better.”