Although she is in just her second year as Caledonia Days chairman, Amanda Boltwood knows every year has its unique challenges and opportunities.
This year, they are bigger than usual on both fronts.
Caledonia Days events will be held Oct. 18-20 at Ola J. Pickett Park and Caledonia Elementary School.
“It’s never the same from one year to the next,” Boltwood said. “There are always a few new wrinkles.”
The biggest unexpected wrinkle this year came in July when the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau board voted to end its funding of area festivals in the wake of the expiration of the county’s 2-percent restaurant sales tax.
For Caledonia Days, the decision was an $8,000 hit to its budget.
“It was a set-back, no doubt about it,” Boltwood said. “We were expecting the get that money and had made our plans around that. So that’s something we’ve had to work around.”
Boltwood said her committee added sponsors and picked up a $1,500 grant from the Mississippi Development Authority to offset some of that lost revenue.
Caledonia Mayor Mitch Wiggins said the town contributes $15,000 annually to the event.
“To be honest, the money we have been receiving from the CVB has been in sort of a step-down process,” Wiggins said. “I think the last check we got from (the CVB) was $2,500. The idea for the funding that it was always supposed to be something that helped festivals and events get up and running until they could be self-sufficient. I think we’re getting pretty close to that with Caledonia Days.”
Another move to offset the loss CVB funding represents one of the biggest changes in the event’s 16-year history. For the first time, the Friday night concert will be a ticketed event — $15 for pre-ordered tickets, $20 at the gate.
The decision to charge for the concert was not only an effort to offset the cost of the concert, but to raise the quality of the concert.
This year’s concert will be headlined by chart-topping country artists Rodney Atkins, who won Top New Male Vocalist at the Academy of Country Music Awards in 2006 and has produced six No. 1 singles. Hudson Moore, tabbed as one of “10 Country Artists to Watch” by Rolling Stone magazine, will open the concert, which begins at 7 p.m.
“It was a big step we took this year,” Boltwood said. “It’s not cheap to get people like Rodney Atkins and Hudson Moore, but this is a direction I’ve always wanted to go in.”
Wiggins said he’s encouraged by the online ticket sales and believes the high-profile artists will attract more out-of-town visitors.
“Initially, when we first began thinking about selling tickets, there was some push-back, but I think it’s going to turn out to be a real plus,” Wiggins said. “I think there are 2,000 tickets available, and we’re already close to selling half of those through online sales.”
There are two more new additions to this year’s festival. On Thursday evening, the first Miss Caledonia Days Pageant will be held at Caledonia Elementary School, and a 5K Color Run will make its debut Saturday morning at the park.
Boltwood said vendor applications are still being accepted. She expects to have as many as 170 food and arts/crafts vendors this year, an increase of about 25 over last year.
“It’s an event that continues to grow, mainly through the work of all the people who volunteer and the people of Caledonia,” Boltwood said. “Last year, we estimated that 10,000 people came the Caledonia Days. The town’s population is just 1,100, so that tells you how much support we’ve had.”
For more information on Caledonia Days and to purchase concert tickets, go to www.caledoniadays.eventbrite.com.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.