Submitted by Ocean Shores Beach Blast
The Ocean Shores Beach Blast opened its first ever-festival day on Saturday, July 11 to blowing rain and non-stop live music. The festival managers moved many of the vendors that were set up in the parking lot into the Ocean Shores Convention Center Lobby, while the musicians, food vendors and s’mores campfires all started cooking.
While the music blasted out to damp and enthusiastic audiences outside, inside the vendors were breaking personal sales records. The relationship with TriFeaks and the Half-Toughman Triathlon was a perfect fit as hundreds of athletes and their families and fans visited during their check-in, and the rain steered hundreds more visitors into the Convention Center. One “first-time” vendor said she doubled her normal online sales in just a few hours of talking to people at the festival. Over half the vendors inside said that they had set “personal best” sales records for one-day sales.
Meantime, outdoors continued to rain, drizzle and blow music and the smell of barbecue all over downtown. People continued to listen and dance to the music. s’mores were cooked over campfires by visitors. Others dug into hamburgers, hotdogs, garlic fries and barbecue, and the demonstration for the wind-powered vehicles on the Chance a La Mer access road beach area drew a nice crowd to watch the gusty winds push them all over the beach.
“Next year we are committed to a three-day festival over the same weekend. Just think, if we can do this well with the rain on one day how much fun we’ll have over a three-day festival next year!” says Dennis Irby, the festival manager. Next year’s festival is scheduled for Friday through Sunday, July 8 through 10. Mark you calendar, make your reservations and bring your dancing shoes. Oh yes, and we’ll have s’mores too! Check http://oceanshoresbeachblast.com/. Or you can do a free smart phone download of “Ocean Shores – Something Fun!” for iPhone or Android phones.
