by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
This weekend will mark the third consecutive weekend with a City-sponsored, family-friendly, admission-free event focused on the St. Johns River and Downtown entertainment.
Following an estimated crowd of 50,000 music lovers who attended the May 21-23 Jacksonville Jazz Festival, last weekend thousands of people headed Downtown to see the tall ships tied up along the Northbank Riverwalk for Sail Jacksonville. This weekend, it’s the fast boats arriving for the 8th Annual Jacksonville River Rally Charity Poker Run.
“No one can say there’s nothing going on Downtown,” commented Rachel Nudge, public relations director at the Landing. She said since the last week of April, there has been an event of some description programmed for the riverfront every weekend.
“It started with World of Nations the first weekend in May and it hasn’t stopped,” said Nudge. “Then it was the Downtown Players Championship experience, the Jacksonville Film Festival, the Mustang Car Show, the the jazz festival and Sail Jacksonville and now it’s the poker run. It’s been a whirlwind and we want to keep the momentum going. People are noticing what’s been happening and the events are bringing people Downtown who haven’t been here in years.”
“This is going to be the fastest field on the East Coast this year,” predicted poker run organizer Bill Pyburn. Of the more than 80 race boats already registered to participate in the event, Pyburn said, “Forty of them can hit more than 100 miles an hour, 10 or 15 of them can do 140 (miles an hour) and three of them can hit better than 160 (miles an hour).”
He also predicts an impressive economic impact for the city. Pyburn said boat owners and their crews are heading here from as far away as California. They have already booked more than 400 hotel room nights and he expects about 20,000 gallons of marine fuel will be sold this weekend. “Last year there wasn’t a gallon of fuel left anywhere on the river,” said Pyburn.
River City Brewing Company Marina is selling diesel at $2.30 per gallon and gas at $2.90.
Downtown is traditionally considered a destination for travelers engaged in commerce rather than leisure. Usually business travelers check out by Friday, so scheduling events on weekends can create a new market of guests. The 2009 Jazz Festival moved Downtown from Metropolitan Park and that helped one hotel have a record-breaking weekend.
“We always see business from the Jazz Festival but this was the first year we sold out the entire hotel. To be sold out on a holiday weekend is fantastic,” said Wendy Priesand, director of sales and marketing at the Omni Hotel.
In addition to room nights the event also generated income for the food and beverage department, she added. “We had more than 500 people attend the Jazz Jam Saturday night and more than 400 came to the hotel for the Jazz Brunch. The economic impact was very welcome.”
Nudge agreed free events that attract people Downtown are just what the local businesses need in the current economy.
“Having the river run through the heart of Downtown makes Jacksonville unique and there are many ways to enjoy that,” she added. “Having events Downtown is contributing to the businesses that pay taxes 365 days a year and we need to keep it going. We’re proving that if you give people an excuse to come Downtown, they will.”
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