Don’t fix what’s not broken

**Adam Doleac, the final act on Saturday night of the 2023 Tri City BBQ Fest, played to a big crowd at the intersection of Broadway and Main Streets in Denison.** PHOTO BY DAN MUNDT

Planning is underway for the 2024 Tri City BBQ Fest, which will take over uptown Denison on September 20 and 21.

The event will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year.

Paul Plumb, executive director of the Chamber & Development Council (CDC) of Crawford County, said the CDC team plans to continue the traditions established in past Tri City BBQ Fest events.

“We don’t want to fix something that’s not broken,” Plumb said. “It won’t be a huge reset, but we want to bring in some new ideas. We’re looking at new street vendors and other options that would add a little bit to the things we’re already doing.”

“We’ve had good feedback from the public and we’re thinking about some enhancements,” said Crawford County Tourism Coordinator Drew Perrien.

Mariah Nutt, CDC office manager, said the bands, the Kids Zone and food vendors have been the most common areas for which she has received feedback.

Plumb said this year’s 10th anniversary may play into which bands are invited.

“We may want to bring back some of the bands that were very popular and maybe haven’t been here in a while,” he said.

The BBQ fest’s growth over the years is a selling point for bands that haven’t been to the event in the past.

“When they go on the website and see the crowds, that’s always a plus for them,” Plumb said. “If you’re in a band, you love to play in front of a good crowd.”

“We have a lot of bands that we’ve had before that reach out to us,” Nutt said. “They played here once or twice and want to come back. That’s always a good sign when the bands want to come back.”

Plumb said the CDC will continue to push for the BBQ Fest to be profitable and sustainable.

“We want to make sure it’s profitable so we can continue having it,” he said. “We are a nonprofit organization and we want to be mindful of that and also make sure we’re fiscally responsible in that we see a return.”

“It only takes one bad year,” Nutt said. “It would be detrimental if we don’t have some reserve funds.”

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She said a CDC goal is to make sure enough funds are always on hand to sustain the festival if a bad year were to happen.

The weather in September is never guaranteed, Plumb noted.

“Knock on wood,” he added.

Nutt said the next big effort will be to sign sponsors.

Many of the past sponsors have shown interest in signing on for the 10th anniversary event, she said.

Another task will to reach out to individuals interested in being volunteer managers for the various areas of the event.

“They’re the foundation this was built on,” Perrien said.

“A lot of different things happen at the BBQ fest that the general public might not even know about,” Nutt said. “We’re only a staff of three, so we can only be so many places at the same time. We’re thankful for the volunteers every year. We can’t say it enough.”

“One of the main reasons this has been so successful is the system that was set up,” Plumb said. “Those folks have stepped in year after year; they got to know the process pretty well, and have done a great job with it.”

Plumb pointed out that the past employees of the CDC were the ones who created the Tri City BBQ Fest and made it into the county’s signature event.

“We’re lucky to have it for economic development,” Nutt said. “It puts dollars into the local economy when people come here and shop and get gas at the gas stations. The local stores say they get a lot of people who come back to shop at Christmastime because they visited during BBQ Fest.”

For the 2024 event, the CDC will be at full strength for the first time in two years following changes to all the staff positions.

This year’s event will be Nutt’s third as office manager, Plumb’s second as executive director, and Perrien’s first as tourism coordinator.

Nutt pointed out that even though the CDC is now kicking off the planning for this year’s BBQ Fest, planning never really stops.

“When the last one ends, the next one starts,” she said.

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