Published: July 21, 2008 01:06 am      

CANAL FEST: Organizers already thinking about next year

Ask and most will tell you they’re pleased with this year’s Canal Fest events — predictable, yes; enjoyable, certainly.

That’s not to say there weren’t at least a couple of notable differences.

A new bar with a recognizable name, Pier 84, opened amidst the throngs of seasonal customers along Sweeney Street.

A mass motorcycle rally held in years prior failed to materialize, causing bar-owners along Webster Street to agonize some.

Organizers have cited problems getting paid last year as one reason behind the rally’s absence.

The event last year drew thousands of motorcyclists to the area — as well as customers to local shops, business owners say.

Craft fair vendors working in booths along Webster, Main and Tremont streets said rain on day two of that event Sunday didn’t douse their spirits.

These folks around here are really great, they don’t care about rain or nothing — they just bring their umbrellas,” Jean Place, one part of the mom-and-pop craft shop J&J Designs said.

Jim and Jean Place, of Rochester, take part in about 23 festivals each year and have participated in the Canal Fest craft show for the past four years.

Their custom designed glassware and woodworking booth is a delicate affair to pack and unpack, but Jean said it’s worth the time and attention required.

“This is all we do. Jim has a day job and he’ll be retiring. For most of these (here) people, that’s what they do,” she said.

Organizer Larry Denef took a line down the middle, saying, “The event was a success — the weather was decent. The attendance wasn’t the biggest we’ve had and wasn’t the (least) we’ve had,” he said. “We haven’t had any major problems.”

He sympathized with business owners like Randy Siford, who for 34 years has owned and operated Ava’s Place, on Webster Street, with regard to the bike rally.

“We definitely want to get that back. We got double barreled — our sponsor kind of left us high and dry and we lost probably one of the best coordinators (around),” Denef said.

“Some of the businesses — Ava’s, Dwyer’s, they’ve got a built in crowd,” he said. “And for the bike show, for the few years we were able to do it was a bonus — hopefully we can bring that back next year.”

Siford estimated he lost $4,000 in the absence of the motorcyclists.

“First of all, the city shouldn’t even charge them a sponsor fee. They should be glad to have them here,” Siford said. He added that he thought this year’s spectacle was “pretty good,” overall.

Siford also expressed dissatisfaction regarding letters he said his business was sent by organizers with Canal Fest Corp. regarding soft-drink prices, asking him (and all other outdoor vendors) to sell bottled water at no less than $2 per bottle.

The $2 minimum was decided on by organizers of Canal Fest — not Coca-Cola — and is aimed at street-vending only, Denef said. Among the reasons for the established price is so that competition among vendors is kept on an even keel. Coca-Cola was a sponsor of this year’s event, but the mandate came from organizers.

“That’s ridiculous,” Siford said. “Because Coca-Cola was apparently a sponsor of the whole event. Last year it was Pepsi, and they wanted the same thing.”

Pier 84, 84 Sweeney St., a bar which opened along with the start of the Saturday Concert series on a limited basis, stayed open full-time throughout Canal Fest.

The proprietor, Larry Pacifico of Niagara Falls, has held a lease for the property for some time prior to opening just weeks ago. The establishment will operate three nights per week, year round, for the time being.

Denef said he was pleased with the return of the festival’s duck race, in which over a thousand plastic ducks are “raced” across the canal for prizes, relying primarily on wind direction and the prevailing currents.

Denef said he is aware of calls by some for new additions to the virtually unchanged event — including rearranging certain attractions in future years.

“I don’t know the feasibility of it but maybe a night parade — a small, small version of the day parade,” Denef said.

He said there is a meeting scheduled for August in which organizers will discuss feedback pertaining to the festival.

Contact reporter Neale Gulleyat 693-1000, ext. 114.