Wow – it’s been almost 3 weeks since the Blues and Brews and I’m finally coming down off the excitement. What a kickoff! A festival that I’ve wanted to produce for 4 years, finally came to fruition.
Within 24 hours of picking up the last piece of trash, I was already thinking of what I wanted to do the following year and how I could improve it, change it up, make it better. I did that for about a week, then went through all the follow up meetings with the sponsors to hear pretty much what I already knew about the changes that needed to be made and was thrilled when they all thought it was great event and wanted to come back the following year, and now this week, I’m hitting Oktoberfest hard, but still can’t stop thinking about what I want Blues and Brews to look like next year.
This event wouldn’t have happened without the staff members who were there the entire day – Jenny Staskey, my money Goddess and the best girlfriend anyone could have – her expertise and our weekly coffee dates keep me sane, Robin Sonni at merchandise, Chris Gold at ticket sales, Laura Crossman with Volunteers, Zane Jacobs in the Greenroom, Haley Seeger running around doing trash, ice and everything else, Kaitlin Hill who manned our info table and graciously took over our personal phones to answer questions (note to self, never use personal number again), and Emma Lansiedel who ran all our errands we want to thank you so much!
This event also wouldn’t have happened without two amazing people I am lucky enough to have in my life every day. Pat – my husband, sign maker, God of Electricity and basically the best cheerleader anyone could have in their corner. Jennifer Lynn Grogan – the best thing I’ve ever produced in my life and the one person who can make my vision a reality. My business partner, my daughter, my best friend, and the toughest negotiator you will ever go up against. She is the reason Peak Events is so successful, and she is the real reason this festival was so successful.
Thank you to everyone who came, everyone who cheered us on, and everyone who signed on to support the Inauguaral Flagstaff Blues and Brews. Honestly, this wouldn’t have happened without Bill Unkovich at Centurylink and our monthly meetings, our collaboration on marketing and the ideas and suggestions that he gave. Century 21, with Becky and Gregg and their team on board with social media, mailings and such a great partnership. Gregg, with his ideas and Becky, so much a part of the team and helping wherever she could. Academy Mortgage with their upbeat ideas and their partnership – Jer and Stephani are so much fun to work with. Alan Chan with Babbitt Ford, his marketing partnerships and his support for this was amazing. Steve Hallum, throwing his support of the Hallum Stores behind this was huge! He and James were great partners and we look forward to working with them next year. Camping World and their great sales team was on board from day one and they did whatever they could to work with us.
Thank you to the amazing bands who gave their all at every performance! The Buzzard Brothers, they are the closest thing we have to a good luck charm. They have performed at all our festivals and are great friends we love. Monday Night Blues with Tommy Dukes, Sammy was promoting us all over, everywhere they played and was so supportive at the Monday Night Blues at Monte Vista. The Sugar Thieves, WOW – every time they play, I just want to stop and listen. I think that’s the worst part of producing the festival – I love the music and would love to just sit and watch! Chuck Hall, another great Hall of Fame performance and so thrilled he was part of this. Sir Harrison Band with Jimmy Mack, I adore both Harrison and Jimmy. Jimmy was instrumental in talking me off the ledge a few times as I was trying to put the bands together. Jimmy was the one person who turned me onto the next act, which was PHENOMENAL – Sugaray Rayford Band – WOW! Everyone enjoyed this act and they gave so much to the audience and as he walked off the stage – dripping in sweat – Sugaray looked at me, smiled and said “You’re right, 7,000 feet is a BIG difference”. At no time did he give less than 100% during that entire performance! And then Tommy Castro and the Painkillers. Watching people try and get up on stage (Carin Woods – shame on you J)and dance, and then watching Tommy go into the crowd and play for 40 minutes past his contract, I understood why he won Entertainer of the Year twice! I couldn’t have asked for a better crowd, better bands, better sponsors – for all of you who attended – my friend Stacey said “ I watched someone’s dream materialize that night – all the work, all the planning and I got to witness a dream come to fruition” – thank you all for making my dream come true.
We will see you all next year!
Deb