Raiders & Invaders in Leonardtown

Hessian

Hessian

Well-Known Member
Big day tomorrow,...live music (British 60's++)...street performances...boat tours...vendors,...and booming of my cannon every hour (if I don't set off too many car alarms!

Weather: perfect
Opens up 11:30 am...runs well past dark
Enjoy!
 
mitzi

mitzi

Well-Known Member
Who was there for the British Invasion concert? What did you think? I thought they were great, they nailed every song. Good musicians and great harmonies. I'll definately go see them again when they're in the area.
 
E

Erk

Active Member
I went with my (grown) kids, had a great time. I could tell, however, they expected tons more people than actually showed. We parked at the fairgrounds, and there were maybe two dozen cars there. I've seen more people on Earth day. Very sad, it was very well done and an excellent family time. But I suspect they got about 20% of the turn-out they had hoped for.
 
RoseRed

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
Erk said:
I went with my (grown) kids, had a great time. I could tell, however, they expected tons more people than actually showed. We parked at the fairgrounds, and there were maybe two dozen cars there. I've seen more people on Earth day. Very sad, it was very well done and an excellent family time. But I suspect they got about 20% of the turn-out they had hoped for.
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There were a ton of people at 1230 when we got there. After lunch at Café des Artistes, we wandered around to Tudor Hall then down to the Wharf. Hung out there for a bit and took the shuttle back up the hill to the Square. There weren't as many people up there at that time (about 3pm), but was a lot of people down at the Wharf. We parked at the Elementary school, which didn't look full either. I think they did a good job, but I thought there may have been more people, too.
 
Dye Tied

Dye Tied

Garden Variety Gnome
RoseRed said:
There were a ton of people at 1230 when we got there. After lunch at Café des Artistes, we wandered around to Tudor Hall then down to the Wharf. Hung out there for a bit and took the shuttle back up the hill to the Square. There weren't as many people up there at that time (about 3pm), but was a lot of people down at the Wharf. We parked at the Elementary school, which didn't look full either. I think they did a good job, but I thought there may have been more people, too.
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Friday night was a small turnout, but we had a fun time. We were under the impression that shuttles would run to all the parking on Saturday. They did not. We did hitch a ride part way back to the elementary school. By 3 pm it looked like all the action was going to be at the Wharf. I also expected to see more people.
 
mitzi

mitzi

Well-Known Member
Erk said:
I went with my (grown) kids, had a great time. I could tell, however, they expected tons more people than actually showed. We parked at the fairgrounds, and there were maybe two dozen cars there. I've seen more people on Earth day. Very sad, it was very well done and an excellent family time. But I suspect they got about 20% of the turn-out they had hoped for.
Click to expand...

I noticed that too and wondered why. Also, I thought maybe it didn't look as crowded as it should because everything was so spread out and not just in the square.
 
RoseRed

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
Dye Tied said:
Friday night was a small turnout, but we had a fun time. We were under the impression that shuttles would run to all the parking on Saturday. They did not. We did hitch a ride part way back to the elementary school. By 3 pm it looked like all the action was going to be at the Wharf. I also expected to see more people.
Click to expand...

Being this was first 1st Friday, I didn't know what to expect people wise that evening. Either way, the weather was perfect both days! And we got to see Kwillia both days. She and my sistard both found us on our street corner! :lol:
 
Hessian

Hessian

Well-Known Member
Spread out...was only part of the problem.....
You could tell a lot of planning went into it (access guards, straw bales, tents, performances, medical assistance, LOTS of vendors)
BUT...I would be curious:
How did most of the attendees LEARN of the event?
A) Radio?
B) Newspaper?
C) Word of Mouth?
D) On Line?
E) Signs?

I think some lessons should be learned about how to reach out to the public--I have participated in similar events that ended up going DEEP into debt because so few people KNEW of the event,...thus unhappy vendors & coordinators.

I hope a similar event can be planned around southern Maryland on an annual basis (Prince Fred?..LaPlata?...Lower Marlboro?.. Benedict?)...tourism could be a wonderful boost for the local economy but publicity is SOOO essential.

My gun crew did well with the cannon, even a few of my young people got the chance to fire muskets. The lads looked good on the drill. Ladies did GREAT cooking in that heat.

Good to hear the public enjoyed the event!,...just needed MORE.
 
Dye Tied

Dye Tied

Garden Variety Gnome
Hessian said:
Spread out...was only part of the problem.....
You could tell a lot of planning went into it (access guards, straw bales, tents, performances, medical assistance, LOTS of vendors)
BUT...I would be curious:
How did most of the attendees LEARN of the event?
A) Radio?
B) Newspaper?
C) Word of Mouth?
D) On Line?
E) Signs?

C-D and E
Click to expand...
 
mitzi

mitzi

Well-Known Member
:yay:
Hessian said:
Spread out...was only part of the problem.....
You could tell a lot of planning went into it (access guards, straw bales, tents, performances, medical assistance, LOTS of vendors)
BUT...I would be curious:
How did most of the attendees LEARN of the event?
A) Radio?
B) Newspaper?
C) Word of Mouth?
D) On Line?
E) Signs?

I think some lessons should be learned about how to reach out to the public--I have participated in similar events that ended up going DEEP into debt because so few people KNEW of the event,...thus unhappy vendors & coordinators.

I hope a similar event can be planned around southern Maryland on an annual basis (Prince Fred?..LaPlata?...Lower Marlboro?.. Benedict?)...tourism could be a wonderful boost for the local economy but publicity is SOOO essential.

My gun crew did well with the cannon, even a few of my young people got the chance to fire muskets. The lads looked good on the drill. Ladies did GREAT cooking in that heat.

Good to hear the public enjoyed the event!,...just needed MORE.
Click to expand...

All of the above plus I live right in town. I thought it was a good idea to have it spread out throughout the town. Maybe people anticipated too large a crowd, seems I read somewhere that over 10,000 were expected from all over Maryland and Northern Virginia and that's what kept the locals away. I think it was very well planned with plenty to do for adults and kids. :yay:
 
L

ltown81

Member
I did not go....but here are a few thoughts of the marketing I saw..and why thing may have flamed out. ( I do this for a living)

Raiders & Invaders....aren't they the same thing? The name is an oxymoron, and honestly knowing it was in L-town, the Raiders part made me think it had something to do with the high school. It has something to do with the war of 1812...but it is 2014? Is there some special anniversary? I think the name hurt a lot. Terms for events like this such as "Renaissance Festival" people have a good idea what to expect. Raiders and Invaders means nothing to most people.

Nothing really explained what is going on? Was it a festival? Was it a history reenactment? A 60's British rock band? What vendors were there, and what did they offer? I think from what I see posted here, it was like the beach party, but with a history theme. The marketing did not convey that well and made it look like a bunch of people in costume doing history reenactments. That does not get a big crowd. Lastly, Leonardtown can only milk the cow so much with the same basic event with different themes. After a while you lose people's attention. If I am gonna give up a beautiful June weekend, it better be something amazing.

I do think there is a place for a Southern MD History Festival, it just has to be marketed right.
 
vraiblonde

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
The event was advertised on Somd.com, so I had a very clear idea of what it was about. I'd also seen the advertising a number of other places as well and their website laid out the agenda in detail.

You all who live in Ltown, how are the other Square events going? Big turnout for First Fridays and such, or not so much? The Town council and administrators are really working to make Ltown a destination, like Ellicott City or even Solomons, and preserve that community atmosphere. I'm wondering if it's their marketing or the demographic that's making this somewhat difficult?

I know when my folks come to visit that's where they always want to go - Leonardtown. They love the cute little historic town aspect and they like to wander the shops. Do locals enjoy that as well or no?
 
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