The Colorado Pizza Festival was ready for 7,000 people. What they weren’t ready for? Everybody showing up at once.
Last Saturday’s inaugural Colorado Pizza Festival was one of the city’s most highly anticipated events of the year. But after the event closed on Saturday, an unenviable headline had taken over. Hour-long lines to enter the festival, 20 minute-long lines to get a pizza, and 90-degree heat with few options for shade sent many home a little unhappy.
How did it happen?
Event organizer and Urban Field Pizza CEO Paul Nashak said they sold tickets to 7,000 people and were ready for all of them. They had the space, staff, and supplies prepared to handle it. But, they didn’t expect…
4,000 attendees arriving before doors had even opened. Some had arrived as early as 90 minutes prior to the event’s start time. The bottleneck created severe congestion that organizers scrambled to ease.
Nashak said at most festivals, attendees’ arrival times are scattered more evenly throughout the day.
Across the next several hours, Nashak and Co. attempted to intermittently close and open new ticket sales to manage crowds. Crowd density eased in the early evening, but much of the damage had already been done.
In the days that followed, Nashak said he stayed awake into the early morning hours responding to countless emails from disappointed attendees. But, he emphasized that he’s listening and taking accountability.
“I want to make sure that anyone who had a bad experience has access to me,” Nashak said. Anyone still hoping to voice their opinion can send emails to Nashak at [email protected].
As for the game plan moving forward, Nashak said better preparing for crowd control is his team’s priority. He and other event staff will regroup in a couple of weeks and begin to strategize for next year.
On the bright side…
Festival organizers announced yesterday that, after expenses, the event raised $60,000 for hunger relief. 100% of those funds will be delivered to four nonprofits: Longmont Food Rescue, Community Food Share, Colorado Friendship, and Slice Out Hunger, with each receiving $15,000.
Staying positive:
Colorado Friendship announced that their portion is the largest gift it’s ever received. It’ll cover a full year of meals for the population they serve.