The second annual Festival of Glass on Sunday February 19 in Drysdale attracted more than 6,000 people - a slight increase on the 2011 attendance.Doug Carson, who chairs the Festival of Glass committee, is very pleased with the attendance. 'It shows that the Festival can attract a very large crowd consistently', he said. 'The Festival committee had no idea just how popular a Festival of Glass would be and so we were delighted and amazed with the attendance at the inaugural festival in 2011. We wondered how many people came just out of curiosity and whether the novelty would wear off. Well, this year's attendance shows that the Festival isn't just a novelty but is, instead, a strong new player in the world of glass. We're especially pleased that the success of the 2011 Festival encouraged some of this year's exhibitors to participate. For some of them, this is the first time that they've "gone public" with their work.'
The Festival of Glass is the only one of its kind in Australia and the 2012 Festival attracted almost twice as many exhibitors, from further afield, as last year's. Several exhibitors captured visitors' attention with demonstrations of their glass art and craft. 'People really like to watch people working with glass', said Doug Carson, 'So the Festival committee will encourage all exhibitors in the 2013 Festival to demonstrate their skills.'
Exhibitors pleased
Twenty three exhibitors (i.e. around half) at the 2012 Festival of Glass completed a short evaluation form. All of them said that they had benefited from the Festival; almost all (91%) felt that the Festival committee had communicated well with them; and almost all (91%) were happy with their particular site at the Festival, although some (8.7%) would have liked better ventilation. (Anyone who attended the Festival on what was a hot Sunday would be surprised that so few exhibitors were concerned about the ventilation!)
Of the twenty three exhibitors who completed an evaluation form, almost a third asked for improved ventilation/cooling next time; and around ten per cent made suggestions about the venue's lighting and decor and about the food services.
The Festival committee is grateful to those exhibitors who completed an evaluation form. It has taken note of each of these suggestions and will address them in the 2013 Festival. An analysis of the 240 visitors' evaluation forms will be posted on this blog in the coming days.
