News release from the Three Rivers Festival:
Severe Weather Affects Three Rivers Festival Attendance
(July 23, 2015) – The 47th annual Three Rivers Festival saw challenges this year due to the excessive seasonal rain, accompanied by the high heat and humidity.
Attendance started off strong, with the Lutheran Health Network Three Rivers Festival Parade on Saturday, July 11th. It turned out to be a beautiful day to celebrate this year’s theme, “Here’s to Zoo” with plenty of colorful floats and surprises for everyone. The masses then spilled over into Art in the Park, Crafter’s Market and the Chalk Walk, which drew huge crowds, filling Main Street with Art, Music and happy faces.
Attendance throughout the week was also strong, with no rain delays. Thousands enjoyed thrilling carnival rides along with special pricing on $2 Tuesday. Wednesday’s Family Fun Day was a great success with almost 1,000 Children taking advantage of the free games and prizes in the Hanning and Bean Plaza.
Thursday’s Heart and Soul Affair, found an audience of almost 2000 Rhythm and Blues lovers enjoying a perfect night of music and community.
Friday kicked-off two great events, International Village and Children’s Fest. Thousands enjoyed these fun and educational events before heading to see KC and the Sunshine Band later that night. The weather was mild for this high-energy show which drew a crowd that danced all night.
The closing Saturday began with a Severe Heat Advisory, followed by heavy rains and thunderstorms which prompted the early closing of Children’s Fest and eventually the canceling of the Pink Droyd / Straight On concert in the Hanning and Bean Plaza. The clouds passed through Junk Food Alley, opened back up and the Fireworks went off as planned, culminating in a vibrant, luminous ending to a sometimes cloudy eight days.
Jack Hammer, Three Rivers Festival Executive Director notes, “We had a great time at the Three Rivers Festival this year. Our attendance for the 2015 Festival was approximately three hundred and fifty thousand guests. The pending rain and possibility of severe weather did have an effect on the overall totals. Over the last 47 years, the Three Rivers Festival has been faced with bad weather before, we just clean it up, wait for the sun to come out and continue to create great memories.”
About the Three Rivers Festival
Three Rivers Festival, established in 1969, is a not-for-profit organization, funded entirely by souvenir sales, event participation fees, refreshments & entertainment tickets, and the generous support and sponsorship of area businesses.
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