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By KEVIN NEVERS If you haven’t already booked your hotel room for the Wizard of Oz Festival, you may be out of luck. In an informal poll conducted this morning of select hotels in Chesterton, Portage, and Valparaiso, the Chesterton Tribune has learned that accommodations in Porter County are likely to be hard to find this weekend. “We’re sold out,” said Dave Sassanella, general manager of the Holiday Inn Express in Valparaiso. Not only sold out, though, but sold out to folks making their pilgrimage to the Emerald City from way out-of-state. Guests include residents of Michigan, Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio, and--of all places--Australia, Sassanella said.The Best Western Indian Oak in Chesterton, meanwhile, reported “low availability” for Saturday and the Hampton Inn in Portage the same. For Lorelei Weimer it’s no surprise that the reincarnation of the festival has generated a positive buzz in the Oz community. “The theme is really what’s always brought people to the festival,” she said. “ And the festival is sticking to that theme and it’s also sticking to its roots by returning to Chesterton. There were some bumpy years after it left to go to the Expo Center, so people are pretty excited about its return to Chesterton.” Weimer gave all credit to the Duneland Business Initiative Group, which has resurrected the festival and done an admirable job of organizing it. “They did their homework,” she said. “They did their due diligence. They talked to the people they really needed to talk to, the old timers and seasoned vets who knew exactly what has to happen to make it work. And they stuck to the theme.” Weimer noted that a 1999 study of the economic impact of Porter County events showed that Oz Fest was the No. 1 draw of visitors from outside Northwest Indiana, that is, from outside the tri-county region of Porter, Lake, and LaPorte counties. And it was the No. 2 driver--behind Elvis Fest--of paid overnight accommodations, and the No. 2 driver--again behind Elvis Fest--of expenditure per person. The big number: 10 years ago Oz Fest was estimated to have an overall economic impact of $3 million. Weimer doubts whether those numbers have changed very much since 1999, since the festival still holds enormous appeal for its three core constituencies, she said. First, the family market. Kids still love the film and parents still love to give their children a taste of the magic. “That’s not going away.” Second, Dunelanders themselves, Weimer said, who--incidentally deprived of a hometown festival for some time-- are probably looking forward to visiting Downtown Chesterton for all the fun and food and shopping. And finally, the quasi-professional Oz fans and memorabilia collectors, who Weimer said are stoked to be back in Chesterton where it all began. One last thing, Weimer remarked. Those who recall that exactly a year ago the heavens opened and dropped over a foot of rain on Porter County will be pleased by this weekend’s weather forecast: sunny and pleasant.
Posted 9/18/2009 |
