We went to the first ever Downtown Sanford Bike Criterium today and really enjoyed watching the races. My oldest even took part in the kids 6 and under ride. We were disappointed in the turnout, though. People complain constantly that there’s nothing to do in Sanford…well, even when there *is* something to do, nobody shows up. Maybe it was the threat of bad weather (though the rain held off) or the lack of local publicity. Maybe it’s the fact that people have other things to do on Sundays like church. Maybe we missed the crowds (haha…not likely) since we didn’t show up until after 1:30. Whatever the reason, it was frustrating to see the apathy from the locals. We’ve only been here for 2 years and we’ve tried really hard to take part in the local activities. We’ve lived in several larger towns and cities where street festivals and other fun events are commonplace so it’s something we’d like to see happening here. Now I fear that the “first ever” will become the “last ever” because the involvement just wasn’t there.
Billy Liggett (the Sanford Herald editor) asked “Why can’t Sanford do that?” on one of his recent blog entries. I feel the same way. But then you see something like this and the turnout is so poor that it seems impossible to ever conceive of a truly exciting event happening here. There was stuff for everyone…not just bike riders. There were bounce house inflatables for the kids, a concert (no kidding, I’d say less than 15 people were watching), a kid’s race, and food vendors. Definitely a good, family friendly, fun thing to do. I’m almost embarrassed for our town. We’re relative newcomers (only been in Sanford a couple of years) so maybe this has always been a problem. I know we rarely stick around town on weekends. We usually go up to Apex or Cary or Durham to shop or take part in fun things up there. But with gas prices as high as they are, we are making an effort to find fun things to do in town, but it seems like the opportunities are few and far between.
I took the photo below during the last race of the day. We were impressed at the number of people who participated by riding in the races, now if we can just get people to come watch. Come on Sanford, we can do better!
Ruth Stornetta
April 28, 2008 at 9:37 am
Thanks for coming out to watch the Sanford crit yesterday. My husband and I came down from Charlottesville, VA to participate in the races. It’s always fun to race with spectators and it’s a shame there weren’t more locals watching but we really appreciate that the town is doing this event and will return if it happens again. We have been going to races in North Carolina for over 20 years and always find the racing fun and exciting. The event was well run and it was great to see that some people in the town outside the bike racing community were trying to make it a nice event.
themama
April 28, 2008 at 12:36 pm
I’m so glad to hear that you weren’t put off! We thought it was great fun and will definitely attend if there’s a next time. I’ve heard from some people that the threat of bad weather kept them home, so hopefully my impressions aren’t as bad as they seemed. My boys really enjoyed cheering the racers on!
Lou
April 28, 2008 at 12:44 pm
We went to the bike race as well and was disappointed in the turnout. Our child loved playing on all the inflatables that were there though. We just moved to Sanford last August and I wonder what all the families do with their kids on weekends. We are on the wait list for Tramway for Kindergarten that i believe has 6 full classes, what do all those kids do on weekends? i wish they had come out downtown yesterday i was fun.
Joe
April 30, 2008 at 6:33 pm
I have lived in Sanford for close to nine years and the local people do not seem to support much that happens in the actual downtown. Many of the locals feel that driving across town for anything “is too far” and yet they will drive to Cary or Apex for a loaf of bread. Go figure!
Part of the issue with downtown events, or lack thereof, originates with the business people downtown. Many if not most do not want anything that might get in the way of their doing business, even on days they are closed. The Chamber of Commerce does not support or push for downtown activities, and there just does not seem to be anyone working for the city government who is trying to make the downtown an exciting place to be.
It seems to be up to individuals to organize and put on something like this bike race. From what I know, the plan is to make this criterium an annual event if at all possible.
Parker McConville
April 30, 2008 at 6:59 pm
“Now I fear that the “first ever” will become the “last ever” because the involvement just wasn’t there.”
Have no fear IT WILL happen next year! I planned this event over the past 2 months after finding out (in February) an annual bike race in Chapel Hill was not going to happen this year. I was pleased with the amount of cyclists (192) who attended the event and 88 of them raced twice. A few others and myself were able to raise a substantial amount of money from local businesses and individuals and plan to donate $2,000 back to Downtown Sanford and $1,500 to the Lee County Greenways project. My team, Triangle Velo, plans to hold on to a large sum as well to ensure the event happens next year. This year I just wanted to put on a bike race but I was contacted by Ed Fry (concert guy) and a few local vendors who were also interested in the event. They set up for free in Depot Park and anything they made was theirs. All of them said they are interested in coming back next year in some fashion. That being said, I too was a little disappointed with local turnout. I did put 3 ads in the paper, went on Live at 9, 103.1 FM played radio ads, and some friends passed out flyers at the local soccer field and baseball fields. Next year I hope to have more than 2 months to plan the race and festival. I also plan to delegate some of the work. I moved to Sanford 26 years ago then went off to college and medical school and moved back last July. I have a young daughter and another child due any day now. Starting this event was as much for me as a cyclist as it was for my daughter who participated in the kids race and played in Depot Park nearly all afternoon. I appreciate all the local support and for a first time event with essentially 6 weeks of planning it went off great. The riders loved it, now we need to work on getting a greater number of the local public out to participate next year. Volunteers needed!! A passion for community is all that is required.
Parker
themama
May 2, 2008 at 6:55 am
I have been wanting to get involved in the community, so I would consider volunteering next year. I don’t know that I have all that much to offer, but I can certainly do a web site. What about a banner over Horner for a week or two leading up to it? Signs in local businesses? Maybe even consider advertising on some of the Triangle news outlets? When the time comes, let me know if you need more help!
Amy
May 3, 2008 at 4:46 pm
We too very much enjoyed the race! I had never been to a “road course” race and it was very interesting.
As a downtown merchant, I can tell you that our shop 100% supports downtown events. We are usually not open on Sundays, but chose to open (and set up our in front of our shop) for the race. We had a very profitable day and all of us who worked had a great time. I think the McConville’s did an amazing job!
I have lived in Sanford my entire life (with the exception of college) and it is a known fact that for some reason Sanfordians do not support Sanford events in a lot of cases. You can twist their arm with so many types of advertisement, but it so often falls short!
I am currently brainstorming with some other downtown folks about a monthly mini-festival similar to First Sunday in Pittsboro or third Friday in Siler City where downtown stays open later or on a day typically closed and everything comes out on the street with vendors, things for kids, etc. I would love some feedback!
themama
May 5, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Amy, what about getting some of the local schools to provide entertainment at Depot Park? Chorus groups, bands, orchestras, etc. It would be free music and you’d have the added bonus of attracting friends and family of the performers. When I was a kid, my school’s chorus and band frequently performed at community events. There were always lots of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other students on hand to watch us and then participate in additional activities. What about corporate sponsors…Wyeth, Caterpillar, Pentair? Having a local restaurant set up a bar at Depot Park with beer and wine for sale, if that’s something the county commission would go for. Food vendors of all types, from snacks and desserts to full meals. Maybe even themed events…showcase local restaurants one month with samples from their regular menus for sale, showcase local artists one month, maybe even local churches one month, etc. I’m just throwing ideas out there, and I’m sure I could come up with more in a brainstorming session because I tend to feed off of other people. I would love to be involved in something like this…I am SO bored lately and really need an outlet. Maybe go to Taste of Durham (http://www.tasteofdurham.org/) in a couple of weeks and get some ideas. That’s a much larger scale than anything we could do here, but it’s a well done and super fun festival for adults *and* kids!