Well June is here, meaning Memorial Day has passed and many good times were had at Mayfair. This year saw quite a lower attendance from last year, something I can only attribute to the lesser-known headlining acts this year. Last year saw Jason Derulo, We the Kings, and Matisyahu headlining while the only well-known headliner this year was The Ready Set. In a Morning Call article organizers tried blaming a short period of rain on a Thursday night and things like the casino and the Iron Pigs for the shortfalls, both of which were around last year.
Their attendance at one point was over 400,000 people before it turned into a paid festival. Now they’re averaging anywhere from 30-50,000 per year. It seems some aspects of the festival also shrunk this year. What was a decent-size collective inside Mayfair last year, the Germanic-heritage Sommerfest was seriously lacking. In 2010 they had a German-only beer tent, various tents with German heritage posters and info, many different kinds of German food, etc. This year it was but a few tables set up together in the middle of a big grassy area. I thought the Sommerfest addition was pretty neat last year, however with how downsized and paltry it’s become it might be better off not being present at all.
This year also saw the main stage moved from the asphalt over to a grassy area. No qualms there…the tent seemed to be smaller than last year but I couldn’t tell for sure. The location was just fine for the bigger shows, however. I attended the headlining shows at B104 night on Friday, catching Sandlot Heroes, Shontelle, and The Ready Set. Local/regional band Sandlot Heroes was easily the best of the three and it seemed like the crowd was very into them as well, and marginally moreso for The Ready Set.
The food was generally the same as in years past. Take-a-Taco, Aw Shucks, and rootbeer floats were all consumed in bliss. The only thing happened upon that wasn’t that great this year was bacon-wrapped filet mignon on a stick from Made in Brazil. The meat was too fatty, bland, and overpriced. Was a shame too, because it smelled and looked heavenly. There was also the requisite destroying of the taste buds with the Stupid Hot Jose Madrid Salsa and free sangria-slushie samplers. There wasn’t very much decent beer on tap, with the only palatable options being Magic Hat #9, Spaten, Blue Moon, and Blue Moon Summer Honey Wheat. All told it’s pretty much on-par with previous years except for the discrepancies mentioned previously. Hopefully next year they’ll kick things back up to the 2010 standards and get the crowds back.
The Ready Set performing at Mayfair 2011
Peacekeeper performing one of the smaller stages at Mayfair
Shontelle singing inbetween Sandlot Heroes and The Ready Set at the main stage
Local favorites Sandlot Heroes playing B104 night at Mayfair
A very underwhelming kabob from Made in Brazil
Breakdancing contest
Some of the best root beer floats around
Take-A-Taco awesomeness
Aw Shucks should just be renamed "Aw Hell Yeah"
5 comments
You’re right about sommerfest – it looked like a bake sale more than an effort at cultural diversity! Without the german beer, it’s really not german. Sorry!
Attendance was very thin when we visited on Saturday. The weather was great, too. I don’t see how $5 a person is going to deter folks from attending – I think the advertising for Mayfair was very weak this year, along with a pretty pitiful music line-up. Personally, I’m glad the fence is up, but seeing no one at the take-a-taco stand made my heart break. I don’t see how any of the vendors made money at Mayfair this year. I worry if any of them will even want to come back next year!
Oh well, at least there was Spaten to be had, and my daughter got a cool anklet. For $25!!!
I too noticed very thin crowds all days whereas last year I remember it being much more packed. I don’t mind the fee either, and I too was dismayed at how few people I saw getting anything from vendors (especially the good ones, like Take-a-Taco). Hopefully it picks up and they do a better job with music next year. It seemed the acts were announced pretty late in the calendar as well. I had emailed them for a map before the festival to do a post on The El Vee’s picks of what to do and they responded with, “There will be maps available at the festival.” They didn’t end up posting a map until Friday, a day after it had started. Crappy marketing, indeed.
Another note, last year The Morning Call was a sponsor and they hyped it up considerably moreso than The Express Times (this year’s sponsor) did. TMC put out a big guide and everything that was available before the festival for people to see what vendors, acts, etc. were going to be there. Something like that for next year might draw more people in.
[…] We’re cautiously endorsing Mayfair this year. Last year was lacking, both in acts and subtstance. Mayfair seems to be upping the ante this year, bringing in new […]
[…] what needs to be fixed? Just like last year, we’re going to harp on Sommerfest, the little German mini-festival that is supposed to be […]