Do the VARF organizers mind if patrons bring in their own picnic baskets?
We normally head out to the parking lot for lunch. It ain't far- not like MDRF. We have in the past put the kids in the van, turned the AC on max, and thrown in a DVD on those really hot days. Gives them a recharge!
Quote from: Femme Falchion on May 21, 2009, 05:01:49 PM
Do the VARF organizers mind if patrons bring in their own picnic baskets?
I'll double check, but I suspect they are at least "frowned upon". I know that people do get their hand stamped to go outside to eat. There are a limited number of food options, both inside and outside the faire.
The Official Response:
We have not felt a need to ban outside food from coming inot the Faire yet, because we have not seen a lot of it. However, should it become a problem, should our food vendors complain, we would have to do that. After all, our vendors need to make a living or they won't come back. So, we need to support that.
One advantage of our small size is that our parking lot is not that far away if you should need to take a midday break. Hint.
We are expecting an additional food vendor this weekend for the rest of the run.
Just so you guys know, the small number of food vendors is, to a certain extent, planned. You ride a fine line -- you want to offer variety for your patrons, but on the other hand, the food-purchase pie, if you will, is only so big. 800 patrons will only buy so much food -- if you have three main food vendors, then they split those purchases between them, each getting about a third of the business. If you have six...then only a sixth of the business. And while more variety can lead to greater purchases, not THAT much more. So, we're adding new food vendors, but slowly, only as much as our growth can support.
Plus, we want to make sure that we're adding vendors that will provide good food that is safely prepared and handled, as well as accomodate county regs. Easier said than done!
Now, if I can just tear myself away from the kettlecorn to eat the "real" food....
I've been known to bring small containers of cheese & crackers, but that's just to help absorb the alcohol until lunch time. ;D