2005 On the Waterfront Festival Generated $9Million in Economic Impact

Rockford, Ill. – Organizers of the On the Waterfront Festival presented by Associated Bank today announced the economic impact of the 2005 festival.  Survey results indicated that the 22nd annual On the Waterfront Festival generated more than nine million dollars in economic impact to the Rockford region last year.

“Beyond bringing great music to the streets of Rockford’s River District, the festival’s mission of ‘community advancement through celebration’ is about impacting the area’s quality of life and showcasing our community,” said Becky Genoways President and CEO of On the Waterfront, Inc.  “While over sixty percent of the festival attendees are from the region, people from 35 states and four foreign countries enjoy the event every year and bring significant impact the local economy.”

The results represent combined direct, indirect and induced impacts of the three-day event.  The total economic impact, including local expenditures, of the 2005 On the Waterfront Festival presented by Associated Bank was $9,050,700 and was generated by three main sources, tourism-related impact, local-related impact, and impact resulting from operational spending related to the event.

The survey results also indicated the following:

• $2.7 million or 30 percent was spent on wages and salaries of workers in Rockford and the surrounding area.  This additional spending on wages and salaries supported the equivalent of 106 full-year jobs.
  
  
• The tourism-related spending accounted for 40 of the 106 full-year jobs.
  
  
• $642,045 in taxes was collected for state and local governments. $483,192 for the state of Illinois and $158,853 for the city of Rockford.
  
  
• Overall, $3.4 million of economic impact resulted from tourism spending by non-locals attending which represents 33 percent of the festival’s economic impact.

Volunteers at the festival who conducted face-to-face interviews with festival patrons collected more than 350 completed surveys.  The survey questionnaire was developed with input from Enigma Research, an industry leader in evaluating economic impact of festivals and large-scale events.

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On the Waterfront, Inc. is a non-profit 501(c)(3) event production corporation that produces Illinois’ largest music festival, On the Waterfront presented by Associated Bank. Awarded the prestigious 2002 Gold Grand Pinnacle Award by the International Festivals and Events Association for excellence in event promotion, the Festival is held annually over Labor Day weekend and attracts over 300,000 people to the streets of the downtown River District in Rockford, Illinois. Each year, On the Waterfront helps over100 local not-for-profit organizations raise funds through the festival.  Since 1986, On the Waterfront, Inc. has helped area organizations raise over $8.3 million.

In addition to the festival, On the Waterfront, Inc. also produces Groove Walk, (May 13, 2006) an annual spring music walk throughout downtown Rockford, OTW Director’s Challenge golf outing (June 26, 2006), and the Stars & Guitars summer concert series (June 23 & 24, and June 30 and July 1, 2006).