An examination of stakeholder involvement and participation at rural festivals in Indiana

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An examination of stakeholder involvement and
participation at rural festivals in Indiana

• Carol A. Silkes, Ph.D.
• Purdue University
• Liping A. Cai, Ph.D.
• Purdue University
• Xinran Y. Lehto, Ph.D.
• Purdue University
• Thomas E. Pearson, Ph.D.
• Purdue University

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Festivals

• Celebration of culture
• Cultural asset to community
• Annual celebration such as a harvest or local
  holiday
• Local home grown experience
• Starts small and grows over time
• Rooted in resident planning and staging
• Greater chance of success with local involvement
• Serves as the cultural link resident/tourist
• Shared experience by residents and tourists
• Experience is unique to the people, place, and
  time

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Stakeholder Theory

• Festival network (Getz, Andersson, Larson,
  2007)
• festival organizations, facilitators, supplies
  and venues, allies and collaborators, regulators,
  and the audience.
• Function role (Spiropoloulos, Gargaliano,
  Sotiriadou, 2006)
• Functional perspective and ethnic origin
• Primary and secondary (Reid Arcodia, 2002)
• Direct and indirect support of festival
• Producers and marketers (Larson, 2002)
• Festival organizers and marketers

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Festival Stakeholders
Festival Organizers Residents
DMOs
Tourists
Festivals
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Purpose of Study

• To examine the perspectives of several
  stakeholders the festival organizer, residents,
  and destination marketing organizations (DMOs).
• To understand the degree of involvement and
  participation, attitudes regarding festivals, and
  the varying roles each entity plays.

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Methodology

• Case analyses of three festivals in rural Indiana
• Six in-depth interviews

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Selection of Festival Cases

• Regional areas of Indiana
• Geographic representation
• Industrial (Northern)
• Agricultural (Central)
• Scenic (Southern)
• Each region represented by a festival as well as
  a participating DMO

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Festival Criteria

• Representation from each region
• Festival existence minimum 10 years
• Agree to an interview
• Festival organizer
• Respective DMO

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The Chosen Festivals

• Case I Pierogi Festival (Whiting, Indiana )
• Exemplifies preserving and sharing of traditions
  such as learning how to make pierogi.
• The festival is a hands-on effort by many
  townspeople because of the towns small
  population.
• 70.000 attendance
• the Lake County DMO and the Pierogi Festival
  organizer

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The Chosen Festivals

• Case II Feast of the Hunters Moon (Lafayette,
  IN)
• A historical reenactment celebration of the
  outpost trading that occurred between the French
  and Native Americans
• Assistance of 1,000 community volunteers
• 100, 000 attendees
• Tippecanoe County DMO and the festival organizer

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The Chosen Festivals

• Case III Lanesville Heritage Festival
  (Lanesville, Indiana)
• Population of 600 annually hosts the three-day
  Lanesville Heritage Festival
• Small town celebration is a living agricultural
  history lesson with engines, tractors, and
  threshing machines

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Results Festival Organizers

• Festival organizers were all long time members of
  the community and advocates for the community.
• Participation in festivals began at an early age
  (high school)
• Display of home town and festival pride.
• Key in planning, staging and coordinating.

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Results--DMO

• Supporting role
• Believed in the need for involvement
• advocated their office as a resource for
  assistance and showed a willingness to help
• Involved in planning stage but to a varying
  degree
• Monetary assistance, Brochure layout and
  design assistance,, DMO staffer dressed as Mr.
  Pierogi, DMO staff assisting with set up, break
  down and staffing)
• More involvement in planning for younger
  festivals
• Marketing of the festival to visitors
  Yes/Yes/No.
• The festivals are perceived as an important part
  of what the community can offer, but have not
  been integrated fully in the branding or image
  projection.

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Results -- Residents

• Coordinated effort among residents, organizers
  and DMOs
• Assists with artwork and Signage
• Participation of residents as festival board
  members
• Volunteerism from residents for staffing
• Not-for-profit groups have booths at festivals
  (Boy Scouts, Local church, etc)

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Implications

• Successful festival require stakeholder
  involvement and participation
• Residents must be active to ensure continued
  success
• Communication is key with the coordination of all
  stakeholders

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Future Research

• Effective methods of stakeholder communication
• Develop training materials to educate the
  community on the importance of involvement and
  participation
• Develop training tools for DMOs to share with
  festival organizers to increase resident
  involvement and participation

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• Thank You!
• csilkes_at_purdue.edu
• liping_at_purdue.edu
• xinran_at_purdue.edu