Editor’s note: This is the second of two stories focusing on the eclipse and its impacts on Johnson County. Part 1 can be found here.
After the count of total eclipse visitors was released earlier this month, some locals criticized officials for over-hyping the events, leading them to over-prepare and over-extend themselves financially.
On the other-hand, others said they were grateful grateful to see what business they did get and understand planning for an event like the eclipse is an inexact science.
The Daily Journal surveyed some local businesses, event organizers and officials to see how those visitors factored into their success on the big eclipse weekend. Several people also responded to a call out for comments on the eclipse.
All this hype also seems to have created an environment where more tourists than locals attended events, people the Daily Journal surveyed said. People also turned out to Johnson County later than people had originally thought, with most coming in Sunday and Monday but not the whole weekend.
This all played into which businesses saw wins and which saw losses on eclipse weekend.
Hotels fared well
Local hotels in Johnson County largely sold out on Sunday and Monday, while there were rooms available on Friday and Saturday, said Ken Kosky, Festival Country executive director. Lower numbers on the early part of the weekend contributed to lower attendance at festivals put on by Greenwood and Franklin.
“From what the hotels told me, they were sold out on Sunday. And most of them were sold out on Monday,” Kosky said. “So, I think [eclipse viewers] didn’t come in as early because they were waiting to see what the weather was like. So, they did fine on Friday and Saturday nights, but a lot of people just came in just for the eclipse.”
Sarabeth Drybread, Edinburgh’s community development director, reported the same from hotels in the town.
Some business owners told the Daily Journal they wondered if hotels had advertised local events. Festival Country and the John R. Drybread Community Center each brought event fliers and eclipse glasses to hotels, Kosky and Drybread said.
“All the hotels in Edinburgh I know had goodie bags for eclipse-goers. We took down flyers and the Hilton had a really nice table display with all the events in the area from Columbus up into Johnson County,” Drybread said. “We took flyers of our event and we did hear from people that that was one way that they found out [about it.]”
Campsites at Irwin Park and the Johnson County Park were also filled, Kosky and Drybread said.
Debbie Speziale, general manager of the Hampton Inn in Franklin, said guests had eclipse glasses and information about local events and business specials and many took part in festivities in some way, whether by shopping, dining or attending events.
“We all kind of shared the same guests,” Speziale said.
The hotel had the pleasure of hosting a multi-generational family group from Louisville, Speziale said. They went out on the town, but camped out on the hotel lawn on the day of the eclipse. They pitched tents and made food they shared with hotel staff, she said.
Locals stay home
Gov. Eric Holcomb issued an emergency order and state and local public safety agencies advised people to treat the eclipse like a snowstorm. While over 100,000 guests came into Johnson County throughout the weekend, many locals stayed home because of the guidance.
Organizers don’t blame locals for not showing up, as warnings from public safety officials and the governor did seem to alarm people. A lack of locals lowered festival attendance, reduced business at local restaurants and boutiques, as well as events put on by local businesses such as Take Root Country Store’s Eclipse Market in Greenwood and Farm Girl Merchantile’s eclipse event in Franklin that would have normally seen a larger crowd.
“The governor issued a state of emergency and a lot of people heeded the advice to stay home and keep traffic off the road. That definitely affected the crowds in places like downtown Franklin,” Kosky said. “If the usual festival crowds would have come down and joined with the visitors who came. It would have resulted in exponentially more sales at the brick and mortar stores and restaurants.”
Unlike a typical event such as the fireworks at local Fourth of July celebrations, the view of the eclipse did not get better by watching from a certain location. Despite locals not having as much incentive to attend, Kosky and event organizers were surprised by the number who did chose to stay home. Kosky doesn’t fault people for wanting to stay home, since they had what they needed to enjoy the eclipse, he said.
In addition to festivals and public spaces, many out-of-town visitors joined with locals at their homes to watch. There’s no hard data on how many turned out to watch in backyards, but anecdotally it is clear. For example, Kosky noted extra cars in his neighborhood and heard many ahead of the eclipse talk about bringing in their family to spend time together watching at home.
It is hard to gauge the true split of visitors, but data gathered indicate there were thousands of tourists, while many who would normally show up for a festival didn’t turn out, said Chip Orner, Franklin parks and recreation director.
Mixed bag in Franklin
Businesses and event organizers around the county are reporting a mixed bag for attendance and profits. People surveyed attribute lower-than-expected turnout to locals staying home either for fear of traffic or crowds.
Farm Girl Merchantile had a special event where Mallow Run brought wine to sell, Enedina’s Taco Truck sold food and another vendor sold eclipse cookies. Shop owner Tracy Bohler was expecting a higher turnout than what she saw, especially on the weekend ahead of the eclipse. The expectation was closer to something she would see during the Downtown Franklin Holiday Open House, when shoppers come out in droves to get first dibs on holiday decor and gifts.
The advice from Festival Country was to stock eclipse-themed items and things that would be a good souvenir. Bohler approached that by stocking local goods like honey and soaps that would travel well.
Generally, Bohler said it seems like businesses on the east side of downtown were not as visited that weekend because they were further away from the epicenter of the activity at the DriveHubler.com Amphitheater. She and other business owners have suggested festival planners to consider spreading out the events to capture more of downtown.
“I don’t want to put the blame on anybody, but I wish things had been spread out more from downtown down to this area. I think that would have not overrun the downtown businesses, but actually would have helped bring some more business down to our end,” Bohler said. “Everybody flocks to food naturally, especially around lunchtime, which is when everybody was starting to come in. And when they saw those food trucks at the amphitheater, obviously they’re going to hang out there.”
Even though business was not as good as expected, Bohler feels fortunate to be in better shape than others. Restaurant owners who prepared for a larger crowd than they experienced have reported throwing out food and donating thousands of dollars in ingredients they were not able to use before the expiration date.
“Those are the people my heart aches for,” Bohler said.
Benjamin’s Coffeehouse and Bakeshop made about a thousand cookies to prepare for the eclipse, but those lasted long after it was over, owner Andrea Edgar told the Daily Journal previously. Other Franklin restaurant owners interviewed by local media similarly reported overstocking food.
Solar Jam at the Johnson County Fairgrounds had a much lower turnout than expected. With a band as popular as the Southern Accents headlining, organizers were expecting to see a few thousand people turn out, said Jerry Navarro, a local musician and business owner who planned the event’s musical elements. The band typically sells out venues where they play in Indiana. However, only about 23 concert tickets were pre-sold and some fans asked for refunds that day because the attendance didn’t meet their expectations, he said.
Bands who attended played a small audience largely made up of the organizers and their families. Organizers invested thousands to pay the bands, bring in a stage, hire videographers and more. The one thing they didn’t expect is how the main attraction — the eclipse — would ultimately impact turnout.
“We didn’t hire the star — the eclipse. Everyone was scared of what the eclipse may cause. It wasn’t anything we did, the bands were on time and the show was great …” Navarro said. “We were just missing the people.”
Despite the low turnout, Navarro wouldn’t hesitate to put on another show in Franklin. In addition to fears surrounding eclipse crowds, another factor was how fast the event was put together. Navarro came in with about 30 days lead time, he said.
Middle Davids Candles, which is located on Jackson Street right next to the amphitheater, reported great sales of eclipse-themed artisan goods and the special eclipse candle the shop made for the occasion. About 59% of total sales that weekend were eclipse-themed artisan goods, said owner Tauria Catlin.
T-Shirt Express, home of the punny t-shirt bearing the slogan “I Got Mooned in Franklin, Indiana,” saw record sales on eclipse weekend. The shop started selling the shirts in February and many locals bought them early. Sales shot up and up as April 8 approached, said owner Nick Gaylor.
“We really started to see the uptick starting Saturday afternoon. By Sunday it was all systems go. We had a steady flow of customers from the time I opened the door until we closed,” Gaylor said. “On Monday, I got to our shop early and already had people waiting outside the door and it never once stopped. At one point in the day, we had over 20 people crammed in our little showroom. We had the single biggest day of sales we have ever seen. I had to lock the door at 5 p.m. because we were completely sold out of everything we had to offer.”
How other areas fared
Outside of the Franklin, Take Root Country Store’s Eclipse Handmade Market in Greenwood saw about half as many customers as similar events the shop has held, said owner Jackie Eanes.
“It wasn’t as busy as thought it was going to be, which is probably what you’re hearing from a lot of people. But we still had a good weekend,” Eanes said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think we had enough people come through for some of our vendors who were here. Some had a good day or a good weekend, some didn’t.”
The event was marketed to locals ahead of the event and Eanes took postcards advertising the event to hotels in Greenwood. A lack of local turnout is likely a factor in the low turnout, though she did some people from out of the area stop by, Eanes said. During the weekend, she said it also seemed like there was less traffic and fewer people at restaurants.
“We were expecting it to be at least about the same amount if we just had local people coming out,” Eanes said. “But most of them stayed home. So it ended up being less than what we normally do.”
In Edinburgh, Drybread asked around to businesses and all of them reported increases in sales from 55 to 1,045% over the previous week. The town of Edinburgh eclipse shirts sold out and local business D.M.B. Embroidery & Screenprinting sold over 100 eclipse items and had around 300 visitors stop in, Drybread said.
During the festival in Edinburgh, the lemon shake-up vendor and all of the food vendors sold out too, she said.
Events in Bargersville at Taxman Brewing Co. and Mallow Winery both reported several hundred people in attendance, while Kelsay Farms in Whiteland sold out of the 300 viewing spots they had available, Kosky said.
Overprepared?
Kosky has heard both criticism and positive feedback from businesses and people who put on events. The advice he gave to business owners who asked and the advice he shared via the media was to consider having eclipse-themed food or items, to be open and to create a memorable experience for tourists.
In the lead-up to the eclipse, some reports from Indianapolis media were estimating there could be 300,000 to 500,000 visitors, however, those were referring to Central Indiana, not Johnson County. Those reports may have led people to prepare for larger crowds than necessary.
Locally, in the lead-up to the eclipse Kosky was estimating there could be up to 100,000 visitors across Johnson County. He never told people Franklin, specifically, would see that amount.
“We’re aware that those who purchased a lot of things expecting a giant crowd, especially perishables, may not have done as well as some of the others,” Kosky said. “But overall, from the majority that I’m receiving [feedback from] did well.”
Local restaurant owners have wondered why there were so many food trucks and have alleged that this siphoned business away from them. Especially food trucks such as those offering coffee and ice cream, which are both already abundant in downtown Franklin.
Orner said there were nearly 20 food trucks because of concerns that local restaurants could not handle the number of visitors if higher-end attendance projections panned out. The parks department ordered 125 portable toilets for a similar reason, he said.
“We thought maybe it might be a little bit bigger than a normal concert. At a normal concert, we have 15 food vendors. So, we had four more,” Orner said. “We did this mainly because we were seeing numbers just like everybody else. We thought there were going to be more people.”
While some local restaurants reported slower sales, food trucks reported the perfect amount of customers, Orner said.
“They weren’t swamped, which is a good thing. Because we’ve had concerts where they are swamped. We’ve had concerts where they sell out in three hours. But this time they had enough for all three days. And they had consistent business,” Orner said. “All we heard was positive feedback from our food vendors.”
Kosky and Orner say all the preparations paid off with a good experience for visitors, whether in Franklin or around the county. From programmatic, logistics and public relations standpoints, the events were a success. Even if the turnout for some events was lower than expected, thousands were exposed to what the county has to offer, Orner said.
“We planned for what we probably consider to be the worst-case scenario because that’s what our duty should be,” Orner said. “The point is, Franklin rolled out the red carpet for a whole lot of people. In Johnson County in general, we had a good show for a lot of people who aren’t necessarily from around here. Somebody’s going to have to explain to me how that’s a bad thing.”
At the visitor center, Festival County heard rave reviews from tourists. Several from larger cities like Cincinnati and even Chicago said they planned to come back, Kosky said.
