flyinbayou wrote:I think that was said in jest.
If not, you are not from here. Not that NOLA has a lock on Men's Clubs or Women's Co-Ops, both which do admiral, if not underappreciated jobs of keeping our kids' schools in the green.
Are there not parent organizations at your kids' schools that help with fund raising events (fairs, galas, etc.) and other projects that help with the schools' needs?
Exactly. We have a very successful Co-0p and mens club which together contribute over $100K a year and untold amounts of labor to keeping our school in ship shape form.
This beer selling tent at Jazzfest is a very good deal as this is the only fundraiser of the year that does not get money from the parents or the immediate school community.
Back on subject. Can you imagine what kind of sales the Abita Strawberry could have out at Jazzfest? Personally I would rather a 22oz of Andy Gator, but with the heat and the wider audience appeal of the strawberry, I could see it being a huge seller.
BTG wrote:Exactly. We have a very successful Co-0p and mens club which together contribute over $100K a year and untold amounts of labor to keeping our school in ship shape form.
This beer selling tent at Jazzfest is a very good deal as this is the only fundraiser of the year that does not get money from the parents or the immediate school community.
I think JRO did that last year....and if I remember correctly we parked at the school, they had beer (free) and food there and it was quite close to the festival. Of course we tipped. We asked about him and everytime just missed him. He was either in the beer booth or back at the school. I think it is a great fundraiser and much better than a bake sale!! LOL
cstoehr wrote:I think JRO did that last year....and if I remember correctly we parked at the school, they had beer (free) and food there and it was quite close to the festival. Of course we tipped. We asked about him and everytime just missed him. He was either in the beer booth or back at the school. I think it is a great fundraiser and much better than a bake sale!! LOL
I used to work the beer booth for the Kiwanis when I was a Circle K nerd in college. Didn't get free beer, but we did get in to the festival grounds for free. Good times! And great deal as a school fundraiser. Our school could sure use something like that...
Yes I had 2 daughters graduate Cabrini spent many days during Jazzfest parking cars at the school. Great secure place to park & get a little grub for whatever you feel like donating.
I also worked the beer booth for Algiers Kiwanis at Jazzfest, closest to the Acura stage on right as you face the stage.
It's complicated, sort of, but I know what I am talking about (Turbodog will back me up on this one).
1) The Jazz and Heritage Foundation does not own the liquor license on Gentilly Blvd. It belongs to the Fairgrounds.
2) That's a ruse, as JF totally control who sells what.But it's their favorite excuse.
3) SABMiller sponsors the thing in a big way for a reason.
4) The reason is twofold. First of all, they get a ton of promotional stuff out of it. Second, and, as a beer man, I know that it is just as big for them as promotion...
They get to unload all of the beer in the Southeastern US that would be going out of date otherwise and that they would have to destroy. Beer like Fosters that has been sitting in a Zippy Mart or or a warehouse til the can codes (you can read them if you take a minute-it's a code, but it's not the CIA coding the cans or anything) go out of date. The Jazz Fest is awesome for unloading tons, zillions, bazillions of old cans of beer rather than writing them off and having to deal with waste and recycling.
5) Beyond that, the beer sponsor gives a huge cash donation to J&HF every year to continue operation (good on em, says I) and the Foundation would be happy to entertain anyone willing to do the same when the contract is renegotiated (hell, I still miss Schlitz and Delaware Punch-but they can't write a cashable check these days). Abita just can't do it. Or, probably better put, it wouldn't be worth it and, even if it was, to sell that amount of beer in a weekend, they would have to contract out the production, as, while they can make alot of beer these days, they can't even come close to hitting that kind of 10 day bump in sales.
6) Given the economic situation in the world today, and the lack of sponsorship dollars laying around, the J&HF is lucky to have a contract for this kind of thing. They aren't going to touch it.
7) Also, ya gotta have cans. I love cans. They are a better package, all round, than bottles (beer nerds can knock me, but I know what I am talking about) and this would also involve alot of cost that would not pay for Abita, or any other craft producer to get into, as craft beer buyers are generally under the impression that a glass bottle is a better package. Sure, you could sell some draft, but it would be slower and a hell of a lot harder to sell some guy in a Hawaiian shirt 10 cans, a box, and a dirty block of ice packed so that he could carry it back to his buddies.
8) The wholesale price point on the stuff is arranged for promotion and unloading product. The charities that sell the beer look forward, with good reason, to having a booth at the FG for this very reason. Anyone can sell a can if they can count and stick their already frozen hands in the water.
A long time ago, Abita made a very sincere and concerted effort to get into the Fest. They got a great letter back, personally, from Quint, saying that they would be happy to look at it if a giant donation could be made every year. Not worth it. Not by a long shot.
And that's how it works. If it's not made by an SABMiller company or controlled company, it ain't happening. That being said, that means that Shiner and Leini's could be out there, but since it's not in the Southeast (yes, Texas is, but Shiner produced limited amounts and Leinenkugel ships small amounts Southward) it not going to be there.
There was once a plane that circled the Fairgrounds dragging a banner saying "Sneak in Abita Beer." And people did. But, then again, they didn't search bags back in those days, you could still park in the back lot, and, besides, I didn't care. I knew where there was an RV full of beer. I miss that(that and the fact that, for the first twenty years, anyone in the biz (rest, hospitality, liquor) didn't pay. Ever.
