The biggie was that Dakota & Friends Dinosaurs were late. At one point even I mentioned over 2 hours late. Actually they were about 1-1/2 hours late. Everybody is sorry about that, including the Dinosaur Man himself, Ed Bounds. BUT - he had some problems with earlier commitment, traffic, etc. Furthermore this was the very first time he was EVER late. As they say, "Life Happens".
Also our dear friend, Michael Decker, "Hey You the Balloon Man" suffered a medical emergency - even worse than all earlier thought. As of now he is back home recovering after big heart issues requiring seven - 7 - stints! We send him our thoughts, well wishes & prayers. Hopefully he doe not try to return too soon - full recovery is most important.
In spite of all this, all went fairly well. While some (and we stress some) adults were upset, the kids seemed happy, playing on the new dinosaur road, etc. Our face painter was there, games were available & our new "game of chance" for the kids made its debut & many free prizes were handed out.
So - what was the big deal? Well I personally apologized (as did Ed Bounds) & promised to do better. But from some of the comments made on line, there are obviously a few misunderstandings about what a festival - including Festival Friday - is all about. Plus some serious misunderstandings about the safety & supervision of children at Papa Robbs.
The latter is the most important. The safety of children is very important to all of us. We have rules (and will be adding more) along these lines. Supervision of children however begins with parental supervision. We cannot watch every child all the time. We even have signs that state that children MUST be supervised by an adult. As we grow this becomes even more important. An example is kids playing in our parking lot - a very strong no-no. This is dangerous & there are plenty of other places to play.
Running, throwing things, older kids shoving younger kids - not allowed & need to stop.
Pure & simple. So - PLEASE pay more attention to your children. Trust me, additional rules are coming. The bigger we become the more some SAFETY issues are needed.
What is Festival Friday? It is much like any other street fair, town festival. The important thing to note is that while most is FREE, some things are not free. Our friends & vendors have different methods - tips, donations, charges for specific items. Contrary to a few web postings, we do not charge for our games. Exceptions would be for specific fund raising events. Artists, crafters, food carts, trucks, etc ALL charges for their services & products. This should not surprise anyone. We lost most of our food vendors simply due to lack of support - understandable. Our hotdog vendor continues to support us when he can & we have some big news about a special truck who will visit us next month.
For now - please keep safety & courtesy in mind. We are all part of the same community.
Thank You.
Papa Robbs Paradise Ice
www.paparobbs.com
Concord, NC
