Monday, July 2, 2018

Summerfest: Closed Monday

In 2011, Summerfest interrupted its 11-day run, closing on Monday. It happened to be the Fourth of July as well.

Rather than Thursday being the first day of Summerfest, Wednesday has become the festival's opening day. Since 2011, Summerfest has been closed on Monday.

I know there are reasons for taking the day off.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Don Smiley, president and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival Inc., said in an interview that the change revolves around two issues: Mondays are normally slow business days, and the Fourth of July falls on a Monday.

"We are exchanging a Monday for a Wednesday," Smiley said. "It is two issues. It coincidentally happens the same day."

Smiley said that, historically, Summerfest has two "very challenging days of business" every year: the Monday of Summerfest and the Fourth of July.

On any given Monday, not unlike other restaurant, hospitality or entertainment business, business is slow, he said.

"Whether it's ticket sales, food sales, the ability to book bands, beer sales, parking, when you scrub those numbers, it becomes clear it is difficult to do business on a Monday," Smiley said. "That's not a new concept. Restaurants know it. It's not generally known as an entertainment day for the public. Wednesday is an entertainment day for the public."

Smiley said it was a misguided assumption that the Fourth of July is a big day for Summerfest.

"People think that, because it's a holiday, we do a lot of business," he said. "It's just the opposite. Families are in parks, the lakes, in their own communities. They are attending parades, going to fireworks."

Smiley provided a statistic that helps explain why Wednesdays are better than Mondays.

"Beer sales are 27% better on a Wednesday than a Monday," he said.

Connecting the Fourth of July to the reason for Summerfest's new schedule in 2011 seems to have left a lasting impression.

Some people still think Summerfest closes on the Fourth of July.

It doesn't. Summerfest is closed today and will be open on the Fourth of July, Wednesday.

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