Final figures are still being calculated, but organizers for the 17th Annual Market Street Festival — Columbus’ largest outdoor event — are projecting more than 36,000 people attended the weekend event. Main Street Columbus Executive Director Amber Brislin said sales indicated the event drew a larger crowd than in 2011.

“Market Street Festival is the largest fundraiser for Main Street Columbus, because the funds raised from the festival support all our other events and efforts throughout the year,” Brislin said. “All the final numbers are being tallied and bills are being paid, but each year we clear between $30,000 and $40,000 in profit for Main Street Columbus. This is combined income from sponsorships, drink sales, ticket sales, children’s activities, T-shirt sales, all of which are up from last year.”

Large crowds also meant good news to several downtown merchants. For Beth Gunter, owner of The Gourmet Garage, a specialty food store and restaurant at 425 College St., and Blake James of Deep South Pout, a clothing boutique located at 517 Main St., the annual event brought a great deal of foot traffic through their doors.

“We were extremely busy,” Gunter, who recently relocated her business from Brickerton Park, said. “This was my first year to be downtown during Market Street and we ran out of food around 1 p.m. We were so busy, we didn’t even have time to restock our shelves.”

“We had an amazing day,” James said. “This was our first year to be open during Market Street. We were literally packed from the time we opened the doors, until we locked them at five. We put out a good bit of new merchandise for the festival and we sold almost all of it.”

Coffee House on 5th owner Brent Davidson said his first Market Street, as a downtown merchant, was successful.

“We had a very good day,” Davidson said. “We were very busy. Not only was it a good day sales wise, but it also gave a chance to do some marketing and hopefully get some new and repeat customers.”

For Savvy Spaces Marketplace owner Megan Westby, Market Street is used as a projected sales event and is a part of her yearly budget estimates. After seeing record sales in 2011, her first year to be open during the festival, Westby said she was not disappointed with this year’s sales in her store.

“We are still getting a continuous stream of customers,” Westby said Tuesday. “We had people that stopped by Saturday and came back (Tuesday) to purchase things they were either too hot to buy or things they didn’t want to carry around the festival. (Market Street) far exceeded my expectations. I’m already planning for next year; I’m going to open earlier. There was an unbelievable amount of people downtown for the race on Saturday morning. This was unbelievable. Market Street goers were out and they were spending money. I don’t care what people say about the economy, we had a big day. We are truly blessed.”

While some downtown merchants reported record sales, vendors for the festival gave varied reports. Jonathan Miller of Miller’s Handmade Scoops, an ice cream purveyor from Brooksville, said his first Market Street was “record breaking.”

‘I’ve had this business for about a year and this was the busiest day I have ever had,” Miller said. ” I will definitely be back again next year.”

Doug James, a wood craftsman from Starkville, painted a different picture of his Saturday sales.

“I didn’t do a lot of sales,” Doug James said. “I didn’t even make enough money to cover my registration. But the people were really nice and this was a very good festival. I look forward to coming back as a vendor again next year.”

Downtown wasn’t the only area prospering from the weekend activities. The 230 arts-and-crafts and 17 food vendors from 17 states had to sleep somewhere, good news for local hotels.

“We were booked solid all weekend,” Wingate by Wyndham General Manager Nicki Cole said. “We helped with some of the rooms as a Market Street sponsor, but we had a great deal of vendors staying here, too.”

“Based on our numbers we have in so far, the economic impact can be figured as comparable to the survey analysis from last year,” Brislin said of the festival’s economic impact for the area. “According to last year’s numbers, which were compiled as part of an economic impact study done by Mississippi State University, 34,000 visitors spent an estimated $7.32 million with local merchants on various goods and services in Columbus, during the festival. Visitors from outside the city made up approximately $3.66 million of that amount.”

It Takes A Village

“This is a volunteer driven event,” Brislin said. “I am the only full-time employee for Main Street Columbus. Without volunteers, there is no way Market Street Festival would be possible. I have counted over 500 volunteers for 2012 and this number remains consistent each year.”

Volunteers aren’t the only ones who donate their time. A joint effort by the Columbus Police Department and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office gave a larger law enforcement presence than in past years. And with no major arrests made during the festival, safety was a top priority.

“The combined support of both this year was fantastic; they play a crucial role and always do a great job,” Brislin said. “The additional presence provided a great event with very little incidents. We are often asked why we sell beer at Market Street Festival and it’s simple: Money. Without beer sales we would be unable to produce an event of this size. Alcohol sales are one of the largest sources of income, during the festival. However, we have very few occurrences at Market Street Festival, because of alcohol consumption. We monitor crowds closely to ensure that this always remains a family friendly event and that people handle themselves appropriately. While money is important, our number one priority is safety.”

Fire Chief Ken Moore said the festival went smoothly, with first responders helping with one person who tripped and fell, several minor complaints of heat exhaustion and the safe return of three children, who were lost from their parents. A post-Market Street roadblock was set up by the Mississippi Highway Patrol on the westbound lanes of Highway 82. Troop G Public Information Officer Bryan Mobley said he had no way of knowing how many citations were issued during the roadblock.

When asked what was different about this year’s event and why it was so successful, Brislin said a few changes implemented this year were contributing factors.

“We increased vendors on Fifth Street South, because, in years past, we just have had a single line through the center of the street. This year we added vendors on both sides of Fifth Street, which added 28 additional vendors and opened up the traffic flow through the center, as opposed to traffic on either side of the street,” Brislin said. “Last year was the first year that we moved the Saturday night concert to the Riverwalk. This year we continued the tradition, but started the music earlier at 5 (p.m.), leaving no break in activities. We added the Painted Privies contest and we added a few new children’s activities and more performance groups on the children’s stage. This increased the crowd in the children’s area throughout the day, the lines were ever present all day long. This also attributed to increased children’s activity token sales.”

Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.