Organizers questions

Hi Muzzlebrake-

The contest side of our BBQ/ Blues weekend has participant goals for the various events:
KCBS contest, backyard, kids Q.

Our 5 K run has participant goal.
The music side has spectator goals.
With our vendors and bar we take all of this plus experience from past years to estimate hunger and thirst.

So in general , it is a combination approach.
Hope that helps.

Anybody else?

I can only go by my experiences up here in the tundra.

I have seen contests with 60 + teams with no crowd - there was nothing else going on with that contest.

I have seen contests with 30 to 40 teams with a few thousand in attendance. They had other activities going besides just the bbq contest. If fact that was us the first couple of years.

Now we have more teams and more people and have turned the weekend into a regional attraction with appeal to the whole family.

Attendance goal - yes.

"Typical ratio" - no.

In my experience, the public draw has nothing to do with the number of teams or prize money offered. Rather the following determine the turnout, roughly in order of importance:

1) Weather
2) Other features of the event (car show, carnival, kids activities, wet t-shirt contest, etc.)
3) Event Marketing
4) Entertainment act popularity
5) Admission price
6) Date (what competition from other area happenings on that weekend)

Agreed.