36 replies to this topic

[beautifulloser]

I have to say I am quite surprised by the reaction to this. Whilst the timing could have been better I don't don't what has gone on behind the scenes and I imagine it is simply a case of generating income principally which I understand. The festival has to make money to have a chance of even existiing next year and i for one would rather it did! The general laid back feel to the festival will still remain and hopefully with less drunk kids everywhere ( god I sound old!). I was never one for bringing drinks in, did it once and it was depressing drinking warm larger from a can and carrying them round but that's my view.


Also no disrespect to those on here and Facebook who are unhappy and considering storming the barricades but my guess is that the dissenters will account for less than 1% of the total attendance, you can't please all the people all the time.

This is a music festival not a beer festival!

Frankly more annoyed by the pierces withdrawal but then again I haven't got over the hold steady pulling out either years ago, I might ask for a refund........

[Rob ic]

Hi All,
Still reading your comments this morning and writing a statement that hopefully will address most of the points. Should be up by midday.
Meanwhile, there was an article in today's Mercury and some comments:
http://www.thisislei...tail/story.html

Some of the comments do hurt. But recognise that a number of you are p*ssed off.

Thanks Ceph for your comments.

And if you thought it any easier out there for other festivals, please read the news in the last day.
Truck bankrupt. Festinho and Ignition cancelled.

HOWEVER. We are looking forward to a good weekend. It will be an expensive weekend for me, but this is what I signed up for. Summer Sundae has always relied on subsidy and this year is no different.  

best
Rob

[beautifulloser]

Ps not suggesting the organisers are to blame over band withdrawals! I think they are doing a great job in tough times

[Rob ic]

*****AMMENDMENT TO BELOW:
We have listened to your comments and as ever are keen to take action where possible to alleviate your concerns.

We’ve taken note that one of the main issues is that we are asking weekend attendees to bring in only one load of alcohol. As many of you have said, this would affect the non-camping attendee the most.

We are therefore going to adjust our policy for weekend ticket holders as follows. If you want to split your allowance per day we will “mark” the wristband per day. Three marks and you have used up your full weekend allowance.

In order that the policy is also fair to those who still want to bring their allocation in all at once, the restrictions have now been amended to the below.

We hope you understand that we are doing all we can to make this policy fair whilst also ensuring that Summer Sundae continues as a successful event. We hope that we can move past this issue and focus on producing another great festival which we look forward to welcoming you to.

No glass is allowed. No bottles of spirits are allowed.

Weekend Ticket Holders:

This quantity can be brought in over 3 days as desired and will be marked off accordingly on customer wristbands

12 Pack cans beer/cider/lager

OR 3 Litres wine or mixed drink in a plastic bottle AND soft drinks as desired

Day Ticket Holders:

4 pack cans beer/cider/lager

OR one Litre wine or mixed drink in a plastic bottle AND soft drinks as desired

*******************************************************************




We have just posted this: http://summersundae....olicy-explained

We sincerely apologise to any Summer Sundae fans that are upset about our decision to limit alcohol at the festival this year, and the lateness of its announcement.

We hope that the below will answer most of your questions and comments about this.

One of our main reasons for putting a restriction in place is that we are aware of growing problems at Summer Sundae with underage drinking in both the campsites and main arena. We feel it is our responsibility as event organisers to take some action on this. One option we have considered is to implement a restriction similar to many other festivals, whereby alcohol is allowed into the campsites only, and not the main arena. However, we decided that this would not sufficiently address the issue of underage drinking on the campsites. Plus with 75% of our attendees being non-campers with no access to the campsite, we realized we needed to implement a reasonable solution across the board.

Another reason revolves around the fact that, after a very successful Summer Sundae 2010 we received a number of comments about the bars, with customers calling for a return of the Orange Tree in 2011 and stressing how important it was to them to have quality reasonably priced bars on site. We have done our utmost to honour this request and have brought Orange Tree back this year with some excellent new structures and spaces, along with their usual selection of cocktails, real ales and beers. We also do our utmost every year to keep prices on all food and drink at the festival reasonable, and this includes all bars on site. Our aims to give you what you want in terms of well priced quality refreshments served in a welcoming and well designed environment simply cannot stand side by side with allowing you to bring in an unrestricted amount of alcohol on site.

It must also be remembered that the revenue made from the bars at Summer Sundae goes towards funding other parts of the festival, including The Garden and Village which again we really want to continue to provide for you. There have been a few comments posted recently which assume that we the organisers of Summer Sundae are implementing this change as some kind of ploy to make a great profit from the festival. We would like to assure you that we are not. The festival will this year as in previous years be making a loss. As many of you know we have taken over the management of the festival from Leicester City Council this year which includes a large share of the financial risk. Please rest assured that this decision is not borne from a desire to make financial profit, but from a desire to ensure that Summer Sundae, an event we care a lot about, can continue and have a successful future.

For those of you worried that you will be treated in a heavy handed manner when arriving on site, please be assured that our security and stewards will treat you in the same friendly and respectful way as they always have. There will also be an increased number of staff available at the front entrance to help and answer any questions you may have about what you can bring on site. And for those of you confused about what you are allowed to bring with you, please see below a further explanation on how the policy will work.  

Lastly, we feel it is important to say that any alcohol taken into any festival or event is at the discretion of the respective organisers. As you will know many organisers deny alcohol outright, and some allow it only on the campsites. We have attempted to find a reasonable solution to solve the issues raised above and to allow us to deliver a quality event this year and beyond. We will not cut corners on the quality of entertainment and production provided at the festival.  We are truly sorry if you feel that we have undermined the trust you have in an event by announcing these restrictions this late, however we do believe that we are acting for the good of the festival as a whole.  


How the alcohol restriction will work:

Attendees carrying alcohol will be allowed to bring one amount into the festival. Their wristband will be marked accordingly when they bring alcohol in. That does not have to be on your first visit, it can be your 2nd or 3rd, however we are restricting that to one load per person.

Restrictions per person are as follows:

No glass is allowed. No bottles of spirits are allowed.

Weekend Ticket Holders
12 Pack cans beer/cider/bitter
OR 2 Litre wine or mixed drink in a plastic bottle.
AND Soft drinks as desired.

Day ticket holders
4 pack cans beer/cider/bitter
OR one litre of wine or mixed drink in a plastic bottle.

AND Soft drinks if desired

Edited by Rob ic, 05 August 2011 - 02:10 PM.

[beautifulloser]

sorry double post

Edited by beautifulloser, 05 August 2011 - 01:05 PM.

[beautifulloser]

I say fair enough rob. I see no problem with that and think you have tried  to manage a difficult situation as well as possible. Bring on next Friday!

[LeeRaynor]

Rob ic, on 05 August 2011 - 10:06 AM, said:

We have just posted this: http://summersundae....olicy-explained

We sincerely apologise to any Summer Sundae fans that are upset about our decision to limit alcohol at the festival this year, and the lateness of its announcement.

We hope that the below will answer most of your questions and comments about this.

One of our main reasons for putting a restriction in place is that we are aware of growing problems at Summer Sundae with underage drinking in both the campsites and main arena. We feel it is our responsibility as event organisers to take some action on this. One option we have considered is to implement a restriction similar to many other festivals, whereby alcohol is allowed into the campsites only, and not the main arena. However, we decided that this would not sufficiently address the issue of underage drinking on the campsites. Plus with 75% of our attendees being non-campers with no access to the campsite, we realized we needed to implement a reasonable solution across the board.

Another reason revolves around the fact that, after a very successful Summer Sundae 2010 we received a number of comments about the bars, with customers calling for a return of the Orange Tree in 2011 and stressing how important it was to them to have quality reasonably priced bars on site. We have done our utmost to honour this request and have brought Orange Tree back this year with some excellent new structures and spaces, along with their usual selection of cocktails, real ales and beers. We also do our utmost every year to keep prices on all food and drink at the festival reasonable, and this includes all bars on site. Our aims to give you what you want in terms of well priced quality refreshments served in a welcoming and well designed environment simply cannot stand side by side with allowing you to bring in an unrestricted amount of alcohol on site.

It must also be remembered that the revenue made from the bars at Summer Sundae goes towards funding other parts of the festival, including The Garden and Village which again we really want to continue to provide for you. There have been a few comments posted recently which assume that we the organisers of Summer Sundae are implementing this change as some kind of ploy to make a great profit from the festival. We would like to assure you that we are not. The festival will this year as in previous years be making a loss. As many of you know we have taken over the management of the festival from Leicester City Council this year which includes a large share of the financial risk. Please rest assured that this decision is not borne from a desire to make financial profit, but from a desire to ensure that Summer Sundae, an event we care a lot about, can continue and have a successful future.

For those of you worried that you will be treated in a heavy handed manner when arriving on site, please be assured that our security and stewards will treat you in the same friendly and respectful way as they always have. There will also be an increased number of staff available at the front entrance to help and answer any questions you may have about what you can bring on site. And for those of you confused about what you are allowed to bring with you, please see below a further explanation on how the policy will work.  

Lastly, we feel it is important to say that any alcohol taken into any festival or event is at the discretion of the respective organisers. As you will know many organisers deny alcohol outright, and some allow it only on the campsites. We have attempted to find a reasonable solution to solve the issues raised above and to allow us to deliver a quality event this year and beyond. We will not cut corners on the quality of entertainment and production provided at the festival.  We are truly sorry if you feel that we have undermined the trust you have in an event by announcing these restrictions this late, however we do believe that we are acting for the good of the festival as a whole.  


How the alcohol restriction will work:

Attendees carrying alcohol will be allowed to bring one amount into the festival. Their wristband will be marked accordingly when they bring alcohol in. That does not have to be on your first visit, it can be your 2nd or 3rd, however we are restricting that to one load per person.

Restrictions per person are as follows:

No glass is allowed. No bottles of spirits are allowed.

Weekend Ticket Holders
12 Pack cans beer/cider/bitter
OR 2 Litre wine or mixed drink in a plastic bottle.
AND Soft drinks as desired.

Day ticket holders
4 pack cans beer/cider/bitter
OR one litre of wine or mixed drink in a plastic bottle.

AND Soft drinks if desired

So I can't bring in a litre of wine per day on my weekend non-camping ticket? Having to drink all 3 litres on Friday is a bit harsh...! Oh well, i'll do my best...

[butchwade]

Rob, please clrify:

How the alcohol restriction will work:

Attendees carrying alcohol will be allowed to bring one amount into the festival. Their wristband will be marked accordingly when they bring alcohol in. That does not have to be on your first visit, it can be your 2nd or 3rd, however we are restricting that to one load per person

Does that mean I can take my 12 cans into the campsite, and then take 4 of those cans into the fesival site each day?

[swimmingbadger]

I have to say as an ever-present at SSW I'm dismayed at the short notice given to the changes in alcohol on site. I understand that Mr Challice is under a great deal of pressure to try and balance the books but I feel this idea is a little short sighted and I don't buy the line that it's to combat under-age drinking. If that were the issue why couldn't that have been pointed out when the early bird tickets went on sale? Oh, because they didn't have a massive shortfall in ticket sales a week before gates open I guess! It would appear that increasing ticket prices/capacity has been a spectacular failure that even Mcfly couldn't amend. Does anyone remember when the Abbey Park Festival increased it's entry fee and brought in alcohol restrictions? It was dead within two years so be warned! The new restrictions are plain discriminatory to non-camping weekend ticket holders; how the hell am I supposed to carry 12 cans in with me on the Friday? Idiots.

[Rob ic]

swimmingbadger, on 05 August 2011 - 02:31 PM, said:

I have to say as an ever-present at SSW I'm dismayed at the short notice given to the changes in alcohol on site. I understand that Mr Challice is under a great deal of pressure to try and balance the books but I feel this idea is a little short sighted and I don't buy the line that it's to combat under-age drinking. If that were the issue why couldn't that have been pointed out when the early bird tickets went on sale? Oh, because they didn't have a massive shortfall in ticket sales a week before gates open I guess! It would appear that increasing ticket prices/capacity has been a spectacular failure that even Mcfly couldn't amend. Does anyone remember when the Abbey Park Festival increased it's entry fee and brought in alcohol restrictions? It was dead within two years so be warned! The new restrictions are plain discriminatory to non-camping weekend ticket holders; how the hell am I supposed to carry 12 cans in with me on the Friday? Idiots.

We ammended that for weekend ticket holders in the last hour. Weekend ticket holders can bring in their allocation across the three days. Their wristband will be marked accordingly when they bring alcohol in.

It's not been a great year for festivals all year round with ticket sales. The Association of Independent festivals estimate that 32 festivals have gone this year and I know that some others are in trouble.

re ticket price and capacity. We had to try a number of things to keep the festival viable.
And yes, I deeply regret the late notice, we delibarated for too long.

[Rob ic]

butchwade, on 05 August 2011 - 01:06 PM, said:

Rob, please clrify:

How the alcohol restriction will work:

Attendees carrying alcohol will be allowed to bring one amount into the festival. Their wristband will be marked accordingly when they bring alcohol in. That does not have to be on your first visit, it can be your 2nd or 3rd, however we are restricting that to one load per person

Does that mean I can take my 12 cans into the campsite, and then take 4 of those cans into the fesival site each day?

Essentially yes. Which campsite are you in?

[butchwade]

Rob ic, on 05 August 2011 - 03:00 PM, said:

Essentially yes. Which campsite are you in?

We're in Regents

[Rob ic]

butchwade, on 05 August 2011 - 03:33 PM, said:

We're in Regents

We will clarify shortly.
We did ammend the policy today. So you can take allocations in each day.

[little car]

Rob ic, on 05 August 2011 - 09:09 AM, said:

And if you thought it any easier out there for other festivals, please read the news in the last day.
Truck bankrupt. Festinho and Ignition cancelled.

Too many festivals, not enough good/different bands for them all to sell enough tickets. It was always going to happen, with or without the recession. I sympathize with the problems of trying to make a festival viable but SSW is already fairly expensive for the bill that we have this year and trying to get more money out of those people who have already bought their ticket doesn't seem sustainable. Maybe smaller, cheaper, and going back to appealing more to over 18s is the answer. After all, how much are 15 year old Example fans going to spend in the bars?

A problem with this policy is that if I turn up at noon with some cans, they're going to be warm by mid-afternoon, so if I want a nice cold drink, as I can't go out and get some more cold cans from the offy I have to go to the bar for the remaining 9 or so hours, buying bottled beer at £7 a pint as none of the draught beers are veggie-friendly. Is this fair?

[Rob ic]

Rob ic, on 05 August 2011 - 03:00 PM, said:

Essentially yes. Which campsite are you in?

I've checked.
Allowance will be checked going into regents.
Your wristband will be marked when taking cans into festival

[flannel]

Couple of points:

1) Does this mean that we'll have to empty our rucksacks at the gate? - mine takes ages to pack.

2) Can you ensure they'll be enough real ale to last the weekend?

[Rob ic]

We have decided to remove the alcohol restrictions for this year. We are sorry that we announced these restrictions so late in the day.
We’d like you to enjoy the festival in the manner you had originally planned and we would now like to concentrate on delivering a great event. We look forward to seeing you this coming weekend.

Rob and the Summer Sundae Weekender festival team.