Good Day Everyone
When we left the Lincolnshire Show Ground on Sunday evening, I asked Ian to turn the truck around so I could look at The Epic Centre for a few moments. In my mind’s eye, I returned to the same place two years ago. We had just closed November 2019 Lincolnshire Well-Being Show and saw just short of a thousand Visitors through the door. And I confess, I believed we were on the tipping point of success. We had just over ten thousand pounds on deposit for the 2020 shows, and the future looked great. And then, in March 2020, the walls came tumbling down.
We chose to repay all deposited money to the Community and set ourselves in for a rough ride. As many know, we ran Well Being Markets, which gained many friends and lost a few. This is the way of life. One has to follow one’s convictions and be seen to have a clear standpoint.
When the lockdown finished, we decided to lower our stand fees to help the faithful community with the return to trading. I don’t care what others did; we made our stand and followed our moral and ethical path. The cynics offered all manner of criticism. Why I have no idea! But the point of our previous choices became clear on Sunday evening. As I looked at the Epic Centre and wondered what The Community had achieved over the weekend of 5 + 6 November 2022.
We had 102 people standing at the event. Sixty talks. Jam-packed Yoga studio. Beginning to close demonstrations and performances at the stage area. A dining area full at all times and a full car park. Nothing stopped the Well Being Show. The people kept coming, as did the compliments.
Ian no longer wishes to publish attendance figures. But today, I won the day, and write 1157 people came to the show, which does not count Community Members and second-day attendance. And this happened because of the incredible people I know as The Community who made The Well Being Brand so unique.
I thank every one of you for your incredible efforts. And while I could easily copy and paste the attendance list again, I do not see the point. Because it IS the whole Community that makes the Well Being Brand what it is, a fantastic Mind Body and Soul Experience. As organisers, we fulfil our obligations. We are the cohesive force behind the event, nothing more. The Community are certainly the show, the brand and the experience. All the Visitors who came to Lincolnshire Showground came to see the community exhibitors, performers, and speakers, not the people sitting behind the reception desk.
We have organised one last event for 2022. The Pure Spirit Event at The Lady Eastwood Centre, at Newark showground. And we have an extraordinary amount of people standing at this event. I would not be surprised if we see over seventy stalls at the show and excellent footfall.
We will not rest on our laurels for 2023. You can expect better service, more significant promotions and more attractions. We are not interested in reaching out to more venues. I think this would make the Visitor attraction too weak. And plenty of evidence suggests poor shows reap a poor harvest in the long term. Many Community Members now see the wisdom of maintaining a structured brand with good facilities and reputation. I could be far off the mark, but one either consolidates and consistently succeeds or follows a shotgun method hoping the aim hits the target; you pay you money and follow your experience. We will see how 2023 works, but in the meantime, we can all reflect on an outstanding series of shows loved by the Visitors.
And here are a few smiling faces of attending Community.
See You Next Weekend
Liz
Liz Clark
MD LizianEvents Ltd
