Final touches are made for The Hangout Music Festival Friday May, 19, 2011 in Gulf Shores. GULF SHORES — This weekend’s Hangout Music Festival could draw some of the largest crowds of the year to Baldwin County’s beaches, a sign of strong recovery a year after the tourism-crippling oil spill.
Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft guessed that the next three days could exceed even Memorial Day weekend numbers.
"Everybody get ready for a Fourth of July weekend in May," he told an audience at a City Council meeting this week. "It’ll be an economic boost to the community, for sure."
Gulf Shores Police Department Lt. Alan Carpenter, who is coordinating efforts for authorities this weekend, said as many as 100 officers will be on hand to help ensure safety at the peak of the festival.
He advised those attending the festival to utilize one of the roughly 80 shuttle buses available at various locations.
Ala. 59 is closed from First Avenue south, and Ala. 182 is closed between West Second Street and East First Street. The roads will reopen at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
The main thoroughfares around the city were already backed up Thursday afternoon, as more than 1,500 workers wrapped up a two-week effort building the site.
Included in the new amenities this year: a VIP pool near the main stage and an elevated "Sky Bar" on the center of festival grounds.
Craft said occupancy rates for hotels and condos — which real estate agents say are booked solid because of the festival — typically run at a significantly lower level a week prior to Memorial Day.
Could have $20 million economic impact
Organizers estimated that the festival would have a $20 million economic impact on Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. The festival has sold out of its 35,000 tickets, which started at $179 for three-day passes.
Shaul Zislin, who owns The Hangout beach bar and came up with the idea, said he hoped the festival, which is in its second year, would "create an event for the area that we can all be proud of, that the whole country will know about."
Since the BP oil spill, officials in the beachfront communities have ramped up efforts to promote events during the "shoulder season," the times of year when tourism wanes.
Along with the concerts at The Hangout, there are a series of other events: A 32-team national softball tournament starts today at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex, and country music star Kenny Chesney plays Saturday at The Wharf.
In Orange Beach, Mayor Tony Kennon will be showing off his red and black 1969 Chevy Camaro convertible in the Bama Coast Cruise, a hotrod car show at the Orange Beach Sportsplex that is expected to draw hundreds of car lovers.
And that’s not the only event he plans to attend. He said he wants a taste of everything happening this weekend on Pleasure Island.
"It’s fixin’ to rock ’n’ roll," Kennon said. "This is exactly what we’re trying to achieve. This creates stability and security for our business community as we grow the length of our overall season."
'We've got the ability to handle it'
The Hangout Festival alone is expected to draw crowds triple the population of Gulf Shores for three straight days.
"It’s a challenge to step into something this big for a community like this," Craft said. "But we are comfortable now that we can do these type of things. I feel like now we’ve got the ability to handle it."
He said that community leaders also were pushing to host a similar music festival this fall, but careful to maintain the draw of the beach.
"We just have to be real careful that we don’t change the image and the reputation of Gulf Shores," Craft said. "I think we’re all proud of being family-oriented, a family destination, and we don’t want to get so far outside of that realm that we’re viewed differently and we change who we are. As long as we can do that, I think this is a great way to expand our world and make it better."
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