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Community Corner

No Rain-Date Policy Takes Certain Amount of Chutzpah

A gamble with the weather pays off at Ferry Festa.

This year, the folks behind the Ferry Festa took a big gamble when they decided to hold the event rain or shine, especially after a big storm came through the area last Thursday and Friday and threatened to hang around through the weekend.

"Either way, it's a tough decision, but we decided to take the risk," said festival founder, Bettina Speyer.

Started eight years ago, the festival reluctantly developed a rain date policy. In 2004, when Hurricane Ivan blew through, Speyer received several calls from people who wanted to pull out of the event, so she cancelled it at 8 a.m., earning the wrath of restaurant owners, who had stocked up extra food. In later years, festival organizers moved the date from September to October to avoid hurricane season.

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Over the last two years, Speyer was not involved with the festa, but she took the helm this year. "It's always tricky, but if we had to cancel, we would have offered to give back the fees to vendors who didn't show up or roll it over to next year." she said. "I'm happy we didn't have to."

She attributed this year's large turnout not just to the weather, but also to the buzz built up by the Web site and Facebook page. "The highlight of the day," she said, was the appearance of Senator Chuck Schumer. "Local politicians have always stopped by, but this was some honor."

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