By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
After a summer of postponements and cancellations in 2020, the St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau is thrilled to see people from near and far getting back out and attending area events and gatherings.
St. Joseph has been somewhat of a statewide leader in terms of getting back to normal. The Ancient Order of Hibernians St. Patrick's Day parade was arguably the largest in-person gathering for that holiday in the state.
The Sound of Speed Airshow on April 30 and May 1 was the first airshow in the U.S. since the pandemic started.
St. Joseph CVB director Marcie Bennett has seen for herself that these events have been carried out safely and have brought a renewed sense of optimism for the city.
"It's great for morale," she said. "You see people out there smiling when they're in groups of people. Having a good time. Having the Sounds of Summer Concert series come back. The St. Joseph Symphony has performed several times. We had the airshow, which we were actually the first airshow to happen in the entire United States since COVID."
The Sounds of Summer Concert series returned this past Friday with Blue Oyster Culture Club, and the Symphony has had three performances already this year.
The St. Joseph Mustangs return to Phil Welch Stadium with Fan Fest on June 1. The 'From Steam to S.T.E.A.M.' Festival returns in August, commemorating Missouri's bicentennial.
There's also optimism for Chiefs' training camp to return to Missouri Western's campus and to be back open to the public, though that's not confirmed yet.
"In September, we have South Side Fall Festival," Bennett said. "Right now, Pumpkin Fest with the Pony Express Museum is looking at whether they're going to have Pumpkin Fest the same way they always have, or make some changes to it, and that's in September with Great Pumpkin Mountain."
Bennett says the pandemic took the biggest toll on museums and the performing arts, but the city still fared better than its peers last summer.
"I think it took the biggest toll on our museums and attractions and on our Performing Arts Association and people that were doing events," Bennett said. "Through that time period, we had higher hotel occupancy than any of our comparative set within the state of Missouri and still continue to do that."
Bennett says the CVB changed their advertising strategy during COVID last year by placing electronic billboards in cities like Des Moines, Lincoln, Omaha, Topeka and Kansas City. There were even metro buses in Kansas City that had 'the St. Joseph message' wrapped around them.
"We focused on about a 200-mile radius," Bennett explained. "Knowing that people were going to want to travel soon. They had to get out. But, they wanted to go places that were comfortable for them and where they felt safe and not a long, long ways away."
The strategy worked. Bennett says CVB has seen a large influx of visitors from neighboring cities and states come to St. Joseph. She says it helps that there's usually plenty to do around the city.
"We're gathering their information and letting them know about the events that are going on," Bennett said. "There's just a lot to do in St. Joe. Anyone who think there isn't is crazy. If you really want to get out and do something, there's a lot."
The site stjomo.com has a full calendar of events going on in and around St. Joseph. Bennett hopes the city can continue to bring in more people and bigger events.
The city council just last week voted to put a half-cent sales tax on the August ballot which would provide funding to the cities' parks system. Included in that bill is funding for Civic Arena, which is slated to host the NCAA DII women's basketball Elite Eight in the 2023-24 season.
"The parks tax, I think, is a really good thing," Bennett expressed. "It would, according to (city manager Bryan Carter), encompass Civic Arena, and that's one spot where we need to make investments in. To bring Civic Arena up to par."
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