Posted on Sat, May. 19, 2007

BAY ST. LOUIS -- Organizers spent Friday morning fielding phone calls and e-mail from hard-core party animals wondering what time they should show up for next year's Bridge Fest.

Bay artist Yuki Northington ordered just 300 copies of her commemorative Bridge Fest posters, because she wasn't sure how many people would be interested in the signed-and-numbered artwork marking the historic opening of the new bridge.

The Hancock County Chamber of Commerce ordered 500 Bridge Fest T-shirts, because fewer than 1,000 people were expected to attend the party. Ruth Thompson, a Hancock Chamber spokeswoman, said organizers were "hoping for 500, maybe 1,000 people."

The posters and the T-shirts were gone a few minutes after the gates opened.

The latest crowd estimates released Friday have put the attendance well past 5,000 and many of them are already asking whether Bridge Fest will become an annual event to remember the day the Bay St. Louis bridge opened after Hurricane Katrina had closed it for 20 months.

"That's all anybody is talking about today," Thompson said. "It was packed like Bourbon Street on Mardi Gras day and (during Thursday's party) no less than 100 people asked me if we could do this every year."

Jaffe Perniciaro, a local vendor who worked a booth at Bridge Fest, is one of hundreds who seems to be looking forward to next year.

"(Bridge Fest) was much needed," she said. "From talking with everyone who came by our booth, they really want it to be an annual event; hopefully it will be again."

Most large festivals started out small. Even the New Orleans Jazz Fest began with a few thousand people, but nearly 40 years later the crowd estimates top 150,000.

"Most festivals start off slow and build over the years," Thompson said. "But Bridge Fest has started with such a huge bang that it might be easy to keep the momentum going."

The chamber began planning Bridge Fest less than four weeks ago with Hollywood Casino, which financially backed the event. Local event planner Ginger Sharpe was selected to coordinate Bridge Fest with dozens of other business leaders who pitched in, and the small celebration rapidly bulged into a full-blown festival.

"We had done the business expo and other events before, but never anything like Bridge Fest," Thompson said. "We were hoping for 500 and we estimate that between 5,000 and 6,000 people were there."

The waterfront grounds of the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club allowed two bands to simultaneously play on separate stages without interfering with each other.

Children played on a small beach behind one of the stages. There was room for the more than 150 vendors that filled booths with their wares. Hollywood Casino used shuttle buses to transport thousands of people from a nearby parking lot.

So what would it take to pull off the 2nd annual Bridge Fest around the third weekend in May 2008?

"Next year, or if we have it next year, we would need to make a few changes," Thompson said. "Nothing giant, but certainly a few minor things would need tweaking."

Bob Davidge, public relations manager for Hollywood Casino said it's far too early to talk about a Bridge Fest in 2008, especially since worn-out organizers are still recovering from Thursday's beachfront blowout.

"We haven't even finished breaking down the tents and tables yet," Davidge said. "It's such a big undertaking that it would almost require the same people being involved to be able to do it again - but it sure would be nice to be able to do it again, year after year."