Texas Reds

6,159 Views | 37 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by OldArmy1606
dgonzo99
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Contrary to the official website, Texas Reds doesn't open until around 12 today. I just left there. Only about 4 booths were open. I asked one lady about it. She said that there was a really big confusion about when it actually opens today. She was told after 12:00. One lady was told not to open at 11:00. Also, you catch the bus back to Blinn on Washington next to Insite Magazine. There is no sign and nobody working the information booths know where the bus stop is.
Max06
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AG
Also, there are no steaks available unless you go into a restaurant. But you cannot take your wine in (due to TABC rules).

Only way to sample wine is to buy a $25 "package" of a glass and $5 worth of taste tickets. So you're spending $20 on glass.

In years past the same priced package included a steak dinner.
BKASH
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Gospel music started at 10:00 as advertised. Due to TABC laws, alcohol can't be sold until after 12:00. There are a lot of people downtown. Plenty of art and a great kid's zone! Great weather too!
BKASH
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19 bands are scheduled to perform today!
12th_man
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We need to get rid of the Mandatory "Gospel Hours" in Sundays.... No everybody goes to church but everybody got affected by this. Ridiculous.
gopitt
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I figured the mandatory Texas Reds bashfest would again happen this year. It's an annual tradition. Can't serve liquor ANYWHERE in Texas before 12 on Sunday but Texas Reds is supposed to for some reason? If people would read the hours posted they would know what is happening. Prices higher? People complained the city was losing money on this deal in years past so raising prices increases revenue.
Lots of people in attendance despite the naysayers.
dgonzo99
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The website said that the event started at 10:00 today. There were a lot of irritated people that left, because that it was close to 11:30 and only about 4 booths were open. The website should have been right. It had nothing to do about the wine. Some of the people I talked to had come from out of town, only to have to leave, because they were told that everything wouldn't probably open until about 1:00. One of the store owners was a little peeved, because she said different people were told totally different times to open their booths. One of the guys running a booth was upset too. There was a general lack of communication down the line. I had no plan to do the wine tasting, so I really didn't care about the cost.
BKASH
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Considering this is the first year that Texas Reds has been held on a Sunday, don't know where the mandatory "gospel hour" comment came from. This is the first year the Downtown Bryan Association has been in charge of managing the festival. Everyone's comments will be considered for planning next year.
Stucco
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I went yesterday for several hours and really enjoyed it.

Overall, my thoughts were:
  • Good music
  • $5 parking (Good)
  • Some good wine, some great wine, some disgusting wine
  • Glasses were overpriced - Would have appreciated a 2 person wine package
  • Loved the free BBQ
  • Lots of places to watch the game
  • Had to ping-pong constantly between wine and beer areas all day. Might be good to do one side wine and the other side beer.
  • Great number of wineries participating
Two specific complaints for next year:
  • I purchased early for 20% off, and had to go to a specific ticket booth to get my glass tickets. So I visited the online site before I went, then ticket booth 1, then ticket booth 2, then the glass station, then a winery before I had any wine. At least mark on the site or the map or the voucher where I need to go. Or accept vouchers at every booth, or better yet, at the glass station....
  • The fees for early paying were dumb. I understand that's how it works, but it didn't work out for CoB. I (unknowingly) paid more for my tickets online than people paid in person. CoB lost out by giving 20% off and then EventBrite taking 25-75% of the discount in fees.


Stucco
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Oh and one other very positive comment. I remember going a few years back and it was fenced in and we had to walk forever to get to an entrance. This year there was no fence, and you could walk in anywhere. Very glad they changed that.
oklaunion
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I always thought the state law was about serving alcohol on Sundays at noon also but have witnessed quite a few restaurants serve mixed drinks between 11 and 12 after church. Saw one today in fact. Maybe it is just serving beer/wine at grocery stores until noon.
BKASH
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Parking was free in the 900 car parking garage!
montegobay
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We parked for free. Free admission was great. Texas law says you can't serve drinks on Sunday until food is ordered. We went today(Sunday). We have gone every year. I predict the festival is done. It's substantially smaller and every winery we visited shared their disappointment at the lack of business today, but said yesterday was great. I don't think we will go again. Paying $20 for a glass is silly. Too bad. We have enjoyed going!
Broncos
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Restaurants can serve alcohol if they also serve food at 10 AM on Sundays. Monday-Saturday is 7 AM.
AgPup80
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We had a great time on both days. I think the changes were a step in the right direction. If you go to many wine festivals, the Texas Reds prices weren't out of line. All the music was great.
DBSwooper
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quote:
People complained the city was losing money on this deal in years past so raising prices increases revenue.
Lots of people in attendance despite the naysayers.



Really there should be a super-first-friday instead of a huge expensive festival that has loses large sums of money each year (yes I know that in the past the city has played the accounting version of three card monty to make it appear it wasn't that bad).

First Friday, by design, is in place to support downtown businesses, the focus should be there.
DeckMe80
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I was amazed that when you bought a wine tasting package they handed you a stemmed glass to carry around all day on pavement while drinking. I understand that fine wine should be consumed from a glass, but in the 2+ hours I was there Saturday--had to get home to watch the game--I heard two glasses hit the pavement. Each time a couple of people bent over and started picking up glass shards. THEN what? Another $25? Stitches?
DBA
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Thanks to all who have posted so far. I'm the executive director of the Downtown Bryan Association. We assumed management of Texas Reds from the City of Bryan this year. It's probably not the best idea I've had to comment on this thread tonight after very little sleep over the past few days, but I've always preferred facts over anything else.

dgonzo - We had 7 ticket booth locations for a total of 14 windows. They were spread throughout the festival area. I can say that by 10:15 a.m. - certainly before 10:30 a.m. - all were open. It took a bit of time to get all the materials to the booths from the command center, so perhaps you just happened to walk past the last few before they became operational. The booths were spread over a 5 block area on Main and Bryan streets. I had a radio in my hand all day, so I know when things became operational. The shuttle stop was exactly where it was posted on the festival map: on 26th St. There was a sign. I know this for sure because I picked up the sign this evening as I was making the rounds to make sure everything was cleaned up. I will also have to dispute your claim that vendors and/or merchants were given conflicting information about opening times. Vendors were given information in advance and it was repeated as they checked in. Store owners were told of the festival hours - in writing - and at no time did DBA ever communicate anything different. We had a large number of volunteers and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that some of them may have paid less attention to instructions than others. That's the nature of the beast, but I'm appreciative of all who gave up part of their weekend to help out.

montegobay - your perception that the festival was "substantially smaller" is interesting. We had more wineries than ever (30), equal or slightly more arts/crafts/food vendors than in years past, the addition of about 10 craft breweries, and 50+ bands on 5 stages compared to one headline stage in years past. We did shrink the footprint of the festival somewhat so as not to have stretches of empty streets between booths. Perhaps that is why you thought the festival was smaller.

stucco - thank you for your positive feedback, and your complaints will be added to our "to consider" list for next year. Agpup is correct - we did a lot of research to make our tasting packages in line with other festivals, and we were similar in pricing. However, we also need to consider our own market, and if we get overwhelming feedback that we need to adjust pricing, we will do so. As for the online sales, we will definitely evaluate that. We wanted to offer that option, and EventBrite was very easy to use. My only note here is that the fees were clearly stated, so there should have been no surprises for anyone who took that option. I actually advised a caller to our office on Saturday not to take that option since they could purchase at the festival without the fee. We will definitely search for a solution to this.

DeckMe - I can happily report to you that given the large amount of people who bought glassware, we had very few mishaps with broken glass. No one needed stitches.

Here are my other observations about the weekend. We tried very hard to be mindful of the needs of our downtown merchants. Hence, the move to a Saturday/Sunday festival so as not to interfere with Friday customers. I took a bit of time to speak to a group at St. Andrews church this morning, and someone asked if we would consider starting later on Sunday to accommodate the church. We will absolutely look at that for next year. I spent most of the festival hours on a Gator, doing everything from delivering water to stages and ticket booths, to telling those in line at a central ticket booth that they could walk one block over and get tickets quicker because the line was shorter. I talked with many people Saturday and Sunday, including vendors and winery/craft beer people. I specifically asked, how's it going... are you having a good time... can we help you with anything? Overwhelmingly, the response was positive. I don't think they were being nice just because I had on an official shirt and name tag. If anything, I gave them a chance to vent, to make suggestions, to tell me anything they thought should be different. Some did do that, but it was not enough to make them refuse to return again.

Did we do everything right and make everyone happy? Nope - and if someone figures out how to do that, please call me this week and share your formula. Overall, I saw lots of people having a good time and we fielded very few complaints. We do realize the irony of having Texas Reds Steak & Grape Festival when we don't actually offer the opportunity to purchase a steak, although the restaurants were encouraged to offer steak dinners or a steak dish of some kind. The city discontinued the steak event a few years ago, and until we had the benefit of one year under our belt, we weren't willing to take on that expense this first year out. This is another item on our future considerations list.

If you're still reading after this lengthy post, know that we value all feedback - good and bad. I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have. My contact info is listed here: http://downtownbryan.com/about/staff/?staff_id=20

Sandy Farris






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dgonzo99
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DBA, I was talking about Sunday morning. Nothing hardly was open by 11:30. On opening Sunday morning, I am only telling you what I was told by those that were open and by one of store owners. On Sunday morning, almost nothing was open at all. People were walking out a little upset. Were you there Sunday morning. ?
dgonzo99
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quote:
DBA, I was talking about Sunday morning. Hardly anything was open by 11:30. On opening Sunday morning, I am only telling you what I was told by those that were open and by one of store owners. On Sunday morning, almost nothing was open at all. People were walking out a little upset. Were you there Sunday morning. ?
dgonzo99
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quote:
quote:


gopitt
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Thanks for your reply Sandy. Nothing you say will keep these whiners from crying as you know (unless you are new to this site). These are the people who nit pick every new restaurant that opens, complain about both city councils, Texas Reds and everything under the sun. They lead very unhappy and boring lives and this is their only chance to let off steam.
DBSwooper
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quote:
Thanks for your reply Sandy. Nothing you say will keep these whiners from crying as you know (unless you are new to this site). These are the
people who nit pick every new restaurant that opens, complain about
both city councils, Texas Reds and everything under the sun. They lead
very unhappy and boring lives and this is their only chance to let off
steam.






Speak for yourself.

I've attended all but one Texas Red and each time I had an enjoyable time, but I generally enjoy First Fridays much more. Texas Reds is money spent that would be better spent further pumping up the businesses downtown. Continue to support the local artists but do it through a smaller venue (First Friday) and let it naturally grow into something bigger, if it even does. It might take a few years to grow into a larger event but it would have the chance to be more beneficial to everyone involved.
Stucco
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quote:
Thanks for your reply Sandy. Nothing you say will keep these whiners from crying as you know (unless you are new to this site). These are the people who nit pick every new restaurant that opens, complain about both city councils, Texas Reds and everything under the sun. They lead very unhappy and boring lives and this is their only chance to let off steam.

Well that's a generalization...I left a lot of positive comments, and feedback to consider for next year.
Stucco
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@DBA - Great response. Just to conclude, the confusion on the pricing was on the sheets of extra tickets. I understood how much I was paying eventbrite with the fees and everything, but I believed that price to be 20% off the festival price. It doesn't make much sense to buy those in advance unless it is 20% off.

The wine + beer package was able to be split for couples. It would be cool to have a wine + wine and a beer + beer package as well.

Again, great job on the festival. I have been the past 5 years and this was the best one yet.
csnole
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I've been almost every year and went yesterday. The Fam had a great time but I was confused about where the steaks were (I remember the huge tents and long lines for steak from the first year) Thank You Sandy for clarifying that there were none. I really hope you guys do bring that back.

My only thought is we specifically went yesterday because of the music. It was almost too sunny to stand and watch the bands - the I heart radio stage was set up on one side of the circle. Maybe next year if you could set it up on the other side of the circle more people could sit on the sidewalks where there was shade and still see the band. (possibly put the tent in the middle of the street)

All in all it was a pleasant day on Sunday.
FlyRod
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People I talked to who went really enjoyed it, drizzle and all. Nice work to all who made it happen!
DBA
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dgonzo - I was downtown from 5 a.m.-midnight on Saturday and 8 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. Some of the vendors may have been slow to open Sunday morning, but I did not see any who delayed opening as late as you indicate. Not saying it didn't happen; I just didn't witness it. Attendance was very light until around noon, which is another factor we'll consider when looking at Sunday hours next year.

Saturday was well-attended and the crowd was steady throughout the day and evening. Things were definitely lighter on Sunday until the few hours leading up to Ruthie Foster's performance. There was a good-sized crowd on hand to hear her, and yes, cnole, I know the sun was hot yesterday! Thanks for the suggestion.

Appreciate all the feedback!

Dr. Teeth
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AG
My wife and I each bought $25 package for a total of $50 for the event.

We also got two free flu shots from the St. Joseph booth that would normally run us $30 each.

I actually drank beer and came out ahead.
texasaggie04
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AG
I enjoyed it. That is all.
beefly95
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Kids zone was awesome!! Went both days. Also loved the music. Will be there next year with bells on

P.s. Some of you really are grouchy curmudgeons. It was too sunny?! It was smaller (so you didn't have to walk as far)? I loved it and everyone I saw there seemed to have a great time.
Finding X
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We had a good time, Glad it didn't get rained out again!
I really liked the variety of vendors. It wasn't the same thing over and over again!

Artist were great! Hope to see more next year!

I noticed that of the food trucks weren't there. Was this by design? I figured the local trucks would be represented. I just saw the waffle truck. Was this to help the down town restaurants sell more food?

My girls set up their lemonade stand on 24th street by the food vendors and came away with smiles on their faces! Completely exhausted, but satisfied!
waterchick
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My family went both days. One thing that hasn't been mentioned, unless I missed it, was the change from Fri/Sat to Sat/Sun. I really like the change to Sat/Sun and hope it continues next year. We had a great time Saturday, and went again Sunday after church. The Kids' Zone was fantastic. Baby Egret #1 is still talking about it.

I would second Stucco's comments - more options on the tasting packages, and put the wine & beer closer together. One thing I really liked this year was getting a "real" wine glass this year as compared with the tiny glasses from previous years.
Mr. Griswold
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Pales in comparison to Wurstfest in New Braunfels.
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