City Sees $4K in Winterfest Revenue; Spends $30K

The numbers are in.

Poway's first-ever Winterfest, which took place over the course of four days in December, cost a total of $30,698.94.

While city staff estimated expenditures would be roughly $30,000, the city only saw $3,904.00 in revenue and received $8,250.00 in donations, according to Eric Heidemann, the city's legislative administrator.

But Deputy Mayor Jim Cunningham, who pitched the idea and saw it , said he's “ecstatic” about the outcome of the event and that the “city's contribution next year will be significantly less.”

“My plan is for the city to make an initial investment in time and concept,” he said. “My dream for this is to have it run by the private sector and I have every confidence that this will happen.

”We got in late, it was a moving target. If we do it or the private sector does it, we will get a better price on the rink and a better price on the snow.”

Cunningham also noted the differences in cost between Winterfest and Candyland, which ended in 2009 after a 17-year run.

“It has reduced the cost of the event we replaced,” he said of Candyland, which cost roughly $55,143 (although this figure incorporates employee labor costs and supplies). “It shows great conservation.”

But people shouldn't get caught up in the numbers, said Cunningham.

“There's a lot more to the project than just dollars and cents,” he said. “People who get caught up in dollars and cents don't look into the community rewards. Community Park is extremely under utilized. The people I talk to want more family-oriented events in Poway and this meets so many of those needs.”